Thursday, September 15, 2011

My 1997 Chevy Venture started overheating, and steam came up, replaced hose, still steaming. Any answers?

I replaced the upper radiator hose thinking it had a crack or bust in it because steam was coming from that area. Changed the hose and engine is still overheating and steam is still coming from that area. Any help would be greatly appreciated
My 1997 Chevy Venture started overheating, and steam came up, replaced hose, still steaming. Any answers?
Whenever an engine overheats the first 2 things to check are the antifreeze level and the thermostat. After that it gets a little more complicated. Hoses, head gasket, heater core, water pump, belts, radiator are all possibilities.
My 1997 Chevy Venture started overheating, and steam came up, replaced hose, still steaming. Any answers?
Look more carefully to see where the steam is coming out. There is one hose you know is good because you replaced it.
have you checked the thermostat. it may be sticking
Check all your hoses and clamps. If none of them are loose or worn, then check the radiator cap, if it doesn't hold pressure, usually 15 psi is the operating pressure, then it can cause this problem.
maybe the end that sticks into the radiator that the hose goes on is leaking around it. on my oldsmobile i had to put jb weld around it then put the hose on.
When you replaced the hose, I hope you also refilled the radiator, let it run for 10 min. to get the engine hot and OPEN the THERMOSTAT to let any further air out of your cooling system.

If it still overheats then your next step will be to let it cool down and replace the thermostat. Refill with the proper 50/50 mix of coolant and water. Run engine for 10 minutes to warm it up properly and then pour in some more coolant mix. Keep watching this until the engine cooling fan comes on. See how long the fan runs and see if it lowers the temp. on your Temperature gauge. Then you can start to relax! If you see any EXTREMELY THICK WHITE SMOKE coming out of the tailpipe. Start worrying. If you carefully remove the radiator cap, please keep a thick towel on it and let the pressure bleed out first, and smell exhaust or gas fumes coming from the radiator with a lot of bubbling. Start getting real worried. You may have a cylinder head problem. Pardon me but I have a tendency to go into a lot of details!!!!

Your problem will probably just be a stuck thermostat!