Chevy Cavalier Overheating- Check Engine Light On

2005 Chevrolet Cavalier 2.2L Ecotec.
I have a 2005 Chevy Cavalier it has been overheating. My temp. Gauge has gone haywire. My cooling fan has not been coming on. My upper radiator hose gets hot. The lower hose stays cold. I have already changed the thermostat. Can you tell me what I need to do to fix this problem.

Answer:
Assuming you have owned the car for some time, then you know it is getting too hot.A plugged radiator could be the cause, as well as air in the cooling system. After changing the t-stat, if there is air in the system, it may look like there is no change to your problem, when in fact the t-stat may have fixed it. The cooling fans not coming on could be a blown fuse, bad relay, bad fan motor, temp sensor, PCM, etc. Many things can cause the cooling fans to not come on. That would be the circuit to look at first.

1989 Chevy Cavalier Z24. Engine size: 2.8L v-6. Replaced radiator hose,split. Removed t-stat and ran engine. Still overheating Question: Should I try replacing the water pump? There has been no sign of a leak except the broken hose that was replaced. I am also not getting any heat inside the car even when it was overheating.

Answer:
First of all, you should not run an engine without a thermostat because it will not allow the engine to get to operating temperature. If you've got a new thermostat, install it and go from there. If you still have an overheating issue, it could be a water pump. The vanes on the water pump impeller corrode over the years and end up not pumping any coolant through the engine, so that is something to check. If you have an extreme overheating issue, there's the possibility of head gasket failure, warped or cracked cylinder heads, etc.

Since you have no heat inside the car, there could also be a restriction somewhere in the coolant passages or heater core. You can get a cooling system tester that pressurized the system so you can check for leaks. If you lose pressure and see no external leak, the coolant is going elsewhere, like inside the cylinders or dumping straight into the oil pan. Lots of things to check for this issue.

Question:
My car kept was leaking antifreeze and had keep refilling it with water. So i put radiator stop leak in it and it quit leaking for a couple of days but then started leaking again but not as fast as it was before i put the stop leak in. I need to get this fixed before winter. Any suggestions?

Answer:
Yeah I would say that you definitely need to get that fixed before winter. One thing too, I would NOT recommend just adding water when you top the cooling system. As you lose antifreeze and just add water, the boiling point of the mixture drops more and more and the chance of overheating the engine becomes more likely.

I also do NOT recommend using stop leak products because they gum up the cooling system and just cause additional problems. What ever you have leaking needs to be fixed as soon as possible, whether it be the water pump, radiator, head gasket, hoses or heater core, it needs to get fixed soon! You need to have a pressure test done on the system to find the leak.

Question: Chevy Cavalier spitting water from head bolt. Over heated and will not start. Help.
 Answer: Is the coolant coming out of one of the front cylinder head bolts?

Yes. Any hopes of it starting? Just overheated going up hill when we stopped.
 It sounds like that bolt has snapped inside the cylinder head. You are going to have to remove the head and then remove the bolt. If you're lucky the engine is not blown. Antifreeze may just be filling that cylinder causing the engine to not start. If you remove the sparkplug and crank over the engine, you should see ante freeze is coming out. If so, the engine should be all right after repairs are made.