why does my 97 chevy silverado keep saying that its overheating?
January 14th, 2010 | 
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ok itll be fine for like 10 minutes
then itll say check gages
so i do its overheating
a few minutes later it goes back to normal and itll keep doing it randomly
i turn on the heat, and its ice cold air when it says thats its overheating
i bought this truck last week for about 4 grand 77k miles and it seemed fine till now lol
and the service engine soon light is on i also checked the coolant and it was fine...idk what else to do i just build cars and shit i dont know how to troubleshoot em...the book doesnt help
it says to get out the car or itll start on fire. and to check the coolant...did both
 1950s Reo Vintage Fire Truck US $1,820.00 |
Posted in Used Fire Trucks | 
Tags: cars, cold air, coolant, few minutes, gages, idk, service engine soon light
WATER PUMP is your problem, also change the thermostat….
everyone here gave decent answers, but no one said water pump and that is your answer……………….problem solved
It could be an intermittent problem with a sensor.
Check out any sensors that could be faulty.
If all else fails, smack it around a bit and show it whose boss
Change your thermostat. It is an inexpensive part and you have good room to work on your t stat. When the t stat sticks it will show erratic temps just as you described. The gauges rarely go bad and if it was your sensor it would stay stuck on a high temp. You can ohm out the sensor and see if it has any current, if it shows zero then your sensor is out.
Good Luck
It sounds like you may have a air pocket in your cooling system and if the engine coolant was flushed, the system wasn’t "bled" long enough. And if your check gauges light keeps coming on and off don’t just keep driving the truck. If there is a overheating problem you are just going to damage your engine. And I have never heard of a manual saying that your engine will catch fire if the coolant system is over heating. Also if you are turning on the heater when the engine is hot and cold air is coming out that is a good indication that your coolant is not circulating properly. which could mean a few things, stuck or part stuck thermostat, blocked radiator, water pump veins corroded so bad that it is not moving coolant, or water pump veins or shaft in water pump has detached from the veins ( very very rare). And, there is so much rust in your engine that the intake cross over is blocked and coolant isn’t flowing. And last your fan clutch or electric Which ever one you got. is not working
OK, You say, truck runs fine for first 10 minutes them shows that it’s running hot, and no heat from the vents, and I will assume you have tried the heat thing after enough time has passed that the engine is warmed up enough that you should have heat. The Check Engine Light is probably doing just what it is supposed to do, and reporting a high temperature, via the Coolant Temperature Sensor. The fact that the Gage shows hot and you are getting no heat, adding the fact that you say the coolant is full, and not just in the overflow/reservoir tank, but in the radiator also, leads me to believe you have a bad head gasket, leaking compression into the cooling system. This can cause all kinds of problems with the circulation of coolant in the engine, and also cause it not to draw coolant back into the radiator from the reservoir, I hope I am wrong for your sake, take it to a repair shop. They can run a simple test and tell you if you are getting exhaust gases in your cooling system, and make the proper diagnoses. Good Luck.
Your thermostat is stuck closed.When it opens it lets cool water cool the engine and allows the hot water into your heater core to warm the cab. Easy repair and cheap one too. Unbolt the neck pop the old one out and fling it clean up the gasket surface put some sealer ond a new gasket on it and put the new one in bolt neck back on.
Then check the coolant level. DONE
The thermostat usually comes with a gasket, put some RTV silicone on the mating surfaces, thin layer with your finger, Don’t decorate a cake or anything.
The only other thing it could be is your waterpump but they usually leak when they fail see if the shaft wiggles when you move the fan blade.
change your thermostat it doesnt cost that much
We bought a 97 Chevy 1500 two weeks ago and it caught on fire as my daughter drove it down the highway. At first she experienced a lock up with the vehicle, it wouldn’t allow her to steer, hit the brake or gas. She managed to pull it over into a parking lot (with a lot of luck and an angel on her shoulder). She jumped out of the truck and smoke was pouring out of the engine and within minutes it was totally in flames. It’s a total loss. She’s a first time driver so imagine what this has done to her. Im sick about this, I just cant understand what went wrong but thankful to have her safe, that’s all that matters. It’s scary to think this can happen, I doubt I’ll ever buy another used vehicle much less another Chevy. This truck was beautiful, totally refinished from the engine (which had 60K on the new 350 motor) brand new BMW paint job, tires, rims, gorgeous.. but gone! lol