Overheat and No Coolant!!!!

Hey wassup, I have a 99 chevy tahoe, 5.7., when I moved my tahoe out of the driveway, i noticed my temp gauges went all the way to the right (210) after the tahoe has warmed up. As soon as I saw the gauge, i waited for my tahoe to cool down.... I checked the radiator and there was no coolant. I added coolant the day before.... and when I checked the dipstick, i saw a milky liquid on the dipstick... what has gone wrong? :Chevy:

I had a simular problem with my temp guage which JK Motorsports diagnosed correctly and it was an easy fix.....the post is titled "help with my '99 coolant problems" if you want to read it. Here is the reply to my post that solved the problem....

Quote:
Originally Posted by JKmotorsports
Man, it sounds like you have an air pocket to me. When the engine is cold and off, take the radiator cap off and start the engine. Turn the heater on so the heater valve is open and coolant is flowing through the heater core. While the engine is running, add coolant till it tops off. Try that and see if that helps.


great diagnosis JK, I can't thank you enough!!.....

I did this today, and sure enough I got A "burb" out of my radiator...after that I topped it off and now the temperature guage is functioning as it should.....

Now if I could just locate that slow coolant leak.. I was under my Tahoe today and it seems to be seeping somewhere above the starter....

sound like a blown head gasket. if the oil stick has a milky substance on it, usually that means the head gasket(s) have let go and coolant is getting into the oil ! is there white smoke out of the tail pipe?

mygreen98 said:

sound like a blown head gasket. if the oil stick has a milky substance on it, usually that means the head gasket(s) have let go and coolant is getting into the oil ! is there white smoke out of the tail pipe?

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Hate to say it, but that's exactly what I was I was thinking as well.

i agree with the headgasket diagnosis

check the heater valve! its like $13 bucks at an auto parts store. they suck on tahoes. its on the passenger side under the hood. its a black plastic valve that has 4 hoses coming out of it. 2 of em go into the firewall. be sure u put em onto the correct inlet/outlet when u install the new one!


it's a no brainer that took me all of about 20 minutes


thats how i fixed my coolant leak...

I think these engines are all aluminum blocks too, right? If the head gasket is toasted, you really need to get it cleaned out and fixed right away -- the ethylene glycol in the coolant will eat that aluminum block right up. $$$$ I hope that's NOT it, buddy!

mygreen98 said:

sound like a blown head gasket. if the oil stick has a milky substance on it, usually that means the head gasket(s) have let go and coolant is getting into the oil ! is there white smoke out of the tail pipe?

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+1

Getwired said:

I think these engines are all aluminum blocks too, right? If the head gasket is toasted, you really need to get it cleaned out and fixed right away -- the ethylene glycol in the coolant will eat that aluminum block right up. $$$$ I hope that's NOT it, buddy!

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No, they're not aluminum blocks.

Man, think about it, how much weight can you lose by switching to an aluminum block? How much fuel economy can you gain?

Hardwarz

overheat and no coolant

thanks for the opinions.... so far i have not seen any white smoke from the tailpipe, when i moved it, the engine turned on perfectly fine and there was no ping or any sound coming from the engine.... its just the milky oil, i hope its not very expensive to repair.

tahoeman21 said:

thanks for the opinions.... so far i have not seen any white smoke from the tailpipe, when i moved it, the engine turned on perfectly fine and there was no ping or any sound coming from the engine.... its just the milky oil, i hope its not very expensive to repair.

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Do an oil change. Check it again a week later. If it's milky again, then you definately have a problem.

Hardwarz

tahoeman21 said:

thanks for the opinions.... so far i have not seen any white smoke from the tailpipe, when i moved it, the engine turned on perfectly fine and there was no ping or any sound coming from the engine.... its just the milky oil, i hope its not very expensive to repair.

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Definitely a head gasket. You don't always get white smoke out of the exhaust pipe when the head gasket blows. It depends on where the failure occurs. If the failure is between an oil passage and a water passage, you won't see any white smoke because the coolant is not making it into the combustion chamber.

I have had this happen to me on an old pickup several years ago. I noticed it started running hot, so I added coolant. After a day or so it started running hot again. The radiator was empty. I checked the oil and it was milky brown, and read very full. When I drained the oil, it had the color and consistency of a chocolate milk shake. I never saw any white smoke in the exhaust, and the engine ran just fine.

Sorry, but unless you replace the gasket(s) yourself it's going to be expensive. Good luck with it.