Over heating of my 2001 PT cruser
7 Answers
Cause of the age of your vehicle, perhaps your radiator is somewhat plugged? The anti-freeze should be 50% water and 50% antifreeze depending on where you live. Problem is, many people/previous owners use tap water with contains contaminates which can leach on to the inside of hoses and especially to the thin inner core of the radiator over the 15 years your car has been on the road. A system flush at a reputable dealer would by the next thing to try.
I forgot to mention that one should use distilled water instead of tap water as the other 50%
cruzyowner answered 8 years ago
...we found the radiator fan was not coming on on our 2004 p.t. ...we replaced it ...then found out it was just the relay switch needed replacing...It's been a learning experience with our cruzy...also ...when a local mechanic replaced the timing belt and had a new valve job(because of broken timing belt)...he left a screwdriver wedged in the fan so it wouldn't come on for some safety reason ...needless to say ...our first test drive down the road ...we overheated,,,,, raised the hood ...found the problem ...we were not happy campers...
I will bet you were not happy at all! Holy smokes!
I have replaced all these new parts so far.... radiator, had the head completely re-done ($424), head gasket kit, timing belt kit with water pump, thermostat/seal, tons of new sensors and switches. Needless to say I’m still overheating to find out the fan wasn’t kicking on and no it wasn’t a relay or fuse. We just put in a toggle switch to make the new fan work that I just bought. Check your oil dipstick to see if it has water in it and/or a creamy color (yes I now have this after everything I’ve just done) if so you can either have a cracked head, leaking valves in the head (that was what happened to mine), or a bad engine block. I only paid $700 for a mint condition Gold Dream Cruiser 92,000 miles too bad it was given to a tow company that I bought it from because I’ve already put double that into the car. UGH Chrysler should have had a recall on these cars for the overheating problems.
