Ticking, "low fuild light", ect ect...

[StarLover]

Sorry, Its a bit long.

I have a 1996 Chevy Cavalier, I've had it since April, And to be completely honest it is the biggest regret of my life. A week after buying it my coolant decides to overflow. So because of a low coolant level I take it back to the Dealer and they "fix" the problem. Well just after that fix my engine starts ticking.... I'm a girl so I dont know ANYTHING about cars... Anyways about a month or two later the coolant decides to overflow once again. I take it in again, and they look at everything and say its just fine. Well about 2-3 weeks after that one, it did it Once again.. and I took it back... Once again. They said the cooling fan was suspious and they checked it. They said it does work but in the 5 months I've owned the car I have Never once heard it come on. They also replaced the Coolant cap. Not long after that I noticed when ever I idle or turn my car off/on I hear weird noises like mice or something is in my engine. Then right now, my (what I think is) Low fuild light came on so I had a friend quickly check my car and we discovered that the Clutch fluid was low so I filled it now after I filled it that light comes on alot. I dont know what it could be. Anyone know of any solutions to any of these problems??

[my99cavy]

Well if it the coolant keeps overflowing then obviously you have a problem with your cooling system. I would keep an eye on the fan and make sure that is working properly. and I'm really not sure what that ''mice running'' sound could be.

[NovaRally77]

Hello,

A real quick way to test your fan to see if it does come on is to start the car and turn the ac on. No matter if the engine is cold or hot, when the ac is on the fans are always on. If they dont kick on then you know thats where your problem is. I dont know what the light could be from but with these newer cars, one thing triggers another and a sensor could just be getting a false reading because of another prob. Hope this helps. Lemme know what you find.

DJP2

[Lances133]

When my 96 2.2's coolant was over flowing it was because the water pump went, I had to get it replaced, that could be your problem.

[StarLover]

Well the coolant hasnt overflowed since they replaced the cap but my temp gauge after driving 5 minute trips or something It'll be almost touching the red part... Which always freaks me out :/

[NovaRally77]

If the guage is getting that hot, I would think that there is definitely something wrong. Some things to look into would be:

Like I said earlier, see if the fans do kick on while the car is running with the AC on. If they do kick on, drive the car with the AC on to see if your problem goes away. If it does go away then it is possible that your fans are not being turned on by the sensor. I dont know what the sensor would be called but auto zone should know.

Check the coolant temperature sensor, or the equivalent for the cavalier. My friend had a problem with his car where his guage was producing the wrong reading just because his sensor was bad. If the car has not overheated in a while, try that. You may have just burned up a sensor.

If it does start to bother you really bad, you can always turn the heat all the way up to help out. The heat given off by your heater is produced by the engines coolant. If your engine gets really hot, you can turn on the heater and it will help to cool the engine. Its a very hot and sometimes very uncomfortable situation to be in, but it beats blowing a head gasket.

I hope that you find what the problem is soon! I know it gets frustrating! When I bought my first car, 1977 Nova Rally, I had to replace the entire cooling system. First the hoses went, then the radiator sprung a leak, the pump went, and then the heating core. I ended up replacing it all down to the radiator cap just because that was the only thing that hadnt been replaced! LOL Hang in there and lee me know what you find out. Hope this helps

DJP2

[Lances133]

Might be as simple as bleeding air out of your coolant lines as well.

[StarLover]

To the AC thing. I turned it on while I was idling and it started like puting like it was about to die or something it was weird...

[MrR0b0t0]

I would definatly just take it to an outside mechanic, let them figure out whats wrong, and then tell the dealership what needs to be fixed. (if its still under warrenty) if not, then i think that sounds like you might be spending a little bit of money.