99 Chevy Malibu Overheating PLZ HELP

Hi.. I purchasae a 99 Chevy Malibu a few days ago. I took it in to my uncles shop yesterday and had the ac charged and bought 3 new tires... Today I was driving and the check coolant lite came on and then the gage shot up to all the way hot.... The car started to steam under the hood. I waited a bit for it to cool and then noticed that the lid was not all the way on the coolant reservoir... My uncle said this might actually be a good thing... I waited for it to cool a little more and went to the gas station and put in a gallon of water and made sure the lid was on really tight... and drove thirty miles to my uncles shop. Mind you on the way to his shop the gage did not go over the halfway mark.... So i get there and thy looked for signs of antifreeze on the engine etc and did not see any.. They said that becuase the cap is presurized if not put on correctly it would have possible caused the car to overheat,, So about an hour ago i went to get my son from school and it did go up two llines above the half way mark on the temp gage on the dash? Is that ok? Any ideas? I saved up the money for this car,,, am a single mom,,, college degree and cant find a job.... PLZ HELP ME>>> Thanks

my car usually runs around that hot....i have an 03 malibu i dont know if this helps though. the coolant systems on the malibu are not that great.

The reservoir cap would have had a lot to do with the overheating. My 99 Malibu temp needle stays on about 1/2 all the time, so I'd watch the 2 tics over quite carefully. Up here in Alberta Canada we always mix water and prestone 50/50; it certainly prevents boiling over (in a good system) and also sets us up for winter cold. I think a gallon of pure water is quite a bit to add to the cooling system. Regards.

It could be that your thermostat is stuck or you have an air pocket in your coolent system. Could also be that your lower intake gaskets are bad or your water pump is going out. Or even possibly a cracked head. First thing I would do is take it in and have a pressure test done. If that turns out fine you can rule out the lower intake and water pump. Then I would have a block integrity test done. If that is fine you can rule out a cracked head. Then it may be either the thermostat or air pocket. One other thing I have seen is the had gasket goes bad and leaks water into the piston which will create bad compression and blow the water out the tail pipe. Also, maybe check the oil level. If it is way over full and has an antifreeze smell or seems to look watery then you most likely have a cracked head.

The car has two fans for the radiator. The one on the drivers side should run when the car reaches operating temperature. The passenger side fan should run when the A-C is turned on.
Reply back if a fan isn't turning on correctly.
If the fans are running properly feel the top and bottom radiator hose when at operating temperature.
My wife's 1999 Malibu has always operated about one notch above 1/2 on the gauge.

1 - Are you running Dexcool?
2 - Check the overheating daily. 2 ticks over might be the beginning . . . .
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