1995 Skylark with overheating issues

[Neverownedanewcar]

Okay here is the skinny...
My husband and I have a 95 buick skylark. It seems as though it is on its last leg and not sure why.... The low coolant light is on all the time- even if the coolant level is okay. The car tries to overheat all of the time and when it looks like it is getting too hot, the radiator"burps" out coolant. Mind you, it gets to the point we can't go more than 4 blocks without the burping starting up. We have replaced the thermostat and the sensor. Nothing is working. Along with that, the air conditioner wouldn't work this summer and when we turn on the heater now, it works for about 1 minute before it starts blowing cold air. So, I don't know if this is all related. It just sucks because it is very frustrtaed to not be able to drive to the grocery store or even work without having to pull over 4 times to keep it from overheating. Could this be a problem with a seal or a head gasket?

[UncleCrusty]

My son's 95 Buick Skylark just came up with the same issue. I was wondering if there is a known cause for this (other than checking the water pump, hoses, radiator (and radiator cap), heater core, fan thermostat, and engine shroud).

Anyone have any direct experience with this?

[joeval]

Sounds very much like the water pump. The water is not circulating and that's why the heater doesn't work because the water is not reaching the core. Take of the radiator cap (when cold) and turn on the car. If the car starts overheating but you don't see the water circulating then it's not working. Also check for a water leak at the front of the engine.

[UncleCrusty]

Originally Posted by joeval

Sounds very much like the water pump. The water is not circulating and that's why the heater doesn't work because the water is not reaching the core. Take of the radiator cap (when cold) and turn on the car. If the car starts overheating but you don't see the water circulating then it's not working. Also check for a water leak at the front of the engine.

Thanks for the quick reply. I sure hope that *isn't* the answer though, since this would constitute the third strike against an independent repair shop.

I took my kid's car in for repair to an old friend of mine's brother's shop then spent a couple thousand fixing up this crappy P.O.S. Buick Skylark. So far, one of the *brand new* motor mounts had to be re-replaced (!) after shearing off in less than 100 miles of use, the heater core had to be replaced after it had been determined to be okay, and now the new (under 1,000 miles) water pump is shot.

I specifically brought the business to the guy because I figured I could trust him and he could use the business in this economy; well, caveat emptor for me, more advice to dump the car to my son, and no more of my "hard earneds" go to the Tomlin brothers in Eugene, Oregon scamming repair shop (Performance Automotive).

Life's a bitch, and then you die.

[ps27]

There might be air in the system stoping the circulation. I found the way to get the air out is to jack up the front end or park up a big hill, open cap and let run. It lets the air out and then the fluids can circulate.