chevy venture

[ramseysgirl]

i had the intake manifold and 2 thermostats replaced on my 98 venture. it still isnt fixed. cost 700.00 and service engine soon light is flashing also has little power and no heat, overheats as well. what can i do to get this thing fixed?

[GregA]

Originally Posted by ramseysgirl

i had the intake manifold and 2 thermostats replaced on my 98 venture. it still isnt fixed. cost 700.00 and service engine soon light is flashing also has little power and no heat, overheats as well. what can i do to get this thing fixed?

I would take it back to where it was "fixed", assuming it was recently done.

Otherwise, I would suspect the water pump for the "no heat" & "overheating" problems.

Don't know about the other stuff.

Take Care,

[cdru]

Air bubble in the line would can also cause no heat and overheating. The flashing CEL is due to a severe misfire. This needs to be fixed immediately because can can overheat your cat, destroying it and risking a fire with unburnt fuel in your exhaust gases.

Worst case it could also be a head gasket leak. Just something to look into. Are you using/loosing any coolant?

[ramseysgirl]

Originally Posted by cdru

Air bubble in the line would can also cause no heat and overheating. The flashing CEL is due to a severe misfire. This needs to be fixed immediately because can can overheat your cat, destroying it and risking a fire with unburnt fuel in your exhaust gases.

Worst case it could also be a head gasket leak. Just something to look into. Are you using/loosing any coolant?

coolant was not present in radiator so my husband kept adding it. the van overheated and ran awful. also had no heat. took it in the shop last tuesday and guy replaced intake manifold gasket, thermostat twice and said it should be good to go. it didnt go. same problem, been back to the shop 3 times and will have to be towed there again tommorow. iv been told air bubble, water pump, serp belt, spark plugs, keep flushing engine, ect so im gonna tell shop to do all that BEFORE they tell me to come get it and i break down on side of road again. the place didnt even test it out and i was stranded. im broke and have no way to and from work or to take my kids to school. SUCKS!

[cdru]

Originally Posted by ramseysgirl

coolant was not present in radiator so my husband kept adding it. the van overheated and ran awful. also had no heat. took it in the shop last tuesday and guy replaced intake manifold gasket, thermostat twice and said it should be good to go. it didnt go. same problem, been back to the shop 3 times and will have to be towed there again tommorow. iv been told air bubble, water pump, serp belt, spark plugs, keep flushing engine, ect so im gonna tell shop to do all that BEFORE they tell me to come get it and i break down on side of road again. the place didnt even test it out and i was stranded. im broke and have no way to and from work or to take my kids to school. SUCKS!

There are 3 places that you can loose coolant.

1. It's leaking to the outside of the engine. You may or may not have visible signs of this. A usual indicator is a distinctive "sweet" smell if you open your hood. If you put a few drops of coolant on a hot exhaust manifold, you can get a sniff of what you are looking for. When my head gasket went, I wouldn't always have a puddle under the car. The hot engine would evaporate it before it reached the ground. I would only get a puddle if I went on a short trip; enough to pressurize the cooling system, but not enough to boil off the coolant as it ran down the side of the engine.

Another possibility is just a leaking hose or hose clamp, but I don't think that is the case here.

2. It's leaking internally. The coolant ends up in the oil. A sign of this is a mayo-like substance in the oil cap or on the PCV valve. Lack of this doesn't necessarily mean you don't have a problem. The only guaranteed way to determin for sure is to have the oil analyized by a lab to detect for antifreeze.

3. It's leaking into the combustion chamber. When it leaks into the combustion chamber, it will either be burned off, or evaporate and exit with the exhaust. If the coolant burns off this way, you will also get a white smoke in your exhaust (not to be confused with normal water condensation). It too will have a sweet smell.

Hopefully you can get this figured out. Keep us informed and don't be afraid to come back with questions.

[ramseysgirl]

update on my chevy venture... guy from shop told me he checked out everything i had info for him to check on and came to conclusion that i need radiator. used and installed for 300.00. thats 1000.00 now and im wandering why he didnt check that out in first place. granted, my intake manifold was shot but couldnt of he had concluded the rad was also shot if i kept having overheating issues?it will be one week and one day later, 4 trips back to garage and 1000.00 and i still dont know if this dude is taking a guess on the rad and it still may not be fixed. ill keep all posted. walking to work in michigan winter SUCKS and car payment is due in the next week