1996 Chevrolet Cavalier Logo
Posted on Feb 28, 2009
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Coolant light keeps coming back on

I have a '96 Chevy Cavalier, and 2 days ago the coolant light flickered. I added coolant yesterday morning and everything went well, but then on the way to work today the light flickered again. Then on the way home the light stayed on most of the way. I see no leaks, so why might the light be coming back on? Also, when I pulled up into my driveway this evening and put my car in park, I heard a ''thump, thump, thump'' noise. Are these two things related?

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Yes these issues could be related ... if you have a bad thermostat the steam will thump inside the plastic coolante tank. also if you do not bleed the cooling system it will cause the same issue. there is usually a bleeder screw on the tube coming up from the water pump.

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  • Posted on Feb 28, 2009
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More than likely these two are not related. You may have a bad thermostat or if applicable there's a sensor on the cylinder head that will regulate temperature that might need to be changed out (this is primarily located near the radiator fluid tube). As far as the thump thump thump noise i would need more detail to figure that out.

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