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Maybe it's not over heating , the gauge is bad .
Coolant not emptying from the reservoir to the radiator until the car turns off.
That's how it works , doesn't draw coolant while vehicle is running . System under pressure , too high of pressure an it sends coolant to the reservoir, when you shut the vehicle off as it cools down it draws coolant back into the radiator. Your best bet , take it to a qualified GM technician . The man who knows your vehicle best .
So the level keeps dropping in the reservoir? If you have to keep adding coolant to the reservoir, the system is leaking or losing coolant somewhere. Have the system pressure tested to find the leak. Is the reservoir itself leaking? When the level gets low enough, first the reservoir will go dry, then the radiator level will start to drop.
Here's how the reservoir works: coolant is under pressure from the radiator cap seal. As coolant heats up from hot engine, it expands, and pressure forces the radiator cap seal up, coolant is forced into the reservoir-remember the hot mark on the reservoir? When car is shut off, coolant contracts, creating a vacuum in top of radiator. This vacuum works to suction coolant back from reservoir into the radiator, keeping the radiator topped up, and coolant should now be at the lower cold mark on the reservoir. It is a closed, sealed system. The only loss of coolant will be a very small amount of evaporation from the reservoir. If coolant level keeps dropping, there is a leak somewhere.
coolant reservoir slowly going down! freeze plugs-( no leaks)-( no) coolant leaks outside of engine, no white smoke, changed oil today and no coolant! coolant reservoir sits on tire wall.
You either have air in the cooling system that needs to be bled out, or you have a head gasket leaking, allowing air to enter the cooling system from the cylinders. You can purchase a kit from most auto parts stores to check for exhaust gases in your coolant system.
TO CHANGE RADIATOR FIRST YOU TURN OFF RADIO FIRST TO KEEP FROM LOSING RADIO CODE.DISCONNECT NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE.RAISE FRONT OF VECHICLE SUPPORT ON JACK STANDS.REMOVE THE LOWER SPLASH SHIELDS.NOW YOU NEED TO DRAIN THE COOLING SYSTEM.CATCH COOLANT IN A LARGE DRAIN PAN.REUSE COOLANT IF ITS FAIRLY NEW.IF COOLANT VERY OLD CHANGE IT.PUT OLD COOLANT IN SOME EMPTY CONTAINER TAKE TO A GARAGE OR WHOEVER DISPOSE IT.DONT POUR ON GROUND.HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT.MOVE THE AIR INTAKE DUCT PASSES OVER THE TOP RADIATOR HOSE.NOW WHEN ALL COOLANT DRAIN OUT.LOOSEN UPPER AND LOWER RADIATOR HOSE CLAMPS.THEN DETACH THE RADIATOR HOSES FROM THE FITTINGS.IF THEY ARE STUCK GRASP EACH HOSE NEAR THE END WITH A PAIR OF ADJUSTABLE PLIERS AND TWIST IT TO BREAK THE SEAL THEN PULL IT OFF REMOVE SMALL COOLANT SURGE LINES FROM TOP OF RADIATOR THAT GOES TO THE OVER FLOW RESERVOIR..DISCONNECT COOLING FAN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR.THEN REMOVE THE COOLING FAN.REMOVE DISCONNECT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION COOLER LINES GET READY TO CATCH TRANSMISSION FLUID THEN PLUG LINES. NOW UNSCREW THE FOUR BOLTS TWO ON EACH SIDE OF THE RADIATOR THAT ATTACH RADIATOR TO THE AIR CONDITIONER CONDENSOR CAREFULLY TIP TOP OF THE RADIATOR SLIGHTLY TOWARDS THE ENGINE.REMOVE THE UPPER RADIATOR SEAL AND LIFT RADIATOR FROM THE ENGINE.NOW IS THE TIME TO REPLACE THE UPPER AND LOWER RADIATOR HOSES WITH NEW ONES SINCE ALL COOLANT REMOVE I WOULD REPLACE THERMOSTAT AND RADIATOR PRESSURE CAP.NOW WHEN YOU GET READY TO INSTALL NEW RADIATOR USE SHEETS OF CARD BOARD PROTECT RADIATOR FINS AND CORES FROM DAMAGE WHILE SITTING RADIATOR BACK IN PLACE.ONCE YOU GET UPPER AND LOWER HOSES IN PLACE ALSO PLACE SMALL SURGE HOSES FROM THE OVER FLOW RESERVOIR TO RADIATOR NEW THERMOSTAT AND TRANSMISSION COOLER LINES ALL HOOK UP. START POURING ANTIFREEZE IN THE RADIATOR OR OVERFLOW RESERVOIR IF RADIATOR DONT HAVE RADIATOR CAP ON IT.POUR A FULL GALLON ANTIFREEZE AND A HALF MORE IF LONG AS THE COOLANT STAYS ON THE COLD LEVEL MARK ON OVERFLOW RESERVOIR DONT OVER FILL.IF YOU POUR ANTIFREEZE IN RADIATOR KEEP POURING ANTIFREEZE UNTIL LEVEL STOP DROPPING AND LEVEL OFF AT RADIATOR TOP.START ENGINE CHECK FOR LEAKS. LET ENGINE RUN UNTIL IT WARM UP TOP RADIATOR HOSE GET HOT.WATCH COOLANT LEVEL IN RADIATOR OR COOLANT OVERFLOW RESERVOIR WHEN THERMOSTAT OPENS COOLANT LEVEL WILL DROP.ONCE YOU HAVE ENOUGH COOLANT IN THE SYSTEM COOLANT LEVEL WILL STOP DROPPING.THEN YOU READY TO GO.LET ENGINE SIT A LITTLE WHILE CHECK COOLANT LEVEL AGAIN.COOLANT LEVEL IN THE OVER FLOW RESERVOIR SHOULD BE AT HOT MARK FOR HOT ENGINE AND WHEN ENGINE COLD COOLANT LEVEL SHOULD BE AT THE COLD MARK.IF POUR ANTIFREEZE IN THE RADIATOR COOLANT LEVEL SHOULD BE AT TOP OF RADIATOR BELOW PRESSURE CAP.
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Coolant Recovery System
NOTE: When the water thermostat (8575) is closed, there is no flow through the radiator coolant recovery reservoir (8A080).
Trapped air in the cooling system must be removed. A pressurized radiator coolant recovery reservoir system is used which continuously separates the air from the cooling system.
When the water thermostat is open, coolant flows through the small hose from the top of the radiator outlet tank to the radiator coolant recovery reservoir.
The radiator coolant recovery reservoir separates any trapped air from the coolant and replenishes the system through its radiator coolant recovery hose to the water thermostat housing.
The radiator coolant recovery reservoir serves as the location for:
service fill
coolant expansion during warm-up
system pressurization from the pressure relief cap and
air separation during operation
The radiator coolant recovery reservoir is designed to have approximately 0.5-1 liter (0.53-1.06 quarts) of air when cold to allow for coolant expansion.
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