Over heating and anti-freeze spilling out of resevoir tank. New thermostat, new water pump, new resvoir tank, radiator 1 year old, new gasket seals. Can not figure out why it is leaking.

The cap that holds pressure inside the cooling system -- whether located on the plastic water reservoir or the radiator -- could be bad, even if it looks OK. Buy a cheap replacement online.
Also look for cracks in the rubber overflow line from the radiator to the reservoir -- they often go bad.
If the main water hoses between the engine and radiator haven't been changed, replace them (even if they look good). Many times, when old hoses are removed, they start leaking when they're replaced because the stiff rubber doesn't seal properly -- and your radiator hoses were probably removed when they changed out the water pump.
Also,
--search online forums for your year/model to see if others have same problem.
--if all else fails, drive the car until the engine is good and hot, support the front of the car with jack stands or wheel ramps (NEVER only with a jack), turn on the engine and let it idle. As pressure builds, if there's a leak you should be able to see it dripping. (Don't confuse, though, with condensate dripping from the a/c condenser, which is normal.)

The whistling noise is steam. The problem is you never attacked the source of the problem. What you need to do now is drain your radiator completely at opening T-spicket at the bottom of the radiator. While you drain with engine off, run your water hose on top, to flush out the radiator. Then run to the Auto store and buy "radiator flush" -- follow directions. After flushing out the radiator flush, close the T-spicket, and fill with NEW anti-freeze. By enough to fill to the very top. Mix the anti-freeze with water per instructions to your environmental weather.
Buy a new radiator cap which could have caused the problem in the first place by not allowing the correct pressure to blow off. Being a 2000 car is a little early for radiator problems, but an incorrect anti-freeze solution causes radiators to fail prematurely.. Better to have more than less because anti-freeze keeps the radiator from corroding.
Your radiator never cooled the water sufficiently, and boiled much of the water out, hence it got so hot that it would melt the water tank. The Thermostat could well have been the cause because it got corroded from the inept ant-freeze mixture. Did you find rust on the Thermostat ? If so it was the case. If not the radiator has lost cooling either by low water or the cores have become plugged up, in that case you will need a new radiator. See if the flush loosens the rust within the cores before buying an expensive radiator. Check the water hoses if leaking cooling. Run the car allow the engine to become hot before accepting that your water hoses are fine. Because heat expand everything, and may not leak until after the expansion.

The expansion tank will be more full when hot. Let it cool down and check it then. The level in the axpansion tank should go lower. If not then you may have a faulty radiator cap.
Also have you checked the cooling fan? Engine driven? With the engine off, spin the blade. Does it spin real freely? Continue to spin for more than a quick second? May have a bad fan clutch. They have fluid inside and the fluid can leak out of the seals after age.

Hello,

There is a few things that could cause the anti freeze to overheat and spill out.

One of the main things that will cause this is a plugged or stuck thermostat. That is most the time the problem if your antifreeze is not flowing. A faulty thermostat is what opens and closes depending on water temperature. In the morning for example, when you car is cold, it normally stays somewhat closed until the engine and water temp gets a certain temperature, somewhere between 160 and 180, and then opens up. In your symptoms described it appears that it is worn out and possibly frozen shut, which of course would cause blockage and no circulation through radiator and cause it to back up and overflow.

Another possibility , is the radiator itself is partially plugged, the small little coils that in a sense zig zag back in forth through your radiator, could be clogged, due to over the years, particles from normal radiator breakdown internally, start deteriorating and get trapped or blocked, which of course will cause restrictions and back up.

Conclusion: The thermostat is not a major thing to replace, it normally has just a couple bolts you pull off of the housing, then there is of course a gasket, and then the thermostat, You clean up the old gasket area, pull out small little old thermostat, put in new one, put new small gasket on, put the housing back on, put the two bolts back on, and tighten down, And down deal. Auto Zone can show you on the computer, the diagram, and even if you have car there somehow, point it out, but otherwise can show you where it is on your car, sell you the gasket and new thermostat, and it is pretty easy to do yourself. If having done, your looking around 80 to 100 bucks most non dealer shops. And if you want to have your radiator flushed in case a small blockage, most shops can do this for around 60 bucks. Point is, I honestly believe it is just a bad thermostat. I hope this helped you, have a great day, Mike, fixya expert.

over heating can be caused by a number of things. your water pump could have died or the gaskets could have went on the water pump spilling your antifreeze every where. in which case you need to replace the water pump and gaskets. when you change the water pump you should replace the thermostat because they usually fail at the same time. your thermostat could have locked closed. in which case replace the thermostat. i recommend getting a fail safe thermostat so when it fails it gets locked open and then the car dose not overheat. your belt could have broke so your water pump wont turn. replace the belt. your radiator or hoses could be clogged with rust and sediments in which case you need to flush your radiator and change the anti freeze. you may be just low on anti freeze... so fill it up and see if it leaks anywhere. your tubes could have came off, be loose, or cracked and leaking; so replace or tighten them. your radiator could have a hole in it or leaking some where.. replace radiator. if you drive on dirt roads a lot the radiator could be full of sand and dirt could be full of mud if taken off road. just rinse the radiator out with soap and water. are your floor mats full of water or antifreeze? you could have a bad heater core. replace heater core. or you can cheat and take the two tubes off the heater core and splice them together. (which will leave you with no heat). your fan may have gone out so it wont cool the radiator. the last thing i can think of is very low or no oil in the motor. top off the oil.

mcginitygimp,

The thermostat can be traced by following the top (usually) radiator hose to the block. On some engines it is located by tracing the bottom radiator hose. There will be the thermostat housing unit (top most part is rounded between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball. There will be either two or three bolts. Here are the steps for removal and installation.

1. Drain radiator. (if you cannot do this, take the cap off to release any pressure and allow for draining; i.e. will explain further) Check both radiator hoses (replacing is a good idea since draining the radiator is necessary (and if this is a possible for you to do, but not necessarily a must in the event you cannot.

2. After draining radiator (have new fluid and filtered (best, not necessary) water (about 3-4 gallons{sometimes more}, available for refill), remove the hose connected to the housing (thermo). Sometimes this is not possible and you may need to unbolt housing first (as well as remove any parts that may be in the way). Once hose (and/or housing) is off, clean off old gasket on both the housing and the block (housing bolts up to) and remove the old thermostat. Be sure the new thermostat is inserted correctly (most go in one way so this isn't usually an issue).

3. Once the housing and block area are clean, put the new thermostat and gasket in (if one did not come with the thermostat, a "gasket sheet" will need to be purchased). It is a good idea to use gasket sealer to hold the gasket in place on either the block (best) or the housing. Make sure both sides are clean and free of any high areas such as bumps as these can cause leaks. Also, when cleaning (use a straight razor blade if availble or a flat head screwdriver) make sure not to score or gouge the housing or block as they are aluminum. A straight raiser (new) is necessary, and sometimes two are necessary as they dull quicly during this process, depending on how badly the gasket sticks to the surfaces.

4. Once the thermostat and gasket are in place, bolt the housing back to the block and put the hose (clamp) back in place. Add 1 gallon of 50/50 pre-diluted anti-freeze (or recommended amount per manual/repair manual); then add water until radiator is full and level does not go down. Let the thermostat sit for about an hour (for drying and sealing purposes); then, with the radiator cap off, start the engine and let the water begin to circulate (may take 4-5 minutes or longer) until engine is at operating temperature (watch temp gauge). Once this point is reached, watch the water level and add water as needed until full. Also check and make sure the "overflow" resevoir is full (not overfilled) with coolent fluid (anti-freeze only; water if no coolent is available); you can mix part of the gallan of antifreeze with water to make this happen if need be.

5. Let engine idle and watch for leakes around thermostat area. Sometimes you will see small bubbles or very small amounts of water at gasket area. This is normal if only very small amouts are seen. If none are seen then you're in good shape. Do not drive the car until no leaks are visible, and you are confident that there are no leaks at the thermostat area, and while car is idling, watch the temperature gauge. If it reads normal and is steady, good. If it starts to go up again, turn on the heater and wait only about 2 minutes to see if it goes down, but no longer. It may go up while the gasket is sealing. If it is normal still after 2 minutes, let the car idle for about 10-15 minutes while the water continuously circulates. DO NOT REV THE ENGINE.

6. Once the temp gauge reads normal after this amount of time, take the car for a short drive, keeping an eye on the temp gauge. Start small by circling the block a couple of times (2-3) and then slowly venture out further.

7. After returning home, take a look unde the hood and under the car and look to see if you see any leakage.

6. If you were requried to purchase a "gasket sheet", make sure the gasket is cut for the entire area of the housing (bolts and all) so that the entire unit is sealed.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Cordially,

carsandcomps,

Guru, Premium Expert @ Fixya.com

Jennipherbrr,

1. Make sure the car is cold. Remove the radiator cap (press & turn about 1/4 turn to remove pressure in the system) Once the pressure is bled off you can remove cap and leave it rest on the filler opening.

2. Find the petcock on the radiator (the little valve attached to the radiator. You have to open/turn clockwise to drain the anti-freeze. Drain anti freeze below thermostat housing. About 1/2 to 1 gallon.

3. Have a catch basin for the anti freeze under the car. Remove upper radiator hose from radiator and thermostat housing.

4. Remove thermostat housing from engine block (usually two or three bolts in the thermostat housing). Scrap off ALL old gasket material from engine block. Double check and make sure all gasket material is removed from surface. If not the thermostat housing will leak.

5. Install new gasket with some high temp silicone. Place a couple of dabs on the thermostat housing and gasket (the silicone is used to keep the gasket in place) *MAKE SURE YOU INSTALL the thermostat the same way you took it out. Don't over tighten the thermostat housing bolts.

6. Remove the radiator cap and replace the anti freeze you removed (make sure the anti freeze is clean). Fill the radiator to the top of the filler neck and replace the radiator cap (push and turn the radiator cap to the right- like a pill bottle). Start the car and make sure the temperture guage goes up. The guage pointer should be in the middle of the guage.

7. Check the radiator reservoir for proper anti freeze level. DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN THE CAR IS HOT!!! THE ANTI FREEZE IS HOT AND WILL BURN YOU.

Hope this helps

check your fan clutch. chances are its worn out not allowing for sufficient air to be pulled through the core of the radiator.

On the engine side of the top radiator hose is where you will find the thermostat housing, take it off, clean off all the old gasket material, pull out the old thermostat, clean off any gasket material there, put in the new one, put on a new gasket (sometimes one would use red permatex gasket sealer to make sure it seals right) bolt it all back together put the top hose back on, fill with a 50/50 mix of anti freeze and water and you should be good to go.

Does the radiator fan operate properly? The radiator fluid level (checked when the engine is cold) must be 'at the cap' with the reserve tank about half-full. Blow out the radiator core with compressed air (from the engine side) to clean it of bugs and other debris. Does the anti-freeze look green or rust brown? If rust colored, the entire cooling system needs to be drained, cleaned with system cleaner, and refilled again with a 50/50 fresh mixture of anti-freeze and water. If combustion gases are leaking into the cooling system through a bad gasket or warped cylinder head, that will cause overheating. Check the radiator cap for condition of it's seal. Occasionally, the water pump impeller will begin slipping on it's drive shaft causing limited water flow through the system. That is checked by reducing the level of fluid in the radiator to just above the core and temporarily removing the thermostat. You will observe water moving rapidly if the pump is working.