i have a 96' cavalier and i it seems like its not getting anywater flow in the radiator

[jay80]

I have a 96' cavalier and the water light keeps coming on. And when i try to fill it up with water the resavoir fills up real quick. It seems like water is not flowing through. I bought a new thermostat. What could be wrong?

 

[cklaubur]

If you are talking about a Chevrolet Cavalier, this post is in the wrong forum. The Cars forum is here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-64.html

A Mod will probably move it shortly, so you shouldn't need to worry about reposting.

As a suggestion, have you "burped" the cooling system to remove any trapped air? Any leaks?

Casey

 

[boosted1g]

Are you filling up the overflow tank or the top of the radiator?
The overflow tank is just for that, overflow, the top of the radiator is where the fluid would need to go.

If you are filling the radiator and not the overflow tank, and you correctly replaced the thermostat then it is most likely a water pump issue; not sure if that car has a serpintine belt (1 big belt for everything) or individual belts for ac/water pump/ power steerin/alternator but check and make sure that the belt is there and is tight, otherwise it is an issue with the pump and you will have to replace it. The pump itself is not expensive but it requires a moderate amount of dissassemly to get to it, due to the time required to get to the pump it is always highly advised to change timing belt/pulleys while in there vs paying all the labor to dissasemble the same area.

 

[aldan]

first off make sure all the trapped air is purged from the system.i usually leave the hose off of the thermostat housing and fill the rad until coolant comes out of the housing.some cars have a bleeder valve,usually on top of the thermostat housing.is your car overheating?is the thermostat in the right way around?its usually marked "towards rad".if you are looking for water flowing in the plastic overflow tank with the engine running it wont happen.even if you leave the rad cap off and run the car it will have to reach operating temp and the thermostat has to open for there to be any visible flow.and even then its not much.post back to my questions and i can probably help.been a mechanic for over 30 years.