Hi new to the forum and at an impasse. I recently (11days ago) purchased a 2006 Chevy Equinox from an auction. 190xxx miles. When i bought it I checked to coolant or so I thought (not a mechanic or versed in cars in the least) but it had right below the halfway line. I drove it to and from work 14 miles to and fro and sparingly between jobs no issues. Yesterday on the way to work Check engine light came on as well as what i read as the “water light” and coolant light. I immediately pulled over to the nearest parking lot and let it cool off. I topped off the oil and left it for hours. After one more test to see if it was a one off driving less than a mile and it running all the way red. I parked it again and left it over night. This morning I went to get coolant in case this was the issue. I Poured some into the reservoir after verifying there was ample enough in the Radiator and heard a continuous dripping/pouring. The coolant was leaking completely out from the bottom I looked around to see where and to the best of my knowledge it came from one of the connecting hoses but without enough light I could not tell. There was no smoke and prior to yesterday there were no indication lights nor had it ever run hot. Any help would be appreciated
Get it towed to a mechanic and get that hose replaced. And hope that the overheating didn’t cause engine damage.
Get a pressure test on the cooling system to check for other possible problems. I’d also pay the mechanic to do an overall check of the car. Better late than never.
You said you had to add oil. How much?
Which engine is in there?
CSA
ended up adding a bottle. The funnel started to overflow towards the end so i stopped and checked the dip stick and it said full…no milky mix just oil before and after the check
Gas V6 it says
Full… or OVER the full mark? If you pour too quickly the funnel can spill over but the engine internals are never 'full"
Agree with the others, get this to a mechanic right away. You may have bought a car with a blown head gasket at auction. Or not. No way to tell from your description.
The Equinox/Torrent only came with the 3.4L V6.
Tester
Thanks. I just found that, too.
CSA
Mustangman it was over the full mark checked once wiped away dipped again checked again still over mark didn’t seem as if fluids mixed
You don’t want to overfill either. There is a reason why there is a low and high mark on the dipstick. Before you do anything else get the water leak fixed.
The GM 3.4 L V6 was somewhat notorious for leaking coolant into the engine, wasn’t it? I blew one up by hydro-locking it back a few years.
Lots of hits when I googled it…
CSA
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t1827_ds608735
https://chevroletforum.com/forum/equinox-23/2006-3-4l-intake-gasket-56852/
CSA
Don’t you have a pressurized reservoir and no radiator cap? How did you determine the radiator was full?
Checking out that exact vehicle and year on CarComplaints shows two possible issues. Some owners experienced a blown head gasket and many many more had heater core troubles. You have two things to start with.
Hey guys thanks for the insightful tips and help but I found the root cause of the problem. The hose had somehow unclamped and had to come loose from the reservoir tank. It caused my coolant to leak completely out and that was the cause of the heating problem. Checked the water pump checked the headers everything was still working, good thing I pulled over when I did I’m sure I would have caused more damage. Again thanks to everyone who commented I love this page actually
It depends on how the cooling system is configured, but if the radiator has a pressure-setting cap installed, as long as the radiator is full when the engine is cold, the engine shouldn’t overheat absent other more serious problems. Even w/a full radiator the computer might set a dash warning light indicating the coolant is low in the overflow bottle it the bottle were leaking. But that in itself wouldn’t cause the engine to overheat.