Need your help with my 1989 Cavalier BADILY!

I have no idea what might be wrong with this car. I'll tell you what it's doing, and hopefully someone can offer some suggestions. Well, first, the water pump broke. I stupidly never fixed it and just kept re-filling it every time I drove it for about 4 months. Well, finally one night, I was driving it to work, and it started to shake REALLY bad. It never stalled, but just shook. Mainly when it was idling at a light or when it was in park. Well, I looked at the water level again, and it was empty by the time that I got off work. SO, I refilled it. It drank and drank and drank the coolant, but continuted to shake. Then I started to notice some steaming coming from the engine. I was thinking that I just spilt some coolant on it, but when I put some in the car when it was warm a few days later, it did it again. Now, the car has been sitting for about 6 months. It starts, but it still is shaking. And when I go to put the coolant in it, it gets worse. Then when I try to put it into drive, it stalls and all the lights come on except the "temp" light. The head gaskets went a year before this, and it doesn't seem to be doing all the same things that it was then...so I dont' think that's what it is.

THANKYOU for taking the time to read this. ANY suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated!

Reply to
lil_leo
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I smell head gasket. Then i smell junk yard......

BOB

Reply to
BOB URZ

Reply to
Shep

Fix it NOW. The problem with leaking pumps is that they eventually blow the main seal and the fan clutch assembly is often part of it, so the whole thing starts leaking like a seive. When the bearings do fail, it will send that fan most likely halfway through the radiator.

Read: really horrendous mess and also quite likely engine damage from running it with no cooling system.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

finally one

coolant on

radiator.

Joe, please check your watch. A few decades went by. A Cavalier water pump is facing east. Ain't no fan clutch on an electric fan. Still, always good to fix a water leak.

Reply to
Al Bundy

Except in this case. From his description, fixing this one would likely cost more than the car is worth. H

Reply to
Hairy

Ah. well, then, it's likely repeating itself. At least the fan won't do silly things, but a siezed pump will lead to a quickly melted engine. Just hope that it doesn't sieze at freeway speeds and throw a rod out the rear window(seen pictures of that sort of thing happening - it's bad when engines die at 3-4000rpm)

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Reply to
jgalianojr

Mine overheated badly enough that the valve guide dropped out of the head holding the intake valve open, causing it to have zero compression on one cylinder while disrupting the MAP (vacuum), causing the engine to shake violently. Removed both heads to find several of the other valve guides ready to drop similarly, replaced both heads and the entire bill came to around $700, and that's doing all the work myself. But this was on a pristine '88 Z-24 five-speed ragtop which was worth putting some money into. Don't know what kind of shape yours is in. My whole problem would've been prevented had I been responsible enough to fix the expansion plug that I KNEW had a "slow leak", before it suddenly turned into a "fast dump" 50 miles from home one night...70 cents vs.700 dollars. To not fix a coolant leak immediately is really asking for trouble. Big trouble. Might-just-end-up-junking-the-car trouble.

Reply to
James Goforth

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