Alright....here goes. I don't think I've ever been so frustrated with anything in my life! ARGH!
I have a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire SE. 2.2L. The current milage is 106K. The only three major problems that I had ever encountered were replacing the water pump at about 70K, replacing the alternator at 90K, and rebuilding the transmission at 100K. Other than that...has always run great.
About a month ago, my car began to run hot. I first had it checked out at a local, well-trusted radiator shop to check for anything obvious. Turns out, it was low on coolant. The filled the coolant up to normal levels, and the car ran fine for about a week. Soon after, the temp would go up to the red zone, then come back down. I watched my coolant level for a few days, and yes, it was again running low. Also, I checked for otehr things at the advice of friends, like checking the oil to see if any coolant or water had leaked into it, and nothing had...the oil was fine. There was also no noticable smoke or liquid coming from my exhaust. Both signs of a blown head gasket, right?
On Sunday of that week, my car cut off on me, I assume from over-heating. It started back up after about 5 minutes of waiting. The enxt day, I took the car to a rapair shop, and ironically, it cuts off as I'm pulling in. Two days later, they call to tell me I had a blown head gasket. Costs for the repair...approx. $700.
I spoke with a family friend who claims to be a master mechanic. He found a replacement engine for me with 30K miles on it for $450. That weekend, the two of us replaced the engine. After about 16 hours of work, we get the engines changed out and everything back together. During this, we replaced the water pump, heater and radiator hoses, and thermostat. Also filled it up with new coolant. Ten minutes after cranking the car up, it starts to over-heat. The next day, we flush out the radiator and replace the temp. sensor. Afterwards, the car runs great....let sit for about an hour...no over-heating. The car runs perfectly....for 5 days.
So up to this point, the only thing that hadn't been fully replaced was the radiator. I bought a new radiator ($164) and had it put in ($120). They told me it was still running hot. Low and behold, they were right. Their words were "Looks like you've got a blown head gasket."
ARGH!!!!!!!
Last night, on the way home from a very quick trip, the temp. gauge spiked, and suddenly dropped, almost as if the car had been cut off (but it was still running). Then, the check engine light came on. Mind you, this is the first time I'd ever seen the check engine light come on since the initial water pump outage.
I'm no car expert...I don't claim to be although changing engines will make you learn a thing or two. Now I'm really frustrated. I'm going to take the car to the dealer to have them look at and/or fix the problem once and for all. I should have had the original problem I was told, the blown head gasket, fixed by the pros. At least then they'd be responsible for anything that didn't get fixed.
Can anyone please offer me any advice as to what could still be causing my over-heating???? Today, for example, not even 5 minutes into driving my car, and it starts to run hot. I did notice, however, that when I am idle, the temp goes DOWN. My coolant level is fine, and so is my oil. No signs of head gasket problems, unless I don't know what to really look for.
Any advice what so ever would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks! Trey