Aveo 2011 coolant boils and spell out of the reservoir

[amrgym]

All,

I have 2011 Chevy Aveo LT LXV. Replaced the Timing belt, water pump, tensioner and idler (on the passenger side)
On the Driver side, replaced the thermostat housing and thermostat, ordered the original parts that they are coming together. Filled it with coolant to the indicated mark.
Also, replaced the head cover gasket and spark plugs since the old spark plugs had some oil around two of them.

Now, started the car and it worked great for 20 mins, when it got to the mid temp gauge like normal, noticed there was a leak. I thought it was coming from the thermostat but it turned out that the coolant is coming out of the reservoir cap even when it is closed!!!!

The car was not overheating before the repairs and it is not the head gasket for sure. The timing belt was due and the thermostat housing was cracked so it was a good time to change before it gets worse.

Since I have done several repairs at the same time, I am really lost, where should I start from? Any ideas on the procedures on how to refill the radiator? What I did is to fill the reservoir, turn the car on and put the heat fan on low, the keep filling the reservoir until the mark! what did I do wrong?

No leak from all the parts that were installed! I would appreciate any inputs since I am scratching my head now and don't know where to start from!

[Deano]

All,

I have 2011 Chevy Aveo LT LXV. Replaced the Timing belt, water pump, tensioner and idler (on the passenger side)
On the Driver side, replaced the thermostat housing and thermostat, ordered the original parts that they are coming together. Filled it with coolant to the indicated mark.
Also, replaced the head cover gasket and spark plugs since the old spark plugs had some oil around two of them.

Now, started the car and it worked great for 20 mins, when it got to the mid temp gauge like normal, noticed there was a leak. I thought it was coming from the thermostat but it turned out that the coolant is coming out of the reservoir cap even when it is closed!!!!

The car was not overheating before the repairs and it is not the head gasket for sure. The timing belt was due and the thermostat housing was cracked so it was a good time to change before it gets worse.

Since I have done several repairs at the same time, I am really lost, where should I start from? Any ideas on the procedures on how to refill the radiator? What I did is to fill the reservoir, turn the car on and put the heat fan on low, the keep filling the reservoir until the mark! what did I do wrong?

No leak from all the parts that were installed! I would appreciate any inputs since I am scratching my head now and don't know where to start from!

Hi all,

Sounds to me that the cooling system is purging itself of air, which will cause the coolant recovery tank to spew coolant. Sounds normal to me if the tank was overfilled. I would just let it cool down with the reservoir cap on, and continue the refill procedures, bringing the engine up to temperature, and add coolant as necessary. And repeat.

Deano

[Biggunzilla]

Is it truly boiling out, or is it just bubbling out? Big difference. Try jacking up the driver side of the car at the front as close to the door as possible. This will help get out more of the air pockets that may be lodged in the coolant system or block. It can take some time to get all the air pockets out of the system.

[amrgym]

Is it truly boiling out, or is it just bubbling out? Big difference. Try jacking up the driver side of the car at the front as close to the door as possible. This will help get out more of the air pockets that may be lodged in the coolant system or block. It can take some time to get all the air pockets out of the system.

It is hard to tell but sounds like it is boiling from the overheat, if it is not too bad I think it is just bubbling. The end result is coolant coming out of the reservoir even if the cap is on. I will try that and see how it goes. Thanks for your inputs

[amrgym]

Solved! The refill was redone using a vacuum and car stopped overheating.