Engine overheating Please help!!!!

[lismarmis]

About 2 weeks ago my car overheated.. took off overflow cap and antifreeze looked like golden milk..
Had it towed to a repair shop.. $603... they replace 2 radiator hoses. and engine plug, new thermostat and did a coolant flush.
Driving a few days later themostat went back up to high but then dropped quickly..
Fluid again looks milky gold orange.... shop said it turns that color when it gets hot. and it was just some residual air still in which caused the temp to rise..
Well it has done the overheating crap 2 more times.. It boils out of my overflow tank. I let it burp the other day and added more coolant..
Not fun anymore driving home last night and its freezing here in NY... it started going up in temp again. I pulled over let it cool and it dropped back down to the normal position drove home fine..
Is this just air left in my system?? I at my wits end!!

Also I have very little air blowing out of my interior vents (it will come out of the floor vent) garage said its just a vaume leak on diagnostic I get code 115!! Im not really happy with this garage the AAA recommended.. and the $600 repair broke my bank

Please help

[the_intimidator_02]

The air flow out the panel vents could be a vacuum problem or something broke on the vacuum accuator.

What year is the car and engine? What color was the color of the coolant when it was freshly poured in? Engine coolant shouldn't turn "milky orange" jest because it's hot. Was there any issues with heat from the HVAC? Was there any contaminants in the original coolant prior to teh flushes? I'm wondering about the impellers on the water pump possibly being erroded away causing poor coolant circulation.

[Jeff K]

As noted above, we need to know the engine you have, and the year of the car. If its a 96-99 Vulcan, I would suspect the water pump impeller has corroded its vanes off and is not pumping much coolant, as also noted above.

What brand thermostat was used? I have seen cheapo ones bad out of the box several times. Use ONLY a Motorcraft thermostat.

[Lgbpop]

Milky orange? I suspect the coolant and engine oil are mixing. This, happening after an engine overheat, doesn't sound good. Or, you had the wrong coolant in the system to start with (orange, not green) and air is aerating into it. At the very least that garage is guilty of hiring incompetents. They need to have checked your coolant (water) pump as noted, and a few other things as well. I'd hold their feet to the fire and have them give you your money's worth.

[lismarmis]

Originally Posted by the_intimidator_02

The air flow out the panel vents could be a vacuum problem or something broke on the vacuum accuator.

What year is the car and engine? What color was the color of the coolant when it was freshly poured in? Engine coolant shouldn't turn "milky orange" jest because it's hot. Was there any issues with heat from the HVAC? Was there any contaminants in the original coolant prior to teh flushes? I'm wondering about the impellers on the water pump possibly being erroded away causing poor coolant circulation.

Im sorry its a 2002 mercury sable ls.. Im not sure what color coolant the mechanic put in.. When I topped it off the other day I used green coolant its what I had on hand.. Im not sure what replacement thermostat they used either

After I burped it the other day it ran fine

Then last night same problem guage went up I turned it off let it sit for a while.. it went back to normal.. I will reburp it again today!

I dont have heat blowing out of my upper vents just the floor on the passenger side..

When It first overheated it was also a milky golden color..

oil on my dipstick looks normal..

[lismarmis]

Originally Posted by Lgbpop

Milky orange? I suspect the coolant and engine oil are mixing. This, happening after an engine overheat, doesn't sound good. Or, you had the wrong coolant in the system to start with (orange, not green) and air is aerating into it. At the very least that garage is guilty of hiring incompetents. They need to have checked your coolant (water) pump as noted, and a few other things as well. I'd hold their feet to the fire and have them give you your money's worth.

I will hold their feet to the fire esp since it cost me $600!! Im just a little chicken to drive down there its an hour from my house..

what color coolant is supposed to go into it? I checked the dipstick and oil seems ok.. Also doesnt seem to have any oil lose.. Im wondering if my previous mechanic used orange now too SMH... would air working out after a flush cause it to aireate and change like this and also cause the temp flucuation??

[lismarmis]

I might just need to burp the car again.. I'll do that before heading over to my local mechanic that I use and trust.. I only used the other ones because I was 50 miles away from home in the rain when it happened

"Burping" the cooling system allows trapped pockets of air to escape: Air pockets can cause overheating because there will not be enough coolant in the cooling system, even if the radiator and coolant reservoir look full.

Read more: How to Burp Your Car's Cooling System | eHow.com How to Burp Your Car's Cooling System | eHow.com

[Bull Geek]

Do you have the 3.0L vin 'u' motor or the 3.0L 24Valve vin 's' motor in your car? Check the 8th digit of the vin on the dash.

[lismarmis]

Originally Posted by Bull Geek

Do you have the 3.0L vin 'u' motor or the 3.0L 24Valve vin 's' motor in your car? Check the 8th digit of the vin on the dash.

My vin is "S"

[lismarmis]

well I went and checked coolant just now overflow was down again.. I added more left off the cap let it warm up and it was air bubbling over then burped.. seems to be staying in the normal range.

when I turned it off though we heard also a click noise would that be the themostat closing or opening??? SMH