I need a little help

[MistikWitch]

I have a 2007 PT and there are a few things going wrong. First when it gets really cold the car wont start, it tries to turn over but just wont catch. I put that gas line antifreeze in every time I fill up on gas. I also have taken my battery to get checked and its good. So its not my battery. And getting a jump dont work.
Second, a lot recently after driving it when I turn it off it has a bubbling or gurgling sound and steam comes out from under the hood. I have checked the fluids and all is full. Its also not registering that it is over heating but the gauge is working. Can someone please give me some advice as to what the problem is.

[Handy_Cruiser]

First welcome to the forum.

I am going to assume that what you are describing is that the engine turns over fine when trying to start. But the engine just won't start when cold. And after running the car for while and shutting it off, you have bubbling in the radiator even though the coolant is relatively cool.

If me, I would perform a compression check. I would also look for signs of coolant in the cylinders while performing the check.

If the car overheated in the past and formed a small head gasket leak, you could end up with low compression on one or more cylinders. And it may allow one or more cylinders to have coolant leak into them while the engine is not running. This might cause the hard starting. It might also allow compression gas to escape into the cooling system during operation and create hot spots and over-pressurized bubbling even when the engine seems cool and/or right after the engine has been shut off.

[ptcruisersteve]

I am suggesting you might have two problems.

The first suggested problem is your battery may not be performing properly. When the weather is cold charge the battery for an hour with a battery charger and see if it starts. If it does there is a good chance your battery is bad.

The second suggestion is making sure you don't have air in the coolant system. I would do a engine coolant pressure test to see if the coolant is leaking somewhere else allowing air in the coolant system. Sometimes the hose from the radiator cap to the overflow tank goes bad and allows air to into the coolant system. Also check the radiator cap. After you drive your PT Cruiser and you let the engine cool off take the radiator cap off and see if your coolant is filled to the top.

[WrenchnIswhatIdo]

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[JoeX]

I recently had to replace my 06 radiator after seeing steam coming from under the hood.. Not a bad leak as it was the top crimped seam of the radiator, so There was no dripping antiFreeze..
Your hard starting, if its not the low charge on the battery you may need a new set of spark plugs.

[wb2kki]

As far as not starting if you can come up with a scanner check the eng temp with the outside temp. If you sender is bad and reading 70 when it's 20 the car won't start .

As far as the overheat better get that checked right away. Can be anything but if you do nothing a simple problem will quickly turn into a major one.

Good luck
Mike

[robadat]

Originally Posted by ptcruisersteve

I am suggesting you might have two problems.

The first suggested problem is your battery may not be performing properly. When the weather is cold charge the battery for an hour with a battery charger and see if it starts. If it does there is a good chance your battery is bad.

The second suggestion is making sure you don't have air in the coolant system. I would do a engine coolant pressure test to see if the coolant is leaking somewhere else allowing air in the coolant system. Sometimes the hose from the radiator cap to the overflow tank goes bad and allows air to into the coolant system. Also check the radiator cap. After you drive your PT Cruiser and you let the engine cool off take the radiator cap off and see if your coolant is filled to the top.

In addition, I would clean the terminals on the battery and check terminals on starter for corrosion.
As to the coolant problem, I'd also check for a leak by the bottom of the thermostat housing. When that gasket goes bad, it will also allow air into the system as the engine cools down. Might be a good idea to pop the hood when it is steaming to see if a leak point can be spotted, would help to know what area the steam is escaping from.