Car Not Running - Help

[plang1975]

I have been having some problems recently with my 2001 PT Cruiser (79K miles) It started with the car overheating when it was hot outside or if I ran the air conditioner. The car was also running really sluggish and jumping. Took it to the dealership and they said it needed a tune up. Gave it the tune up and it took care of the sluggish and jumping problem, but the car was still overheating. Took it to a mechanic and he checked all codes, come back with any error codes. Replaced the thermostat as suggested and could drive it with the air on but only on low and I was still having the same issue of it overheating and now when you turn the car off after driving, you can hear gurgling from the radiator. Needless to say, the car has been sitting since July 23 and I have been driving the Nissan Titan that has been killing me in gas. Any suggestions on what this can be since all the codes are coming back normal on the car? I have heard everthing from "You need to replace the head gasket, waterpump, heater core and timing belt" to "You need a new radiator".... Please help!!

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum.

The gurgling sound is the water boiling. You have air in the system and it needs bleeding to get rid of it, but thats probably not your problem. Most likely one or both speeds of your fan are burnt out. It's a very common problem and will overheat your engine especially when the air-conditioning is used.

If you don't tackle it yourself, it will probably run you a few hundred dollars to buy and replace the fan plus you might want to replace the anti-freeze and bleed the system.

None of the above will set off a code on your computer. The dealer should have known this since it's such a widespread problem with the fan.

[plang1975]

Thanks - I will tackle this and see if this corrects the problem and let you know.

[4SPEED]

a few seconds after you start the engine the computer should cycle the fan low then high. If it does not than you may have a bad fan or relay. I'd try the relay first since it is the cheapest and easiest to get to. It is in the box behind the air filter box

[plang1975]

okay finally tackled the problem with my car and wasn't anything close to what I expected. When the thermostat was replaced, we were never told it needed a special thermostat that has what the mechanic called a giggle valve on it.

Mechanic ran car overheated.
Mechanic replaced thermostat, did air bleed.
Mechanic ran car with air on, drove for 50 miles- NO OVERHEATING!

CAR IS FIXED and only costed me $240.00

[plang1975]

Oh i did forget to mention, he did a block test, and it wasn't the head gasket

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by plang1975

CAR IS FIXED and only costed me $240.00

Glad your happy about it. Good Luck.

[plang1975]

okay - got car back, drove for a couple of days, running great as far as the overheating. Heard noises, thought it was a belt of some sort going bad, took back to mechanic, he replaced the serpentine belt and the power steering belt. took it for a test drive and everything was great, it rained the past two days and I have to drive 45 miles one way to work, noticed yesterday that the car is making like a chirping noise when I step on the gas pedal or if I am stuck sitting in traffic. Any ideas of what this could be now?

[CREWZIN]

The "chirping" sound is from one of the belts that the mechanic replaced. I don't think the PT has a power steering belt, only the serpentine and alternator belt. The alternator belt is tightened by moving the alternator till the belt is tightened. The serpentine belt has it's own tensioner which should be replaced when the belt is replaced if you have high mileage and Chrysler changed the tensioner in 2003 so you had the old style anyway and should have had it replaced regardless of mileage. Mechanics not familiar with the PT probably wouldn't know that, but I thnk someone told me if you buy a "kit" from the dealer instead of buying one belt at a time from an auto parts store, the "kit" contains a new tensioner, belts and anything else that's needed.