Hey everyone..this is my first post! I must say, this site is amazing..

I am driving a '98 Neon with DOHC. I am not very car savvy so I have a few questions for you all! (Questions that I am sure have been answered 1.567 million times in previous posts...). My car has over 330k and is still running strong. Except....

1. Overheating. My car has recently started over heating, normally when I am driving up hills for a bit (I live in BC..lots of hills). When I stop, the gauge cools down to the mid point only after about a minute and when I lift the hood there does not seem to be any extra heat coming off the engine. The radiator was replaced less than a year ago. I also seem to be losing coolant...the reserve tank ran completely dry and ive since had to put about a jug and a half of coolant back in the car in the last month. Is this pointing to a head gasket? There is no evidence of a leak (while parked at least..) and the exhaust is clean. Any ideas?

If the head gasket is the problem..has anyone tried a sealant that can be tossed in the system as a band aid? I am months away from buying a new car for work and dont want to dump $1k+ into a head gasket job. Whats recommended?

2. Vibration. When braking around 100km/h, I get crazy vibration in the steering wheel..the whole car actually. I know the front brakes are less than a year old..but i am not sure how old the rear drums are..could this mean they are warped?

Other than this (and a few rough paint spots..) this car has been the best car I have ever owned.

Sorry for the lengthy post..but I am trying to get as many details out there as I can!

Thanks in advance for the help

 

Check/replace the following items - radiator cap, thermostat, overflow tank and hose to it. 1) The radiator cap gets weak and allows coolent to hiss out when it gets too weak. 2) the plastic overflow tank sometimes gets cracked and leaks the fluid out. When the motor gets hot and the pressure builds up, the radiator cap allows the extra fluid to be pushed into the overflow tank and will suck it back in as it cools and the pressure drops. If the tank is cracked, it will leak out and be lost requiring you to put more in. 3) The hose to the tank sometimes gets cracked/busted/disconnected/ or has a loose connection that will spew fluid when the system is doing what it is supposed to do. 4) The thermostat can stick open/closed when it starts going bad - stuck open is not so bad, unless it is the dead of winter and you want the car to get warm quicker, stuck closed can cause major engine damage. I don't think your thermostat is stuck closed, but if it is old, it is not expensive to replace.

Also, you may need to check your radiator hoses./connectors. As they go bad/get loose, they can slowly leak the fluid out. Get a can of dye to put into your radiator and the next time you need to find out where it is going, you can use a black light to see where it may be leaking.


Never put goop into your car to seal a head gasket problem. No goop of any kind, and I don't care WHAT it promises to do. All goop is bad! Period! I know you don't want to dump a bunch of money into the car, but unless the head gasket is bad, you most likely don't have a head problem. A quick compression check can help you see if there is a problem there. Not expensive.

Most likely you have a bad rotor in the front (warped). It can be caused by excessive braking over time, having to emergency stop to avoid a wreck, bad calipers dragging creating heat and quickly wearing down the pads, bad rubber lines, etc. It can also be worn steering components (bad tie rod ends, warped CV, etc.) You need to have it look by a reputable repair shop. Most places in the US will look at your brakes for free and let you know what is wrong, I don't know about Canada. Rear Drum brakes usually don't cause this kind of a mess, unless they are seized up.