Ive worked on a great plenty of vehicles and im stumped beyone a tree. I have a 2003 dodge neon sxt 2.0 16 valve sohc, weather has been great up till a week ago, unsure if weather has anything to do with it or not but just wanted to add that. Drove the vehicle just fine on a cold monday morning, by thursday it over heats. Here is the facts: new thermostat, new coolant, bled the cooling system but unsure if it worked completely and this is why, thermostat opened just fine, top halp of the radiator is scorching hot, cannot tough it for more than a second tops. Middle is warm to the touch but i was able to keep my hand on it for a very long time. Bottom of the radiator is ice cold. So is the lower radiator hose that leads into the motor. From my prior experiences this should not be ice cold. Maybe on a neon it should? ok more facts. i have no heat what so ever. The upper(in) and lower(out) heater core hoses are ice cold as well. Explains the no heat lol. about a month ago(when it was still warm out) my fiancee who drives the vehicle on a daily baises told me it was getting a little warm. i asked how warm and she couldnt explain it to me. She took it home and let it set. Never really said much else about it except the fact that coolant may have been back flowing into the resavour. She said sometimes she would hear something water on a hot surface. She knows nothing about vehicles and just drives it lol. The other day when she was driving home the car started to ding as if you left the lights on and opened the car door. She does not remember if any warning lights came on the dash or not. I have a buddy who works at a dealorship and he saw rust colored junk in the radiator, he told me that is the radiator deteriorating and needs replaced soon. ANY HELP PLEASE??

 

its sounds like the radiator might be bad, or the water pump. but more like the radiator.

 

Do you think a flush would remedy this problem or should it be replaced?

 

no heat, and overheating, i'd say water pump. how many miles on it, did u do the timing belt yet? how was the coolant when u flushed? it happens that parts of the cooling system fail when it gets cleaned, sounds funny but all that dirt will keep it runnin for a while. it happened to me also, after a harmless flush, a week later my thermostat failed.

 

the car has 29,000 miles on it, and thats rounded up. More like 28,600 ish have not changed the timing belt., the coolant inside was dirty, rust colored, i was told thats due to the radiator deteriorating?? idk for sure.

 

Stop driving the car immediately what ever you do and figure this out. With 29,000 miles I cannot imagine the radiator being completely plugged but anything is possible. It seems to me like the water pump is more likely to be the cause. Even with a majorly plugged radiator there should be some coolant circulation from top to bottom unless the water pump is just flat broke.

 

I told her to stop driving the car. She is driving my truck (my baby) right now and i HATE IT. need the car fixed FAST. She cant drive my other neon because it is manual. So this sucks. Need to figure it out soon/pronto.

 

did the car worked properly after u did the flush? another posibility might be not bleeding the system right and all the way, thou our neons kinda do that themselves. if it did work, if u have the proper fluid level, i'd bet my money on a water pump. it can fail even at 29k. still in waranty? if not, when u'll get it fixed, get a timing belt and tensioner also. if not the tensioner, at least the TB, you don't wanna re-strech the same belt after 29k

 

I don't think ATM, a new timing belt and water pump are needed, especially with the low mileage. That would be the extreme case (I am not saying that cannot be it). Do a proper and thorough coolant flush and refill first. It sounds like it has been neglected and is asking for some love.

 

You were right darthroush. It was the pump. Had it replaced and is good to go. Another question for you tho. Maybe you can assist me. My 2005 2.0 16v sohc 5 speed manual will not idle on cold days. Last saturday and today (worse today) i started the vehicle in the morning, drove to work 45 miles away. parked, when out to my car on my lunch hour to leave and get something to eat the car wont stay running on its own. I have to keep the accelorator pressed slightly for the motor to say running. Last saturday i held the accelorator down for about 2-3 minutes and let off and it ran fine. Today i was out there a good 10 minutes and it still would not idle on its own. seems to do this on the colder days. Any ideas?