2022 Tahoe 5.3 - overheating dead on road

[2022_z71]

Hey guys. In a bad bind and need some help.

Currently I have been towed but am stranded in Yellowstone national park

Here is what happened...

Got a warning the engine was overheating and pulled over. The coolant reservoir was steaming and was empty. I checked this before our trip and it was fine.

I added 32 oz of water and started the car, I watched the fluid drain and assume I had a leak.

Then 1 mile down the road I open the hood again and watched the entire reservoir refill from the bottom up bubbling like hell.

I have no interior heat either.

I don't know what to think between water pump or thermostat.


Any advice here would be greatly appreciated as we are currently stranded on vacation '(

 

[wjburken]

Hey guys. In a bad bind and need some help.

Currently I have been towed but am stranded in Yellowstone national park

Here is what happened...

Got a warning the engine was overheating and pulled over. The coolant reservoir was steaming and was empty. I checked this before our trip and it was fine.

I added 32 oz of water and started the car, I watched the fluid drain and assume I had a leak.

Then 1 mile down the road I open the hood again and watched the entire reservoir refill from the bottom up bubbling like hell.

I have no interior heat either.

I don't know what to think between water pump or thermostat.


Any advice here would be greatly appreciated as we are currently stranded on vacation '(

If the motor is running, are you getting white smoke out the exhaust? If the reservoir is full, are you getting bubbles while it’s running? If you take the oil cap off does it smell like coolant?

Did you notice if the temp went up all of a sudden or was it gradual?

Any signs of a leak under the vehicle after you put more water in the reservoir?

 

[wjburken]

@OR VietVet …. Any thoughts?

 

[2022_z71]

If the motor is running, are you getting white smoke out the exhaust? If the reservoir is full, are you getting bubbles while it’s running? If you take the oil cap off does it smell like coolant?

Did you notice if the temp went up all of a sudden or was it gradual?

Any signs of a leak under the vehicle after you put more water in the reservoir?

When I started it up again I noticed white smoke from the exhaust.

When running after a while it was bubbling like hell inside the coolant reservoir.

I can go out to the parking lot now and check the oil cap

The temp rapidly spiked up was definitely not gradual

No signs of obvious leakage I do not think there is a leak, it's also pouring rain so hard to say 100%

 

[2022_z71]

I also just went out and felt the water pump and it's not lose or anything like that

 

[wjburken]

When I started it up again I noticed white smoke from the exhaust.

When running after a while it was bubbling like hell inside the coolant reservoir.

I can go out to the parking lot now and check the oil cap

The temp rapidly spiked up was definitely not gradual

No signs of obvious leakage I do not think there is a leak, it's also pouring rain so hard to say 100%

I don’t mean to cause panic, my gut, sitting 1500 miles away, thinks it sounds more like a head gasket and not a water pump or thermostat, but again, I’m 1500 miles away. The white smoke is indicative of burning coolant. The bubbling in the tank can be the piston pushing air into the coolant line or just the coolant boiling.

I’m hoping others will chime in with their thoughts as I could be off target here.

 

[OR VietVet]

I don’t mean to cause panic, my gut, sitting 1500 miles away, thinks it sounds more like a head gasket and not a water pump or thermostat, but again, I’m 1500 miles away. The white smoke is indicative of burning coolant. The bubbling in the tank can be the piston pushing air into the coolant line or just the coolant boiling.

I’m hoping others will chime in with their thoughts as I could be off target here.

I just got back from buying a couple of flex head 1/2" drive ratchets and saw this. I have a thread in the garage section about the ratchets. Anyway:

Sure sounds like head gaskets for sure and the bubbling back in the reservoir and refilling sure sounds like compression pushing it back thru any weak spot it can. How did it run when you had it running and watched the reservoir? Be very very careful. If you are getting that fluid in the cylinder you could hydro-lock while cranking engine and bust the nose out of the starter. Also, it is very very rare for head gaskets to just go by themselves. Most of the time, something else caused an overheat and the engine gets hot enough that it damages the head gaskets. What I am saying is, if you are doing head gaskets, be very very aware that in all likelihood you have something else to fix that caused the head gasket problem and if you disregard the warning, you may damage the new head gaskets. When you got "the warning" where was the gauge at? If was buried, it was heating up before then and the damage was happening then and not all of a sudden. It is very rare that I don't check my gauges at least every 5 minutes and my mirrors even quicker. When you stop and think about it, 5 minutes is a long time. 12 times an hour. When you do get the diagnosis done, plan on head gaskets, surface heads......hell, I just noticed that this is a 2022.

It is under warranty, right? Get a very detailed diagnosis that is very detailed in the documentation. You want to document WHY it overheated. Get a nice free rental on the General.

 

[2022_z71]

Really appreciate you guys.

Right now just trying to figure out next steps. Vacation is basically shot. I am 2k miles from home and all 3 Chevy dealers I called, 2 in Bozeman and 1 in jackson all said they had no availability at all until mid July or August.

I guess I have to call GM proper and beg??

 

[OR VietVet]

Really appreciate you guys.

Right now just trying to figure out next steps. Vacation is basically shot. I am 2k miles from home and all 3 Chevy dealers I called, 2 in Bozeman and 1 in jackson all said they had no availability at all until mid July or August.

I guess I have to call GM proper and beg??

Yes, first-beg, next-appeal to someone's common sense. Talk to a general manager. That is their job. You want a loaned vehicle for the rest of your vacation and they can pay to fly you back to pick up the vehicle when done. There availability of vehicles is not your problem. They can get you a vehicle at Enterprise or something.

I can absolutely guarantee you that if it was me, they would get me a vehicle to get me out of their shop. I am old, I don't care. I would make their life a living hell.

Think, Michael Douglas in "Falling Down".

 

[Geotrash]

Really appreciate you guys.

Right now just trying to figure out next steps. Vacation is basically shot. I am 2k miles from home and all 3 Chevy dealers I called, 2 in Bozeman and 1 in jackson all said they had no availability at all until mid July or August.

I guess I have to call GM proper and beg??

Thinking about you. What's the latest? Were you able to get replacement transportation and a place to have your rig fixed?

Bummer about your Yellowstone trip. It's my favorite place on earth. Hopefully it won't mean you need to scrap the whole trip. If it helps, there is an Avis and I believe also a Hertz at the West Yellowstone airport. I'd be tempted to catch one of the buses out to West Yellowstone and leave the truck on the side of the road for Chevy to come and get. If you have to pick a dealer and might get stuck somewhere for a little while, Cody has a lot to see and do.