2005 GMC Sierra 5.3 liter Vortec with 130K miles.
So I decided to replace my leaking water pump myself. I bought a Gates water pump with a new thermostat already attached. I couldnt find a drain plug at the bottom of the radiator so I just disconnected
the lowest hose (which is the one on the passenger side of radiator) and drained it. Also, I disconnected the two heater core hoses and took off the old water pump alot of the rest of coolant came out. I put everything back together and refilled with dex-cool 50-50 through the overflow tank. I put about 2 gallons in which I thought the capacity is about double. I drove around and at first looked steady at about half on the temp gauge but then gradually went all the way to hot. My dash will say engine coolant hot. After letting it cool, I tried to put more in but it only took about a 1 1/2 cups.
I cant drive around for more than a mile or 2 before the gauge goes to extreme hot. I tried setting the cabin temp to hot to allow the coolant in through the heater core. What am I missing? Is there still air in the system? How do I get it out? Is the thermostat working? Is it not letting the coolant through? Is something else stuck in my system and not letting the coolant through? Videos online make it look so simple. Just replace bad water pump, rehook everything, and refill truck with coolant. I've done that but my truck overheats. I've looked around carefully and nothing is leaking. Any help or tips is appreciated!
So I decided to replace my leaking water pump myself. I bought a Gates water pump with a new thermostat already attached. I couldnt find a drain plug at the bottom of the radiator so I just disconnected
the lowest hose (which is the one on the passenger side of radiator) and drained it. Also, I disconnected the two heater core hoses and took off the old water pump alot of the rest of coolant came out. I put everything back together and refilled with dex-cool 50-50 through the overflow tank. I put about 2 gallons in which I thought the capacity is about double. I drove around and at first looked steady at about half on the temp gauge but then gradually went all the way to hot. My dash will say engine coolant hot. After letting it cool, I tried to put more in but it only took about a 1 1/2 cups.
I cant drive around for more than a mile or 2 before the gauge goes to extreme hot. I tried setting the cabin temp to hot to allow the coolant in through the heater core. What am I missing? Is there still air in the system? How do I get it out? Is the thermostat working? Is it not letting the coolant through? Is something else stuck in my system and not letting the coolant through? Videos online make it look so simple. Just replace bad water pump, rehook everything, and refill truck with coolant. I've done that but my truck overheats. I've looked around carefully and nothing is leaking. Any help or tips is appreciated!
