I got a 2000 cavalier 2.2 l engine. Just put a new waterpump on and filled it with coolant. Now it overheated bad...like to the red line. Had a hard time starting it back up after letting it sit to cool. No power in low rpms but picks up in mid to high rpms. Sometimes makes a knocking sound at idle. Didn't do any of this until I put a new waterpump on.

Waterpump

Best Answer:you can easily do it yourself within 2 hours if your new to working on cars. My mark 8 has the same engine and it took me less than an hour.Heres how.

1: put a pan under the engine to catch the coolant.
2: take off the belt - use a 3/8 in drive wrench in the tensioner(theres a square spot for it to slide in)
3:line up the holes in the pulley with the waterpump and undo the bolts(i think they were 13mm)
4:take out the waterpump and the coolant will flow out the hole. (clean the hole out with a scrub sponge)
5: take pulley off (its a little bit tough so try and get a new waterpump with it already on)
6: put new waterpump in and reverse the rest of the steps
7:fill with coolant- burp the system afterwards(theres a crossover pipe running front to back in between the heads. Just unscrew until you see coolant coming out)

Your done! less than an hour and you saved a couple hundred as stealerships and garages will over charge you as its a lincoln.

Try rockauto.com for cheap parts.

A true overheat is when the coolant is bubbling back into the coolant recovery tank. #1 radiator cap not holding pressure #2 stuck thermostat #3 restricted air flow #4 bad fan clutch #5 bad waterpump #6 restricted water flow in radiator #7 blown head gaskets this is the end results to a overheated engine .

It's probably the waterpump, it's right where you describe. They are pretty cheap and easy to do so even if you have a shop do it, it should not cost that much. Have it repaired before the engine is damaged from over-heating.

Check for voltage with test light at fan harness, wait till engine temp. is just above 1/2 way point, if you have voltage, bad fan assembly, not that hard to replace.

Accoriding to the Haynes manual for your vehicle there a possiblily of several grips.
ENGINE HARD TO START WHEN WARM: 1. airfilter clogged, 2. fuel not reaching fuel injection system, 3. corroded battery connections, especially ground.
OVERHEATING: 1, insufficent cooland in system, 2. waterpump drivebelt defective or out of adjustment, 3. Radiator core blocked or grille restricted, 4. thermostat faulty. 5. Electric coolant fan blades broken or cracked, 6. coolant cap not maintaining proper pressure.
Hope this helps!

Check the water pump or the hose going to the waterpump. There is a peephole on the bottom of waterpumps, so if its bad it leaks right out the hole

STOP DRIVING IT! Immediately! You are either Out of coolant (check bottle, top left of engine compartment) OR, you are overheating it BADLY. If the coolant is full, you are ruining your engine by driving it. I'd suggest taking it to a shop that specializes in VW.. Likely a Waterpump. (timing belt will need to be removed to access the waterpump)

please try a simple test for me. no.1: remove the radiator cap off the radiator. no.2: if you could see the see the radiator opening from within you car much better, then try to crank your car to an idle. if coolant blows out of the mouth of the radiator like an erupting volacano, then take note of this. no.3: while the engine is running at idle try to look at the coolant through the mouth of the radiator, if you see bubbles like washing your hands with soap and the suds trailing to a drain, then take note of this.

the reason why i'm telling you all of this is that, the coolant should flow like a clear stream. you don't have to worry about purging the system of air because, the water pump is already situated a few inches below the highest water capacity of the radiator. it means that if you drained your system and refiled the radiator to the brim, just start your engine and add a few more coolant to fill it up because the running engine simply purges the waterpump of air.

now, if you tried no.2, and you did see and somewhat like an errupting volcano, that means your engine is in serious trouble, so is no.3. however, a tolerable bubble flow is still possible but your valve clearances should be tuned if this happens. excessive bubbles accompanied by blow out of coolant means your combustion gases are seeping through the head gasket due to a damaged head gasket, warped cyclinder head, cracked cylinder head, or even a cracked cyclinder liner(or bore where the piston glides up and down). think back! did you ever experienced overheating you car to a point where it stalled completely? then, you need a thourough engine checkup.

99 cadillac deville overheating put in new radiator,thermostat,waterpump. it stays cool at idle for a hour running.drivin about 15-30 minutes it overheats. is not using hardly any coolant to speak of.