Hi,

I just drove my car for the first time in two weeks and it started overheating and not blowing hot air. Pulled over and saw a bit of coolant at the bottom of the radiator, and a basically empty reserve tank. Limped it home and lifted it up, put more coolant in it, and idled it for a while. The radiator fan came on when the temps climbed and I couldn't see any coolant leaking, but temps kept climbing and heat still wasn't blowing so I shut it back off. After it cooled down I removed the radiator cap and turning the car on, no coolant or air came out, which I read means it's (probably hopefully) not the head gasket. The top radiator hose gets hot, the bottom one doesn't. Any ideas on what the issue could be?

In case it's relevant, the car doesn't have AC, and I replaced the thermostat about a year ago. It also has a minor oil leak. No idea if the radiator has ever been replaced (doesn't look like it).

Thanks in advance for any help

 

You have to put your heat to full when you attempt purging air from the system.

Bottom hose not getting hot says thermostat isn't opening. If it doesn't open the car will over heat as it never gets cooler coolant from the radiator into the block.