Need some advice and theories GS fam. Recently did a timing belt job (water pump, seals (not main), thermostat, vvti rebuild , spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, new radiator). Changed oil, radiator fluid(OEM) and ATF(OEM). Car was running fine until today. Was on the highway and temp gauge started going up ( had the heat on ). Went all the way up and it hit red. Pulled over, turned it off. Let it cool down. I open the radiator cap and it's empty, so is the reservoir. Lucky I have a 5 gallon coolant (OEM) in the car, filled up the radiator and also the reservoir and made it home. Didn't overheat. One thing I did notice is the fans didn't kick on when it was overheating when I pulled over. When I made it home, the fans kicked on for 2 seconds and shut off. Any ideas? Where should I start? Opened the oil cap and it looked a tiny bit milky, but the dip stick it's clean clear oil.

 

Sounds like you didn't burb the cooling system after you drained and refilled the coolant. When the coolant is drained or goes really low and you add coolant with the car off usually a big pocket of air gets trapped in there. You will think everything is fine but once you run the engine the air shifts and reality is you did not put enough coolant. When the engine is COMPLETELY cold take of the radiator cap and start the engine. Turn on the heater and fill the coolant with the car running. Let it run for a while and you will know when it's completely full.

 

Great! Thanks I'll do that and let you know how it works!