Overheating Issue...
 

My wife has a Chrysler sebring that an 2004. It has the V-6 engine in it.
She noticed it leaking coolant the one day on the way home. So upon inspection the coolant outlet manifold had gone bad (go figure). So I replaced the part with a new one from the dealer. Bled out the system and all seemed okay. A few weeks later and we are driving along and the needle shoots up to about half way. Then while going down the highway the needle jumps up to almost the red. I pulled over right then and let the car cool down. Got home and the fluid in the coolant tank was a little low. Put some more in and decided to try and bleed the system some more. Let the car warm up and and opened the coolant bleeder valve. Nothing comes out but some steam. Shouldnt fluid come out? What do I need to check/replace? Water pump? Thermostat?
Any suggestions and thoughts are appreciated! Thanks Clay!

There are lots of issues with the overheating of the Sebring car at the same time there is also a solution. First due to overheated you must not try to start it again because it will cause to the fail of radiator fan and the cooling system would get clooged. I think you need to replace water pump.

Don't fuss with that bleeder screw. The system should bleed air out by itself with normal heating up and cooling down.

It sounds like you're losing coolant somewhere. You might want to put a piece of clean cardboard under the car to see if you can get evidence of a leak. If there are no external leaks, you could have a blown head gasket. (Let's hope not.)
Have the system pressure checked.

Took it to a shop. They said it held 14/15lbs of pressure fine during the 15min test. They said that there was moisture from the exhaust...The car has been sitting for the last week and we only live 3min from the shop. They topped the coolant tank off and bled some air out. Seemed to work fine as we did some stops on the way home...

Moisture in the exhaust could be indicative of something serious or nothing at all. Water is a natural by-product of the combustion of gasoline. When the engine first starts up, the water produced by combustion hits the cool exhaust system and condenses out. It happens every time. As the exhaust system heats up, the water will evaporate.

On the other hand, if you have a head gasket leak, coolant will find its way into a cylinder when the engine is off and be blown into the exhaust system on start-up. A puff of white smoke out the exhaust system on start-up is a sign of a possible head gasket leak.

If the cooling system can hold 15 pounds of pressure for 15 minutes, that's a good sign.

The cardboard under the car test is still worth doing. You could have a leak in the non-pressurized side of the coolant recovery bottle.

Hate to bring up my old post..but. Ive finally got time to work on my wifes car. I drove it up to the shop im using and let it sit, yesterday...There was no coolant on the floor after sitting. I know it leaks every now and then cause weve been putting water in it once or so a month since my last posts. I got the side access cover and wheel off. What should I be looking for, for leaks? I was going to change the waterpump out but after reading everywhere it seems this will be a headache...
Im lost at what to do, doesnt seem to leak all the time, engine seems to be running smoothly, oil looks good...just looking for help, thanks Clay

Did you have them check the radiator cap when they ran the pressure test?

You say you have been adding "water" once a month or so. I hope it's not water but coolant you have been adding. Coolant of the correct color, that is.

If the water pump leaks it will show up either externally on the floor of the garage or internally into the oil pan, both of which you seem to have ruled out.

If your leak is very slow, it may only show up as a white encrustation somewhere. That could be about anywhere such as the radiator, coolant water outlet, hose, etc.

Coolant doesn't just disappear without leaving a trace somewhere.

You might want to run a compression check to rule out the head gasket issue.

You may also want to try my solution: buy a different car. As other posters said, there are lots of overheating issues. There are other expensive failures as well that are likely to occur.

I ran the car for 40min tonight, up to heat and all that. I laid under the car with my led mag light and searched everywhere for a leak. I cant find it. Not a drip on the clean floor anywhere. No fluid running down the outside of the timing cover or block. Only drop of fluid I found was coming from the overfill tube of the tank.

I really am thinking of trading it in now...who knows. Thanks everyone

"Only drop of fluid I found was coming from the overfill tube of the tank. "

Might be time to check that radiator cap. It's a cheap repair but can cause loss of coolant if bad.

Idling the engine for 40 minutes in the driveway is not the same as running it under load.