engine is very hot but temp gauge reads normal

[ccviper27]

I have a 1992 eagle talon tsi awd. I have 1500 miles on a rebuilt engine. I have replaced almost everything on this car. The other morning I was driving to work and the cel came on and the car began to run very rough, gave it a little gas and it quit, did it 3 or 4 times on my way into work. Car ran fine until that day. Computer gave me a code 44. Everything got worse from there. My engine is running very hot but temp guage reads normal temp. but the engine is so hot you can't touch it while just sittin there and idling and there is smoke coming out from around the exhaust manifold, which it never did before. Could the catalytic converter cause this problem if it is plugged? Any advise would be helpful.

 

[BISHILVR]

Usually the converter does'nt cause an engine overheat. How do you know the engine is actually overheating??? Normally you can't touch an engine if it's been running for more than a few minutes. You will have to find a way to do an actual coolant temp test to see if the car really is hot or if it's another problem.

 

[ccviper27]

Usually the converter does'nt cause an engine overheat. How do you know the engine is actually overheating??? Normally you can't touch an engine if it's been running for more than a few minutes. You will have to find a way to do an actual coolant temp test to see if the car really is hot or if it's another problem.

Maybe I'm just worrying to much I've had a hell of a time with this car, it just seemed very hot to me, I'll find out the exact engine temps today just to be sure. Thanks.

 

[CorrupTTalon]

i thought mine was doing the same.. not saying you have to do this but i replaced the water pump and thermostat to be safe(amoungst many other things) and when i put my coolant in i did it a little different and made sure there was 0 air left.. i let the car idle for a while with the rad cap off and just kept pouring coolant in that way i could check to see if it was flowing and was able to keep up to level as the stat opened.. check your level.. see if you have enough coolant..

and remember that its healthier to have the engine run hot than cold... if that makes you feel any better..



..just not overheating..

 

[spiritturbo]

Just remember that engines whose exhaust exits toward the front of the car will seem hotter than engines whose exhaust exits toward the firewall. It may not necessarily be that the engine is running hot, and more than likely your gauge is actually reading the correct temp.

How long does the engine run erratically? Have you made recent changes to the boost control? Is this enging built for performance, or to stock specs? Are you able to tell where exactly the smoke is coming from?

 

[CorrupTTalon]

i just put an outside thermometer on my engine after driving right at the coolant cap touching the engine block and it peaked at 190degrees.. is that too high? i have a 170 stat in thur.. my temp guage reads half way consitantly.. but warms up in under two miles of driving, meaing it climbs to half way FAST

 

[BISHILVR]

190 is fine for an engine as far as temp goes.

 

[CorrupTTalon]

that wasnt an internal reading though.. and when i unscrew my valve cover cap after driving steam, or smoke comes out... cant be normal, or is it?

 

[ccviper27]

My engine is pretty much stock,the only thing I have done is cut the air can, I have changed the water pump and t. stat. Timing belt was done here recently. I have the same thing , when I take the oil cap off there is steam or smoke coming out I have also noticed oil is on top of the valve cover, it is coming from the oil cap. I can't really tell were the smoke from the exhaust manifold is coming from, I'm going to try to find that today.

 

[ccviper27]

How long does the engine run erratically? Have you made recent changes to the boost control? Is this engine built for performance, or to stock specs? Are you able to tell where exactly the smoke is coming from?[/QUOTE]


When the cel comes on it will run rough for about 30 seconds then goes back to normal for maybe 5 to 6 miles then does it again. Engine is stock. The computer gives me code 44 which is ignition coil/ power transistor (according to Haynes manual) it hasn't done it since that day though

 

[BISHILVR]

It's kind of common for these cars to have a bad connection between some of the terminals under the hood, especially around the fuel injector's and the ignition components. The code 44 was probably caused by that, try wiggling some of the connectors with the engine running to see if you can get the code 44 to come back, if so then you found your problem. Also smoke from under an oil cap on an engine that was just running is very normal, it's just oil mist burning off some warm components such as the crank, etc. nothing to worry about.