Car Overheated / Overheating / Overheats [MERGED]

[NTRCOOL]

OVERHEATING? The issues and their solutions have remained the same- either you don't have enough cool air reaching the rad, there's a cooling system obstruction which is preventing coolant from circulating, or your head gasket has failed and is allowing coolant to be consumed or pushed away from the engine.

Discuss all possible overheating problems and solutions here.


OK,
I just left my house to go over to my GF's,and happen to look down and see my needle right before the red mark. This just happened out of nowhere. I stop the car as quickly as i can, and pour in some coolant(Coolant a little low). Still same thing. Welp im in the middle of the road, and HAD to get it home. Im only 5 min from my house. I decided to try and make it(I really had no other choice). Welp I drive no faster than 20mph, and the temp needle is BARELY into the red the whole way.And occasionaly to the left of it. Am I ok?? Do ya think any damage was done?? And im thinking either thermostat, or water pump. For each of those, whats a round about $$ figure to get replaced?? Any info you have would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[eDeclpse92]

Did you do a compression test? When I determined my old car had a bad headgasket, I took the radiator cap off and let the car idle. If you can see small bubbles coming up in the thermostat housing, then it's a bad headgasket. Are your fans kicking on?

 

[phr0st]

My 2g awd is overheating.
6 bolt, built motor, FP green, supporting mods
I don't know what it is.
New radiator cap
New fluidyne radiator
New thermostat
3k water pump
3k on cometic head gasket
ARP head studs properly torqued, then re-torqued.

There is no water in oil, and no water sitting on top of the pistons.

Start the car, idles and warms to normal temps. Drive normally and gets to the point where over flow can is boiling (within a few minutes 5-8min). I deemed it a head gasket as I don't think it could be anything else. But i have fully convinced myself that that is my issue.

Perhaps do a leakdown test to verify there are no combustion gases making its way into the coolant system. Have you properly burped the system? Is there coolant flow when the car reaches operating temp(Cap open start the car and let it warm until the t-stat opens)? Are you losing coolant or simply overheating?

 

[shsking11]

Yes the system has been burped properly 3-4 times.

It's hard to tell honestly, once I fill it I let it sit for 5-6 minutes idling and it stops pushing coolant and bubbles stop. But my over can is filling up. I think that the gasket is "on it's way" as the increase load is pushing exhaust gases into the system. That's my theory, but I'm not always right.

And yes, fans are kicking on. I have a push/pull too. Hasn't been an issue until just recently.. I never drive it so its REALLY strange that after sitting it began this issue..

 

[phr0st]

Yes the system has been burped properly 3-4 times.

It's hard to tell honestly, once I fill it I let it sit for 5-6 minutes idling and it stops pushing coolant and bubbles stop. But my over can is filling up. I think that the gasket is "on it's way" as the increase load is pushing exhaust gases into the system. That's my theory, but I'm not always right.

And yes, fans are kicking on. I have a push/pull too. Hasn't been an issue until just recently.. I never drive it so its REALLY strange that after sitting it began this issue..

I would lean towards a head gasket issue. Do a proper leak-down test both cold and warm. MLS or composite gasket? If MLS, were the mating surfaces decked? The reason I ask is because I have seen a MLS gasket leak when cold but basically stop leaking once the car warmed up(At least it slowed the leak considerably). I'm almost positive that guy didn't have any machine work done just slapped on a MLS gasket.

 

[shsking11]

I would lean towards a head gasket issue. Do a proper leak-down test both cold and warm. MLS or composite gasket? If MLS, were the mating surfaces decked? The reason I ask is because I have seen a MLS gasket leak when cold but basically stop leaking once the car warmed up(At least it slowed the leak considerably). I'm almost positive that guy didn't have any machine work done just slapped on a MLS gasket.

Mine is Mls. But now that I'm thinking about it, I bought this head used after mine had issues.. And I was told it had head work done. What is weird is why it would act up now... This many miles later. I have a feeling that my issue lies in that area.

I built this car years ago... 2009 to be exact and everybody was running cometics then, what is considered best now?

I just finished my build in my Evo this last year and all the Evo guys prefer the AMS modified stock gaskets for their 4g64 builds, which is what I did and am familiar with.

 

[phr0st]

Mine is Mls. But now that I'm thinking about it, I bought this head used after mine had issues.. And I was told it had head work done. What is weird is why it would act up now... This many miles later. I have a feeling that my issue lies in that area.

I built this car years ago... 2009 to be exact and everybody was running cometics then, what is considered best now?

I just finished my build in my Evo this last year and all the Evo guys prefer the AMS modified stock gaskets for their 4g64 builds, which is what I did and am familiar with.

Cometic still makes a very nice product. I would also assume the problem would have been evident from the start but stranger things happen. Probably wouldn't hurt to check/retorque the head. Whenever I buy a head/block used I drop it off at my local machine shop(me and the owner are on first-name basis by now ) to have them check for cracks/abnormalities and to straighten things up for me.

 

[shsking11]

Cometic still makes a very nice product. I would also assume the problem would have been evident from the start but stranger things happen. Probably wouldn't hurt to check/retorque the head. Whenever I buy a head/block used I drop it off at my local machine shop(me and the owner are on first-name basis by now ) to have them check for cracks/abnormalities and to straighten things up for me.

Retorqued the head already. At this point I just need to get the car to a relatives home where I can do a leak down test and rear into it. If I know the block and head have not had an clearing what head gasket should I run, another cometic Mls? I'm getting ready to ditch this head as I have a stock one sitting that I can ensure everything is solid prior to slapping it on.

 

[phr0st]

Retorqued the head already. At this point I just need to get the car to a relatives home where I can do a leak down test and rear into it. If I know the block and head have not had an clearing what head gasket should I run, another cometic Mls? I'm getting ready to ditch this head as I have a stock one sitting that I can ensure everything is solid prior to slapping it on.

I (and many others) have had great success running the Fel-Pro composite gasket with ARP's. The composite is much more forgiving about having a perfect gasket surface. They have gone over 500whp but I wouldn't run one much farther than that.

 

[talontd92tsi]

Do you have any coolant leaks?

An unpressurized coolant system can cause all sorts of overheating issues that are difficult to track down. Even if it is a brand new coolant cap, I would toss another one at it just for the sake of sanity. If you tear the head off and find a pristine gasket in there.

Easy way to check for coolant pressure leaks is to put REGULATED air pressure in the overflow vent tube (the one that goes to your coolant overflow.

Turn the pressure down BELOW your cap rating, and slowly push air into the system until the cap opens up. If there are no other leaks then you know your system is properly sealed.

 

[shsking11]

I (and many others) have had great success running the Fel-Pro composite gasket with ARP's. The composite is much more forgiving about having a perfect gasket surface. They have gone over 500whp but I wouldn't run one much farther than that.

I guess that's where my future plans should intervene. I do plan to ditch the green, as my daily Evo makes more power than my project and I'm getting antsy to start pushing more power through my Gsx. Is there a better fitting head gasket for that circumstance, I've been eying the 3582/3586 area FP turbos.

It's weird how after I fell inactive in dsms, not too long ago, and now digging back into mine how blind I feel looking for parts. Even though evos and dsms share an almost identical platform. Motor wise.

 

[98Spyder_GS]

What type of thermostat did you use? Temperature rating on it? I've seen new thermostats fail too. Also, i had this similar problem on my 240sx with the system bubbling over and not keeping cool, ended up being a headgasket Btw, are you having idling issues? That should tell you if you have air in the system or a leak somewhere too.

 

[shsking11]

Pretty much nailed it to the head gasket. The car idles and drives fine once warm aside from its overheating. I'm running a q45/jmf manifold so I have to manually warm the car up which shouldn't make a difference in the scheme of things. I just used an oem t-stat as that's all I've ever used.

 

[phr0st]

I guess that's where my future plans should intervene. I do plan to ditch the green, as my daily Evo makes more power than my project and I'm getting antsy to start pushing more power through my Gsx. Is there a better fitting head gasket for that circumstance, I've been eying the 3582/3586 area FP turbos.

It's weird how after I fell inactive in dsms, not too long ago, and now digging back into mine how blind I feel looking for parts. Even though evos and dsms share an almost identical platform. Motor wise.

In that case I would most likely get the gasket surfaces milled and put another MLS gasket on her if you plan to use a FP35r to it's potential (~75Lbs/mins). Also as stated above there are pressure tests you can do to the system to find leaks.

 

[FearlessNick]

Driving on the freeway. Going about 75-80 mph and I watch my temp gauge go to 250 F. Then I got off the freeway for home and was going 45-50 and it comes down to 220-230.

What could be my problem here? Radiator flow is good, has a good mix of green and water. (coolant changed every oil change) new t stat. Fans are running good and are pulling air through pretty good too.

Ive checked everything I possibly could think of. Need some help and advice here.

P.S. No radiator leaks, coolant is full, hoses are good. Water pump with 15,000 on it.

Thanks,

FearlessNick

 

[talontorque]

whens the last time you changed the coolant and it could be an air pocket

 

[BogusSVO]

What is your AFR? leaner makes more heat for the coolant system to remove.

 

[FearlessNick]

Last time I changed it was about 2000 miles ago. I usually burp it to after I change it to make sure there is not air in the system.

I dont watch my A/F ratio as I'm not turbo'd. But I will have to hook up the scanner and watch it when I go to work tomorrow.

 

[Tiny]

Okay I just bought a 90 eclipse gs-t and it is having sorta the same issue. Its leaking from the overflow/boiling out, and my fans also only come on when a/c is on. So I was wondering if you ever figured out your problem.
One more thing, what is the bubbles of death refering to?

 

[ZDA1728]

Been having an overheating problem for a while. I go through coolant like it's nothing. But the thing is I can't tell if I'm losing coolant therefore overheating or overheating therefore losing coolant because i cannot see any leaks. My heater core is also not clogged because it blows hot air and I've burped the system multiple times. I doubt it's the headgasket. When cruising around my car is fine but when i start getting on it it overheats very quickly. I've already put in a new thermostat, tried adjusting water-coolant ratio and using water wetter all with no success. I have a big FMIC, stock radiator and o2 dump which could be contributing factors, however i really believe a properly working cooling system should be able to overcome those. I'm going to check for leaks yet again tomorrow and if I don't see anything again I'm going to assume the worst and compression test. Any input is appreciated, thanks.

 

[ricktb]

how long has this been an issue? do your fans come on? did you do the dual fan at once mod? (both fan turns on when the first fan usually turns on). Do you know where the coolant is escaping?, look for signs everywhere.

I have experienced a situation where, a rubber turbo coolant line split and dumped all my coolant on the road. Then when replaced the line and i topped it back up, there was tiny bubbles coming to the top... so tiny, it took forever to burp the system (about 2 hours) since the bubbles didnt rush to the top they were embedded in the coolant if you know what i mean.. this caused me to not be able to fill the system completely and repeatedly over heat (air bubbles expand like crazy pushing the coolant out through the resevior) You want NO air bubbles no mattter how big or small.

Yea i bet if you got a decent fan setup maybe with a shroud you should be able to cool the system despite a large fmic. And your gonna want between a 60/40, 50/50 mix of coolant water... if any doubt flush it all and start fresh. You also have to replace the rad cap occasionally, theres a spring/gasket in it that holds the pressure at 13 psi. after you burp the system thoroughly, make sure theres spare coolant in the resevior too, cause later on when the engine is off and cools down, the coolant shrinks and pulls more coolant from the resevior, or air if its empty

 

[BlkSmk]

Right now I got a bad coolant temp sensor.. maybe yours is going out.. just a suggestion

 

[EC17PSE]

Might be an air lock/blockage in the system, my friend had this issue and had to get it pressureized out and now its fine, as stupid as it sounds it can happen and does more often then we think

 

[94allwheeldsm]

First thing I always check after I have determined no leaks and that the system is burped is check the compression to see if I would have a blown head gasket.
If you don't know where its going and theres no leaks its probably going through the motor ...what style head gasket and bolts/studs are you using and what boost are you running?
If it doesn't heat up off boost but when you are on it, it is most likely a head gasket bro!!! Lots of people like to argue about it till they pull the head and find a coolant passage damaged on the head gasket! <<<first place I would look after your description.

 

[ZDA1728]

I've never pulled the head so I don't know for sure but most likley oem gasket and oem studs. And I'm running about 17 pounds on my e316g. Also I have one fan that's on constantly.

 

[keston95GS-T]

It could be your coolant temperature sensor. Try changing it and see. Its not an expensive fix