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Car Overheated / Overheating / Overheats [MERGED]

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NTRCOOL

Probationary Member
24
0
Apr 10, 2002
Richmond_Va.
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!
 
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I wouldn't recomend tasting antifreeze...

"Antifreeze poisoning occurs in two stages: In the first stage, the ethylene glycol in the antifreeze causes a drunken appearance in the subject within about 30 minutes which may continue for several hours. After passing through stage 1, the subject appears to recover. Stage 2 begins when the liver begins metabolizing the ethylene glycol, changing it into more toxic substances. Within 12 to 36 hours of ingestion, these metabolites have reached such a level that the subject's kidneys stop functioning, and the subject slips into a coma."
 
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redeclipse7782 said:
I wouldn't recomend tasting antifreeze...

"Antifreeze poisoning occurs in two stages: In the first stage, the ethylene glycol in the antifreeze causes a drunken appearance in the subject within about 30 minutes which may continue for several hours. After passing through stage 1, the subject appears to recover. Stage 2 begins when the liver begins metabolizing the ethylene glycol, changing it into more toxic substances. Within 12 to 36 hours of ingestion, these metabolites have reached such a level that the subject's kidneys stop functioning, and the subject slips into a coma."
Click to expand...

I think you would have to ingest more than just a little taste to get to this point. So just don't go around chugging the stuff ROFL
 
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I have replaced the radiator cap three times so far. Im taking it to a shop ::sigh:: maybe they will see something I over looked.
 
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I am still having overheating problems with my 90 awd. Ive put two new thermostats in it to no avail. (the first one was a cheap one so I tried a better one) My coolant is boiling in the overflow and the fans are not turning on at all which makes me think theres a blockage somewhere in the system. I'm going to try and borrow a radiator in the morning to see if mine is plugged up and I'm going to run a compression test to make sure its not the head gasket. Is there anything else I should try? Would a bad water pump cause these symptoms? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Did you burp your coolant system when last filling up with coolant? Have you bypassed any coolant lines (heatercore)? Is the fan switch connected (lower P/S radiator)? Yes a water pump that is bad will not push coolant thru the engine so would lead to overheating as would a blown headgasket/warped head so may want to perform a compression test as well :dsm:
 
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I had boiling in the resevoir, then I replaces the radiator cap with a 13 psi or 0.9 bar threshold, purge system of bubbles (remove cap and squeeze lower rad hose 10-15 times)and then no more boiling in resevoir.

also your second fan should turn on when you have air conditioning on.. see if that fan is working at least.. the rad fan should come on after coolant reaches a certain temp shouldn't it?

make sure upper rad hose is warm, indicates thermostat is open and coolant is flowing down through the rad. I guess you can pressure test the cooling system, last resort.

also make sure your coolant level in resevoir is above the low line when engine is cool. If the level goes all the way down, or all the way up then you have to repurge. Coolant should stay between the high and low level marks when all is well. I remember this part frustrated me after I flushed the system, and had all sorts of problems after ward, but its fine now.
 
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This might sound stupid, but make sure you've got enough fluid. Radiator fluid or water. I learned that after replacing my radiator. Sometimes you may think you have enough, but look again. It's something simple to check off. There needs to be no air in your tubes.:dsm:
 
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turbosax2 said:
Which one do you have? The main fan or the a/c fan?
Click to expand...


Oh, that'd be hilarious if the A/C fan is there but the radiator fan wasn't. "ROFL"

FYI... The A/C fan is on the drivers side; radiator fan is on the pass. side (at least on my 2g it is).

I'd also try checking your temp sensor, it's located next to your temp sending unit (used for your temp gauge). If that's not working then it won't tell your radiator fan to turn on, even if it IS working. Get yourself a Haynes/Chilton and it'll tell you exactly how to test this sensor.
 
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Well I have burped the system every time I opened it (my honda had a problem with air in the system), I didn't bypass any lines but the 2 small ones that run hot water to the throttle body were removed when I got it and it worked fine then. Plus I'm not driving it in the winter so its not a major concern. I wired my fans together, and then to the hot wire for the a/c fan so I can use the a/c button to control the fans because the condensor is long gone. I ran a compression test and the cylinders were all even. A little low but my dad said it was his guage. I also got a new cap. The top hose gets warm since i changed the thermostat but the bottom tank on the radiator stays cool to the touch for quite a while when the cars running, half an hour or so. Is this normal? It most certainly has enough coolant because I add some about every other time i start it. this car has a catch can for an overflow so it doesnt recirculate at all. This also means it has to be drained occasionally because I add coolant so frequently but I would much rather do this than not have enough because too much overflowed when the car overheated and was not recirculated back into the system. I do have a haynes manual as well as the manual from the plymouth/eagle dealership. I saw that sensor in the manuals but did not see a testing procedure. What exactly does it monitor/control? The engine heats up to opperating temp at a normal speed and will stay there for about 10 minutes. Then it creeps up but quickly falls back to opperating temp. Almost too quickly for it to be accurate. The longer the car is run the further it creeps the more it happens and it stays hotter longer before it falls back down. this makes me think its electrical or the water pump is only working sometimes. is that possible? thanks in advance.
 
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The shop I took it to called me, they said it was overheating because the fans were in front of the radiator... and of course that did NOTHING, it still overheats. I am getting the car back tomorrow... I am totally out of ideas...

I've pressure tested the system, it holds pressure

I've used a block tester and the fluid stayed blue indicating the head gasket is fine

I am seriously stumped I have no idea... I do have a FMIC the SSAC 2g one, but NO ONE else has had overheating issues with it, esp. no one that has pulled their thermostat. Also, I have a water pump that uses a "mill" style internal other then the traditional blade style, but I have been reading many people have been using the same one I have with no issues.

So for those of you who PM'd me... This is the update... Kind of sucks.


oh and BTW I have replaced the radiator cap, no change.
 
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I am currently facing almost the same issues. I noticed though that when the temperature creep happens that I also get major voltage spikes throughout the car. I recently blew my o2 housing and it began to do this when I was driving the car home with the o2 housing in 2 pieces. The voltage spike was so strong that it blew both my headlights and I had to park the car and leave it for the night. All the internal lights (dash and door) also get brighter during the spikes. Have you seen this when your temperature shoots up? I have not had any time to look into this because I just finally got the new o2 housing put on (that bolt mounted against the housing was a b*tch).
~Sven
 
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thats strange. I didn't notice any voltage increase and the way your describing it , I don't think I would have been able to miss it. Your problem has got to be electrical though. (as in it may not really be overheating, the guage just says it is) I'm pretty positive that mine is actually a heating problem. I think I'm gonna grit my teeth and put a new water pump in it. While I've got it torn down that far I'm gonna make sure I don't have any leaks around the intake maifold. I don't know what else it could be!
 
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freshlane said:
Mayb it is overheating because of your fans not turning on. Mayb you are looking in the wrong place. Electrical? Try a jumper wire on the fan relay location and see if they come on.
Click to expand...

agree, sometimes when the fan relay went bad, just run a wire from the battery directly to the fan to see.
 
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90rexzc said:
I wired my fans together, and then to the hot wire for the a/c fan so I can use the a/c button to control the fans because the condensor is long gone.

As mentioned in a previous post, I replaced the relay twice and put a new fuse in it also.
at the end of last week I replaced the catch can coolant resevoir with a stock one and put some bars leak in with the coolant and it ran fine for 3 days. then I drove to class and back with no problems but when I got home I left it run in the driveway for maybe 3 minutes and it was still cool when I left for work but began to overheat less than a 1/4 mile down the road. now that I have a stock coolant resevoir I also have a coolant level sensor. since this addition the light comes on periodically but goes out when I add coolant. The strange thing is that the car never leaves any puddles. Even when it sits and idles for 30+ minutes. Could it be leaking coolant only under a load? or only under boost?
Click to expand...
 
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You can check the fans by simply turning on your ac. If the fans work then your problems lie elsewhere. The white smoke usually indicates water in the combustion chambers. Are you losing coolant? If so, then you may have combustion pressure getting into your cooling system which will dam the flow and cause overheating. Most times when the engine overheats at idle you can trace it back to the ECT. Or Electronic coolant temp sensor. You also have the fan relay and its related items. The fans are not needed while underway as the airflow across the radiator is sufficient to keep the engine cool. You can purchase a hydrocarbon test kit at most parts stores. Follow the instructions and if the dye turns yellow, you have a combustion leak into your coolant system.

Of course, there are other things that make the engine "get hot" but most are easily detected.

Good Luck
 
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just realized im an idiot. plug for the rad fan was halfway out. plugged it back in and presto, fans work. thanks for the reply but my problem was just a simple case of overlooking something

edit: no white smoke for me
 
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My engine was overheating to the maximum. I pulled over and checked the coolant and it was boiling and steaming. I managed to drive to a friends house safely and let it cool to see if the problem would persist. After the car cooled down, i added coolant and water to both the overflow bottle and radiator cap. I also checked to see if there was oil mixed into the coolant but there seems to be no signs of that happening. I checked to make sure that the fans are working and they are working fine.

There is one thing that puzzles me. It seems like i was losing water yet i had no signs of a leak. After adding alot of water and coolant, i had to drive 15 miles to get home in an overheated state. When i got home, i let the car rest for the night. The next day i checked the coolant level in the overflow bottle and it was at the minimum ( it was over maximum the day before when i prepared it for the trip home).

A friend of mine checked to see if it could possibly be the water pump malfunctioning by opening the radiator cap and inspecting the hole as the engine was running to see if it was flowing enough. He told me that the water isnt flowing enough. At that point the water in the overflow bottle was already at a minimum so we werent sure if it was because there wasnt enough water or because the pump was messed up.

I hope i was detailed enough in my description to get some advice. Id like to give thanks in advance to anyone reading this thread :):dsm:
 
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Even though you dont' see oil/water mix, could very well be a Head Gasket/warped head. They sell test strips to that detect combustion gases in your coolant at most auto parts stores. May want to try that and grab a compression tester.
 
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