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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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It is getting closer to summer, so temps are rising outside...and I see you live in Arizona...as long as the needle doesn't climb all the way to H or anywhere near it, you'll be ok. But like fwdmaster said, try replacing the cap as well.
 
Start with basic radiator maintenance as was suggested. New cap & flush. A common mod is to rewire both fans to come on at the same time, which will help keep the temps in check. Our turbo cars like to build up heat under the hood. Hunt around this site, as there is a bunch of info on how to address overheating issues. Usually it is a combination of measures that will do the trick.
 
my non turbo loved to overheat. Once i replaced the radiator cap and flushed the coolant, i now sit solid at the half way point on the temp gauge!
 
What coolant/water mix are you using. If I lived in your climate, I'd be running damn near all distilled water and very little coolant.
 
Hi all, I'm having overheating issues with my car. I have been fighting it for quite sometime. I have a new radiator, new hoses, a new thermostat, new water pump, new drive belts, new timing belt. Still having overheating issues. Right now the issue im having is with the fans. Both fans will only turn on if I turn the A/C on. Otherwise, neither fan will come on at all. I'm going to check the relays, is there anything else you recommend checking? Thanks.
 
Check the wiring that goes to the fan. Also, I had a customer that once had a car that was over heating all the time, turned out he had a dog he kept in the garage that would shed fur. Every time he pulled into the garage the fans sucked up the dog hair, clogged up the fan and blocked fins on the radiator. Pulled that sucker out and cleaned it and voila, no more overheating. I know this probably isn't your case but just an FYI to not over look anything.
 
hey i have a 97 spyder that keeps overheating ive changed everything except the water pump. i checked the flow but the pump is good. but ill fill it up and two or three days later it starts spiking on the temp gauge the ill check it and its low on coolant. and it doesnt leak on the ground at all. i think it might be the head gasket but there is no coolant in the oil.

i replaced radiator, theromstat, everything.
 
Check all your hose connections make sure they are on tight. What color is the water if you look at coolant?
If that doesn't solve anything you might want to replace that last piece in the puzzle.
 
I don't want to say it because my brother's car was doing the same thing on a 97 eclipse gst spyder. The coolant in the reservoir would bubble up, also he would lose water. Eventually the car started smoking white. It turns out the headgasket was bad. We changed out the head gasket and it took care of the problem. The oil looked clean from the dipstick, but the coolant seemed oily. Hope this helps. Oh, yeah also we did a compression test and he got low numbers in cylinders 2 and 3. Does your exhaust smell normal or sweet? Also it could very well be your water pump. I would try changing the water pump before you start popping the top on your motor. It's a lot less expensive.
 
Can you specify what "everything" is? You already mentioned that there's no coolant mixed with the oil [would have been milky], so the HG is ruled out. The EASIEST and most often OVERLOOKED solution is your radiator cap. Even the smallest tears will cause your temps to spike. Also, have you considered a coolant additive, such as Redline?

When exactly is the car overheating? Are your fans kicking on? In your profile, you stated an "upgraded intercooler" as one of your modifications. Is it a front-mounted one?
 
You can also use a pressure tester for the cooling system to help see if it is in fact the HG. On a static test (engine not running) the pressure will drop. With the pressure gauge installed while doing a dynamic test (engine running) the pressure will probably begin to rise.
 
i have replaced thermastat, radiator cap, radiator. and both fans work. yes i have a front mount intercooler. but it seems to be getting enough air flow. im going to replace the head gasket because i boils in the reserviour. and it blows white smoke so looks like the head owell thanks guys.:banghead:
 
good luck with the HG deal.... id change out that water pump now that the belt is off if i were you!
 
I've never had this happen before. Today I was driving after fixing my ignition coil problem and the temp gauge needle started going past the half way point about 3/4 to the top. I looked in my coolant reservoir and it was almost full! It usually sits 1/4 full. Any suggestions? I'm going to do a coolant flush tomorrow.
 
Wouldnt happen to have that Dextron 3 pink fluid in it? I use to run that in all my cars but I found after time it started to turn into sludge and would completely block the hoses. Also is it possible you are getting air in behind the fluid so the reservoir looks full but there isnt enough vacuum to suck in any of the fluid?
 
I use redline water wetter. I'm not sure what you mean by the second question.
 
The way the reservoir works is when the rad starts to empty it creates a negative vacuum to suck up the coolant into the system or if it overheats it blows the coolant back in. If at any time you filled the coolant directly from the cap without the car on you are causing air to get into the system which causes the negative vacuum to be blocked. Easiest way to check for this that I know of is to wait for the engine to become cool then start the car and remove the coolant cap not the reservoir but the acual cap either on the rad or by the thermostat housing and fill from here to make sure there are no "empty spots". Another thing it may also be is the thermostat itsself if it is stuck opened or closed it can cause a delay in the system which will cause overheating.
That clear things up at all?
 
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