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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 would collapse in on it self, thus not allowing coolant to flow properly. Probably 9 times out of ten if you would hit the gas it probably suck in on it self causing a blockage.
Ok. Well I'll get a hose and see if that works. I'm picking one up later anyhow!

How fast does the temperature fluctuate? Fast enough, it could mean your low on coolant and coolant is not contacting the sensor in thermostat housing...

Do you have a huge FMIC with no ducting? If no FMIC, how does the A/C condensor fins look? I spent a good amount of time straightening out the fins putting my car back together
Its not fast. Like very slowly. You can barely tell unless your staring at it. Coolant is full. Bottle is filled to hot. And yes I have a FMIC with no ducting. Not sure how to make it. And also I don't have a/c so no ac condensor.
 
I don't lose any coolant. Both the upper and lower hose both get hot. And fan turns on at correct temp. Not exactly sure what it could be unless I got a bad cap or if the old cap was bad then put the new cap on and system wasn't used to the pressure so the upper hose may have been weak and just bloated. I don't know though..

Also I did a compression test just to rule out a head gasket falure. I figured it wasn't because it was replaced not too long ago.

When you did the coolant flush was there a good flow threw the radiator? A compression test wont always tell you that the head gasket is leaking combustion gasses into the coolant system the best tool to use is a head gasket leak detector. It use special fluid that will change color if it detects carbon monoxide. If you can get yours hands on one use it. After all the follow above was gone over replace your water pump.:thumb:
 
When you did the coolant flush was there a good flow threw the radiator? A compression test wont always tell you that the head gasket is leaking combustion gasses into the coolant system the best tool to use is a head gasket leak detector. It use special fluid that will change color if it detects carbon monoxide. If you can get yours hands on one use it. After all the follow above was gone over replace your water pump.:thumb:
The rad flowed really good! Where could I get head gasket leak detector? And I am replacing my timing belt, water pump, and all that in 2 weekends. Already have it all.
 
Ducting can always be improved :)

I have a rad, condensor, and giant FMIC (came with car) the engine overheated alot. After the engine rebuild I went to Ace (any hardware store) and got just a 10ft stick of 3/4" pipe insulation. Cut into strips and placed in the gaps I didn't want air to escape from. (IE, between the edges of radiator & condensor)

I used pipe insulation mainly because I had a 7 inch gap to fill between FMIC & condensor. So far so good :thumb:
 
How hot is it getting?


Overheating and a bulging hose sounds like a failing head gasket. I've had the exact same issue on two different vehicles and the head gasket was the culprit. It's also worth noting that a compression test did not reveal the failing gasket on either engine.
 
Ok so when I got home I opened up my cap while it was still hot and only air cam out. No steam. The overflow bottle started to bubble so I imagine it was all exiting to there. That seems like something besides a head gasket. But I'm not totally sure.
 
Still sounds like it could be a failing HG to me. In my case, compression gases were escaping into a coolant passage under load. So my coolant system was overpressurized and full of hot combustion gasses.

How hot is it getting?
Its barely overheating. Never gets above a little past half way.
 
After reading all the above, I have to say the following, the water pump is failing. Time to replace it. You can also bleed the cooling system to insure that you eliminated other problems.
 
I just replaced a head gasket that sounded alot like yours. Try to start the car and remove your cap. Hold your hand over the hole, this will let the pressure escape thru the over flow tube and it will bubble in the over flow tank.I also put pressure in each cylinder and it bubbled the same way.
 
I had the same issue with my 95, my passenger side fan wasn't kicking on because it was broken, (hit the turbo outlet pipe that goes to the intercooler). So what was happening was when I would idle it would overheat, sending coolant out of the overflow tank, making me think it was leaking coolant. But it wasn't, just because of the over heating it was bubbling all the coolant into the resevoir. Anyways, also check to make sure your fan is going the correct way LOL, I know it sounds stupid but it could be pulling , not pushing.

Good luck man!!!:rocks:
 
I call head gasket and water pump. I have seen 2/3 cars with this symptom and every time it was a headgasket and it was pressuring the cooling system making the hoses expand.
 
Im pretty sure its the hg or water pump now. What is the best brand of hg?
Pick up a Mitsu or Felpro composite gasket. And since you don't know how hot it has been, you might also want to check your head surface for flatness to make sure it's not warped.
 
So I've tried a few things like fix the rad drain plug and seal the tstat in properly, seems to help for sure but still overheats. I really don't want it to be a blown HG :( Well I just did a compression test, warm engine, all plugs out, WOT, and 5 cranks for good messure. From passenger side to driver's: 146, 133, 140, 132. Damn. Lol looks like I'll be tearing the engine apart sooner than I hoped. Bye bye DSMLink fund... My guess is that coolant in going into my cylinders. You guys would know more than I would. I'm using straight water for coolant at this point due to filling it up so often. Though i added water yesterday then drove 2 40 mile trips without a single drop missing. I don't know, I'll be out of state for work all next week so it will sit until I get back on the 19th.
 
Hey, guys. I'm having a problem with my 1990 TSI overheating. I believe that I caught it overheating the first time that it did so, and was thankfully near home. When I went to check the coolant, there was only an inch or so of coolant in the bottom of the reservoir, when I had filled it to the top fill line only six months before.

My friend and I went to determine the cause of the overheating, and discovered that the radiator fan was not switching on when the temperature of the coolant began to increase. The coolant in the radiator makes an audible bubbling when it heats up, which leads me to believe that the coolant is actually circulating through the system and not being blocked.

We replaced the radiator fan relay after jumping the contacts and making sure that the fan motor and connections are, in fact, working. Our next step is to replace the radiator fan switch, located on the lower, rear passenger side of the radiator.

My question is this: are there any other possible causes for my fan to stop working, besides a faulty fan switch? And how difficult will it be to get at the fan switch?

Thanks ahead of time, the responses here are always helpful.
 
In my 90 talon, it was the sensor that you were talking about that was preventing the fans from coming on. in fact, the previous owner had the fans wired to come on with the car. Lazy.....
 
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