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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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Also, have you replaced the radiator cap recently? I replace mine every time I have an issue with temps being too high. Sometimes they just don't hold the pressure they need to keep the boiling temperature raised.
 
Well the boiling point of water is like 212f or close to it right. Unless you're running distiller water in a perfectly sterile cooling system then I think you're on the right track. Is there any particular reason you're running just water and no antifreeze? I have always been under the impression that you run water wetter in addition to your50/50 mix of antifreeze/ water.
 
Well the boiling point of water is like 212f or close to it right. Unless you're running distiller water in a perfectly sterile cooling system then I think you're on the right track. Is there any particular reason you're running just water and no antifreeze? I have always been under the impression that you run water wetter in addition to your50/50 mix of antifreeze/ water.

Well the stock radiator cap pressure rating is 13psi which for every 1 psi increase of pressure it raises the boiling point roughly 3 degrees f. So 212+39 would be 251. So he would need to have some pretty high temps for it to start boiling, but if there is not enough pressure building up in the system, he could very well be boiling it off.
 
I replaced the cap not to long ago, but i guess it wouldnt hurt to replace it again.. and i was running straight water because water wetter is supposed to cool better with just water, for race applications.. guess it doesnt work very well in daily driven applications.. i will get a new cap, and some 50/50 with water wetter and try that.. hopefully it doesnt just dissapear.
 
Well the stock radiator cap pressure rating is 13psi which for every 1 psi increase of pressure it raises the boiling point roughly 3 degrees f. So 212+39 would be 251. So he would need to have some pretty high temps for it to start boiling, but if there is not enough pressure building up in the system, he could very well be boiling it off.
He did say he hit 240. At night in January no less. If he is using the stock gauge who knows the actual temp. My point was really more at the straight water aspect. Distilled and deionized water and the water wetter is ok for the track. Tap water and all the garbage in it not so good.
Hold on. I just noticed the po said his slim fan was pushing air out? It should be pulling air into the engine bay. Or am I just sleep deprived?
 
Youre issue is you are running 100% water with no thermostat. You don't want to run 100% water because it lowers the boiling point to 216 degrees. Since you live in Airizona you don't need to worry about freezing so you should probably do a 70-80% water 30-20% coolant mix. Also if you run with no thermostat your water/coolant has no time to cool before entering the engine. So put some kind of thermostat in. I run a 160 deg thermostat with about a 70% water to 30% coolant mix with 1 pusher and 1 puller fan and I can hold 160 temps perfectly fine. No reason to run cooler than that. :cool:
 
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I just went this morning and picked up a gallon of 100% coolant (i dont like paying extra for the water) and a new radiator cap along with a 180 degree thermostat.. gonna install all of this on tuesday, so hopefully this works..

I run purified water, AZ tap water kills radiators and water pumps.
i am converting to coolant/water mix though

I will also be re-wiring the slim fan to pull air instead of pushing.. or i might just put the fan in between the intercooler and radiator (pushing air into the bay).. it would get the plastic fan away from the turbo/manifold too..
 
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I would recheck all your water lines that used to go your turbo, especially the one that come out of the block, and any other metal water lines for hairline cracks. I had a 2g that overheated for about 6 months and it turned out to be a hairline crack on one of the turbo coolant lines. Replace that with a banjo fitting and soft line and its great now.
 
Ok this sounds dumb but I was driveing my car the other night and it started to over heat I shut it down but had to get it home so after it took me 3 hour to get it 15 miles I let it sit over night this morning I went out to check on it see if I could see if my water pump was leaking or what was wrong I found that I had lost all oil but I checked before I left that night and it was full I had no coolent and what made me realize something was wrong was my heat went from warm to ice cold any ideas really need help I'm 18 and making payments on the car so my only option is to fix it please help
 
Check for oil/coolant leaks. Perform a leak down test. & report back. As for the heat issue: No coolant=no heat simple as that.

Check your carpet for dampness & maybe the heater core started leaking (thus explaining your coolant loss)??
 
I'm working on being a mechanic by trade been doin it for 5 years now but I have only worked on v-8 or v-6 and as I'm learning 4 cylinder is. Complete different beast and I was just at a loss on this 1 but I think I might take it to a shop if its HG bc I don't like messing with timing on these motors
 
UPDATE: found out why she was overheating, when i deleted the water lines, i accidently connected two pusher lines together, causing a blockage.

Now heres my next dilema.. i just bought an aluminum radiator, shroud and slim fans (cxracing), i just installed it all today and heres where it gets exciting.. my car is running hotter now than it was on the stock cooling system.. fans are both on 24/7, both pulling air (into the engine bay).. but the problem isnt at idle, car idles at 200 degrees all day long, on the freeway, temps got up to 234 degrees.. when i installed the new radiator, i also removed the ac condenser (to let air flow more freely).. i have no idea whats going on..
Also running a 180 degree t-stat

Also, what heat range should i pull over and let it cool so i dont risk warping the head?

Thanks guys
 
Here all cooling things you can do. Run mostly coolant people say can run water wetter but I never use it. Also you can try a 170 degree thermostat but if you don't have heat shields oviously more heat in the engine bay. Also average temp of 2g I log usually run 203 temp so the 200 you see is about average. Also if you run with or even without a fmic and you don't use a/c rio it out. The condesor in between the radiator and where the fmic would be restricts air flow. So there are a few things I mean can always go crazy with aftermarket aluminum radiator and good air flow gimick setups. But in the end just making sure coolant is full and basic maintnance water pump thermostat all in tack you should be good.
 
220*. You've probably already warped the head.

If it's getting that hot after installing all that I'd say you haven't burped the system entirely and there are still air pockets in it. Idle the car, turn the heater on full blast, and take the t-stat lid cap off and see how much air you get out of there. Typically it takes about 15 minutes of idling while squeezing the lower/upper hoses to burp the air out of the system and if you rush it you'll overheat.

:dsm:
 
Did you read the post above yours?? :aha:

Not you golfer, thanks for the advice.. but 220 shouldnt warp the head should it?!

It could depending on how long u let it run at 220 for.. I agree with gofer probably air still in the system.. If you have both fans running constantly and you have all the lines hooked up correctly now the issue is more than likely air pockets.
 
Anythibg over 210 should imedietly be concerned about in my opinion. 234 is way high. I have had my dsm over just a few times but head was ok. We do have decent stock head gaskets on the 2gs.
 
running your fans while driving down the highway restricts airflow to the radiator. also other things you can try is heat wrapping your exhaust and downpipe and make some sort of ducting system into the engine bay to lower temps.
 
running your fans while driving down the highway restricts airflow to the radiator. also other things you can try is heat wrapping your exhaust and downpipe and make some sort of ducting system into the engine bay to lower temps.

Please explain your logic. He said he has 2 fans pulling air away from the radiator into the engine bay, so he has them on the inside of the radiator, so how would that restrict airflow while having them on at highway speeds?
 
my mistake on previous post i mised the part where it said pulling air into the engine bay sorry for that but wrapping the downpipe wil lower the engine bay temps and a ducting system will also be able to help you do you have anything aroound the intercooler between your fmic and the radiator so when air hits the radiator it doesnt just escape out the on the sides and gets forced through the radiator? that can also help with cooling. forgot the correct term for it really tired its almost 4am LOL
 
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