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!

 

[weldtuner]

You really should do a pressure test to help find where(if at all) you are loosing pressure and letting air in. Most auto parts stores carry pressure testers and some even let you rent them.

 

[fastclip]

hey since you haven't replaced anything start simple, and change your thermostat(cheap part to replace and save you money because if you over heat an aluminum block, you wish you would of paid that 10 dollars.).

Check all your connections around your fan, because they might had to remove it to replace something and not connected it all the way back up. It happens.

Then get a voltmeter and start working your way down the wiring starting at the fan when the car goes a little past the middle. You should get some voltage. Or just get a jumper cable and connect it to your fan to make sure that your fan is actually still work.

 

[fastclip]

My guess from my own experience is that its the head warped. But hopefully it is just the gasket. These engines can withstand a lot but aluminum hates the heat. I have seen a lot of people destroy aluminum engines by simply letting it overheat. Cheak your oil and coolant too and see if there is any sign of either one in the other fluid in the other.

 

[ryanallan]

Ok an update here.

So I replaced the thermostat and rad cap today (I put in an 180F thermostat). Both parts looked pretty bad when I took them out, so next time I won't wait as long before I change them...
-> With a rad cap, thermostat and thermostat gasket I paid $25 and was able to replace them both in under 30minutes.

Any who, this seemed to help a bit, but did not fix the problem. The coolant actually circulates now and I can feel the lower rad hose getting warm. The fan still doesn't come on though.

What I noticed this time was:
1) Car heats up as per usual, but once at the needle is at middle part of the temp gauge, it slowly keep climbing. If I turn the A/C on, however, both fans come on, and seem to hold the temp gauge where it is so it neither rises nor falls.

2) Repeating step one, but this time with out turning the fans on, via the A/C, the temp gauge will eventually move into the red, but if I hold the RPM's at 2000rpm the temp needle drops like a rock back around the middle part of the gauge.

3) Also driving the car around the block - with the A/C off - the temp gauge reads as per normal.

So I figure maybe the water pump isn't moving enough water through the system at low RPM, and the fan temp switch is either unplugged or not working.

Any ideas ?

 

[ryanallan]

Pulling air back. You want the cooler outside air to flow through the radiator fins to cool down the hot engine coolant, not the hotter air from the engine. Also pushing out would never work when the car is moving.

Well my stock cooling system 1990 Talon seems to be blowing air through the rad, towards the bumper.
If i stand about one foot back from the front bumper, I can feel a breeze from the fans blowing on my legs...

 

[fastclip]

I would check your fan temp sensor that would be my next guess. The fans usually keep the car cool when at idle or really slow speeds or traffic. You should check the sensor, or if you have a junk yard around you get one off a donar. The sensor should be turning on the fans regardless. If so i have some friends that also hooked up a switch to their fans that way they can turn them on at their discretion, but also have the fans turn on when the car needs it. So that might be an option to hook a switch up. Also just check all your fuse.
Something i have learn to do work by is "Small things usual cause the big problems" and sure enough with these cars they do.

 

[eweppler]

Thanks for you help!! when i get my talon back from paint ill be sure to get a pressure test done and relook over everything...i mad a 155 mile trip this weekend with the talon and watched everything..i made it half way and noticed that the temp was rising so i pulled over and stopped for just over 30 min to cool down the engine and refill the radiator before i continued.

 

[-TunedDSM-]

Alright guys, I've been having more problems with my car lately.

Just yesterday my car has been starting to overheat. When it started doing this I just limped the car home with both fans on. Once I shut it off I could hear it gargling coolant so I figured the thermostat was stuck. Today I replaced the thermostat, but the car still does the same thing.

My car has also taken a liking to idle surge lately. I am throwing an Idle Control System code according to my logger. I changed out the ISC, but the surge continues. Could it possibly be blown seals in the throttle body?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[DSM4me44]

Your adjustment screw on the TB could be leaking. The best way to test it, is to do a boost leak test and spray soapy water at the TB.

As far as the overheating, you say you already replaced your thermostat. You didn't mention any check engine codes either. One thing i can ask is, are all your coolant lines still run the stock routes? I made a new hard pipe coolant line to fix the one that goes behind the turbo (off the water neck i believe). Anyway, the new one was running just close enough to the manifold to heat the coolant up enough to be above normal and bubble.

 

[dsmulla]

I would suggest changing your rad cap, upper and lower rad hoses as well. Cheap stuff that might fix the problem before you spend big bucks. When was last time the water pump was changed? Do you have white smoke coming from your exhaust?

Osman

 

[-TunedDSM-]

All coolant lines are still routed in the stock manner. Upper radiator hose was replaced only a couple weeks ago and water pump was done no more than 10k ago. I am not burning or leaking any coolant, no white smoke from the exhaust.

I am going to check the water pump pulley and belt to make sure its not slipping and flush the coolant. I will report back with any findings. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[timot]

the connection between idle and coolant temp is the coolant temp sensor, when you do your flush check it for resistance, make sure it is within limits

 

[-TunedDSM-]

Well the overheating has stopped. I must have still been low on coolant I suppose. None the less that issue is done with.

As for the idle surge, I was able to adjust the BISS and get the idle at 800 rpm and for the 10 to 15 minutes that I was driving it, it did not surge at all. Still throwing the code though.

As long as the car lasts until winter, I will be happy. Cant wait to the rip the piece of shit apart

 

[chicagoboostin]

problem is still there, added a fan, took out the thermostat, re-torqued the headstuds I'm going nuts.

 

[hewhoisknot]

Have you tested the gauge or the sending unit for the gauge? Does it actually over heat as in you can see smoke? Have you pressure tested the system?

 

[ALP584]

If you still have the ac core in the car it will make your car run hot, also if you retdid your studs it is not going to make much difference since the haed gasket already failed due to wrong torque spec

 

[redline2k6]

it honestly sounds like you have an air pocket in the car that you need to get out!...open the pressure cap start the car move the car up and down with your hand and see if you get any air bubbles

 

[turbosax2]

it honestly sounds like u have an air pocket in the car that u need to get out!...open the pressure cap start the car move the car up and down with ## hand and see if u get any air bubbles

This isn't necessary.

These post were from Defiant in another thread.

Despite how often it's spoken on, burping the coolant system on a DSM isn't needed. It has no hidden high points to capture air. If there are no leaks, it will purge itself by the second heating/cooling cycle.

It's burped out into the overflow tank, the bubbles rise to the surface, and when the motor cools off it's replaced with liquid coolant.
This applies to virtually all engines; those that have been erroneously engineered and need to be bled have bleeder valves installed at the high point of the system (where the radiator cap should have been).

 

[Defiant]

Actually my fan setup right now is retarded. I have 1 slim fan pushing and the a/c fan pulling, I also moved my big ass oil cooler to the drivers side, to the radiator could get more air.

You do have both of those moving air from the front to the back, right? Have you confirmed this by checking them while they're running?
What sort of temperature gauge are you running, is it aftermarket? Do you have actual temperature readings? What "overheating" symptoms do you have?

 

[chicagoboostin]

overheating symptoms being: High idle when the temp gauge gets high, small loss of coolant, more but anyway I just came in from outside.


After 4 hours of being out there stumped I kept adding coolant, small amounts, very small, over the range of maybe a shot glass ever 5 minutes, but it kept taking it.. I was really confused.. so I started looking along all my coolant lines again...

There was a small puddle of clear liquid on top of the trans, I tasted it, and it was coolant, so I started freaking out touching everything.. and I came across the water pipe piece, that runs along side the block, I felt it and it was slippery, I am almost postive this is my problem. I must of split the water pipe piece of the rubber hose I have connected to it is screwed.

We shall see.. Hopefully this is it.

 

[1FASTRICE]

What about your timing? Is it dead on?

 

[chicagoboostin]

dead on.

 

[mavisky]

I had an odd overheating issue where I my radiator cap had developed a few cracks in the seal and was creating a fine brown mist of coolant all over the thermostat housing. This wouldn't let the radiator build much pressure and over time would slowly mist away the coolant resulting in ever increasing high temps.

 

[CarliBoost]

I think you should replace your radiator cap....try that one, it happened to me....

 

[srtkiller]

Being that I work in the parts department in a dealership I have seen many people spend lots of money trying to fix this same problem. Almost everytime They will replace everything but the radiator cap. Replace the cap I can almost gurantee that was the problem from the begining. I am also speaking on personal experience I live in Arizona I know hot.