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!

 

[architechnik]

Let's start with the simple stuff. When was the last time the radiator cap was replaced? Sometimes they seem fine until you start playing with them and that old, crunchy seal gives way.

Some auto parts stores have pressure testers available for rent which you replace the cap and pump it up to the desired pressure. You leave it there for about 15 minutes and see if it changes. This would diagnose any leaks, although the reservoir is the last place it will go in the case of a leak.

I do not believe it is the head gasket. If it is the head gasket, you will notice discoloration in the coolant and the oil, as those cross over into one another.

When was the last time you changed the water pump? You said brand new, but how many miles? If the water pump seizes, it will cause part of the engine to overheat without regard for flow into the radiator. The thermostat may also be stuck closed. (When changing out a radiator or thermostat it is important to flush the engine several times to remove any debris that might get lodged in there.) Messing with the throttle body coolant lines may have dislodged some rust or particulate that has made the pump ineffective.

To check for flow, drain a small amount of the fluid and disconnect the upper hose. Start the car and see if fluid flows from the hose after a moment. (Using a spare tube is much cleaner than just going all out with this method... it can get messy.)

If the thermostat and water pump are working properly, it should not start flowing until the temp reaches 88C or 190F. If it does not start flowing, it's the pump or thermo is stuck closed. If it flows continuously, your thermo is busted.

 

[zero97tsi]

It's easy to pull the stat. just take it out and boil it and see what happens. My car did that when the stat went bad.

 

[layzie12g]

How old is the radiator in the car? I had my car all rebuilt and it started to over heat i thought it could have been a million differnt things and i replaced everything as you did and it turned out to be an old clogged radiator. i got a new one and i was good to go

 

[FlatBlackAndy]

The Rad Cap is new. The radiator is not clogged. It is not old just used. The water pump has only been on there for not even 200 miles. The motor was JUST built! I already pulled the pump off to check for debris. There was none. The thermostat is for 160F it is new.

I'll have to try the pressure test out tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[tqmx1]

What is the temp guage doing ? Is the right fan kicking on when it warms up, and how full is the over flow tank to start with?

 

[neoviper]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/200575-help-im-overheating-heres-how-fix.html

Hope this helps

 

[tqmx1]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/200575-help-im-overheating-heres-how-fix.html

Hope this helps

That kinda hits all the bases.

 

[FlatBlackAndy]

The temp goes is at normal when just driving around but as soon as you start to get on it. Then it will rise up to halfway. but then as soon as it has spit too much coolant out of the overflow it starts to overheat.

Thanks for the link and the help.

 

[TerribleTSi]

thats exactly what happen to my car. if a brand new water pump or Tstat can go bad why coulnd't a head gasket???? and if your new HG is pushing coolant (WHICH DOES HAPPEN) it does not mean your oil is automatically mixing with coolant. it means that your pushing compression into you coolant system, NOT OIL. if you blow the hell out of it then they will mix.

rebuilt engine huh, was your block and head both decked/resurfaced? what type HG are you using? MLS or composite. i know thats the last thing you want it to be but it happens.....ALOT, and to everyone

 

[Twinky-Ninja]

Have you verified your fans are coming on? You can jumper out the plug on the temp sensor in the rad to see if your relays are working properly. If they come on when you jumper the plug, but not during normal operation, your looking at a bad temp switch. I'm assuming you've already checked this, but just wanted to throw it out there. Good luck.

dave

 

[FlatBlackAndy]

thats exactly what happen to my car. if a brand new water pump or Tstat can go bad why coulnd't a head gasket???? and if your new HG is pushing coolant (WHICH DOES HAPPEN) it does not mean your oil is automatically mixing with coolant. it means that your pushing compression into you coolant system, NOT OIL. if you blow the hell out of it then they will mix.

rebuilt engine huh, was your block and head both decked/resurfaced? what type HG are you using? MLS or composite. i know thats the last thing you want it to be but it happens.....ALOT, and to everyone

Just replaced the damn thing. It is composite. The motor was built properly. Already not driving the thing. Guess it's time to take the head off.

Once again thanks for all the help!

 

[FlatBlackAndy]

you were right one the money on that one TerribleTsi. Popped the head off and sure enough the head gasket was bad.

Got a new one. putting that on tomorrow and hopefully thats the end of that problem.

 

[smellmyface686]

I just started having a similar problem last night. yesterday morning i noticed the coolant looked a little low, so i dumped in about 1/4 jug of antifreeze and everything was fine. On the way to work it started to overheat, so i coasted into the parking lot and went to work (didn't have time to play around with it and find out exactly what was happening.) Went to the bar immediately after work and everything was cool, but when i left the bar about 10 minutes into the ride it started again. I had to end up parking it at a friends house and leaving it until the morning. It got hot, but i don't believe it overheated too bad.

So to make this long story short, last night it seemed like it was overheating because the fans wouldn't kick on. I went home got some tools and wire and as i went back this morning to hardwire the fans, they were working fine. Now even with the fans working it still overheats. Im using a brand new Koyorad radiator, brand new temp switch in the bottom, mitsu metal head gasket all on a 4g63. There is a small oil leak from a crack in the valve cover, so i'm going to change out all the oil and make sure nothing is mixed. Is there anything else i should try?

 

[layzie12g]

Pushed coolant under boost = headgasket

 

[smellmyface686]

Pushed coolant under boost = headgasket

Yea unfortunately thats what i think it is too. Oil pressure stays the same even as the car loses oil, so i'm guessing it's coolant being mixed. Waiting on some oil and a jack so i can see for sure.

 

[always_broken]

I didn't realize I lost a substantial amount of coolant when I d/c the coolant lines to the tb. After I rerouted the lines and started her up the next day I went to work and my car dies on the freeway, I tried to 'push start' it with the momentum I had but that didn't work. Luckily I was coasting towards an exit so I made it off and down to a store.

After I popped the hood steam was coming out. Mind you this just all happened at once so I didn't know what was going on. After I collected myself I went inside to hook up the logger, but when I turned the key to the on position I noticed my temp gauge was all the way up! I let it cool for about 40 minutes while I ate. Used my small cup and made about 20 trips back and fowarth from the bathroom sink to the car and filled it up. Started her up and did a test drive around the parking lot a few times, Good.

On the way I home I babied it but I noticed I got some ticking, and it only got louder as my speed increased. I searched the forums and found a possibility it might be my lifters. But to anyone with experience with this can y'all confirm? I put a quart of oil in and it did get a little quiter but lmk.

 

[always_broken]

Anyone have any advice for this? Really need to fix this by tonight.

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

What kind of ticking, where is it coming from?

James

 

[always_broken]

Sound like from the head, but I haven't pinpointed exactly. It goes away when I step on the clutch if that helps any.

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

I dont know about when you step on the clutch is goes away, sorda unrelated. But if it is coming from the head, more than likely you burned some oil when your car overheating, and the lifters didnt have enough oil, which made them tick. Do an oil change and let me know.

James

 

[always_broken]

Thanks, thats what the manager at autozone told me. use 3 qts. of oil and lucas stabilizer. Don't have access to a jack right now but when I do Ill do it and post results. I hope you're right.

 

[Boost92awd]

Alright my cars acting up again it was intermitate, but now theres definitly something wrong. I noticed that my lights on my dash will flicker every once in awhile not alot but its noticable. Also when I have my defroster on, it dosent stay steady, its almost like its getting turned from the 2nd notch to the 3rd notch. This happen like once a minute then it wont happen for like 2 or 3 minutes then it will do it again. Havent been able to figure it out. Also my cars been running hotter than usuall now not over heating hot, but high enough to notice that somethings wrong. I just had the battery and alternator checked last week and they were fine. I just changed the thermostat less than a month ago. I'm not sure what to look for now, my biggest concern is its running hotter than it should. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gstclipse69]

I guess your seeing that your car is running hotter than it should via your logger? Is your radiator fan cutting on at 206? How hot is it getting?

 

[Boost92awd]

I have the logger but I'm still waiting on the cable to get here.

I also noticed that if I drive it without really going into boost that the temperture will go just a tad bit higher than where it usually stays. But if I do a harder pull from a stop lets say to 60 MPH, shifting at like 4,000 and building about 7-8 pounds of boost the temperture gauge will go up quite a bit, eventually coming back down alittle bit.

 

[Detail]

Check the coolant lines running to the turbo. It sounds to me like you have a leak. Sometimes (like my car) you don't think you have a leak because you see no coolant dripping. Well, in my case the turbo feed was jussssssst barely leaking, thus keeping the system from getting full pressure. No drip obviously because the turbo evaporates it quickly. Also, if you having electrical issues at the same time, TRIPLE check that coolant line that runs behind the alternator. After replacing 14 alternators in the last 1.5 years I can tell you that coolant will kill one quickly and that stuipd line likes to spray the alt.

Good luck man.