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!

 

[BigSorn]

x2 on the thermostat, it's only 2 12mm bolts, and it's off. there about 5 bucks too.

 

[costas14]

yea well my cousin said hes gonna tow it tomorrow afternoon, at the garage we got this towing company to do all out towing, but most tow companys dont wanna go 25 miles ot pick up a car and come back if they dont have to, hopefully its just that

 

[PIMking]

x2 on the thermostat, it's only 2 12mm bolts, and it's off. there about 5 bucks too.

If the old thermostat is bad here a trick so you dont get air bubbles in your coolant when you replace it.

Take a uncoated Tylenol pill open the thermostat by hand and put the pill in the opening to keep it open. then install add your coolant start the car and fill up until the coolant almost runs out of the neck put the cap back on and the tylenol will dissolve and wont hurt the car!

wouldnt hurt to flush the radatior and check the uppper and lower coolant hoses.

You can run without a thermostat but the car will be pretty cool and probably dump more fuel in to warm it up so you will run rich but if that is the way to get you home in a limp.

 

[meliketoball]

Replace the thermostat, they may be about 200 bucks to replace, but who wants to overheat?

 

[costas14]

thanks guys, its prob going to get towed this afternoon, and one of the mechanics will troubleshot it, and prob order all the parts it needs from autopart international, and put it all together by this weekend

 

[venomhiss]

check your oil...if it looks kinda like choclate milk, your head gasket is gone....THATS what will really cost some money.

 

[AshTsi]

Definitely Change the thermostat they are not too much. Check and make sure that you don't have muddy coolant. Thats a biggy but from the sounds of it i don't think it is. Also, Did you notice if your fan's came on at all when it was getting hot or when you let it idle?

 

[costas14]

at idle it was perfect, fans came on after we revved it, gauge was normal, then when we moved it, still at a low rpm, it shot right up

 

[AshTsi]

How hot was it reading before it shot up? About half? Well just change the thermostat and see it its the cure, if not you ruled one out.

 

[costas14]

it was almost at half, then it moved, and boom it went up, so we still drove it to the gas station, it was going up, when we turned it back on again, the temp gauge was at half, but what typeof thermostat should i get, the stock one at 185 or 180 degrees, or the one thast 10 degrees lower at 170 or 175?

 

[AshTsi]

I would just go for the stock one, but if you want to try something different i dont see why it would hurt it. It sure does sound alot like thats what your problem is, if you were running at half which is normal and then it shoots up like that it just soudns like its stuck and not opening.

 

[costas14]

the car is getting towed overnight so im gonna shoot over and pick up a thermostat tonight and come to the shop early tomorrow and install it, what exactly does a thermostat really do? how does it actually work?

 

[PIMking]

the car is getting towed overnight so im gonna shoot over and pick up a thermostat tonight and come to the shop early tomorrow and install it, what exactly does a thermostat really do? how does it actually work?

It will stay closed until the coolant temp will get up to 180 or what ever your thermostat is and when it gets up to temp it will open.

 

[AshTsi]

When the engine is started cold, the thermostat is closed. The engine coolant does not circulate through the radiator. Instead it returns back into the engine through the by-pass tube. This helps to warm up the engine faster. As soon as the engine temperature reaches the normal range, the thermostat opens and the engine coolant starts circulating through the radiator where it cools down.
If the coolant temperature in the radiator drops too low, for example when driving on a freeway in a cold weather, the thermostat closes again to keep the temperature within operating range.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v710/lapadap/?action=view&current=thermostat_closed.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v710/lapadap/thermostat_closed.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v710/lapadap/?action=view&current=thermostat_open.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v710/lapadap/thermostat_open.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[costas14]

thanks i chekced for muddy coolant too, today i changed oil on a car that came out looking like chocalte milk so i knew what to look for, my oil is black, and my coolant when it exploded was really green, i chekced out the car today which is still parked were we parked it, green everywere, hopefully tomororw morning when i go to the shop, it'll be right there, im gonna take photos and post them, we have a computer in the back, i also noticed today the head was resealed, and theres dejon pipe and k&n intake cone connected to the turbo, hopefully by the end of april, i can get her on the street and im paiting her ferarri red and getting rid of the stupid hood with the bump over the cams

 

[ronsam2006]

Ok guys...my car had not been overheating for a long time. But about two months ago...every time I would fill up coolant, it would spit it out the dump tube in a few minutes of running. Then I would have to refill the coolant every three to four days.

About two weeks ago, it started getting worse...except now when the coolant is kinda low, IT WOULD BE FINE WHEN I AM DRIVING, BUT WHEN I COME TO A STOP OR IDLING, IT OVERHEATED. My friend suggested changing the thermostat, which I did four days ago.

Once I changed the thermostat, the needle was sitting perfectly. But once again, it started to overheat, except this time, I WOULDNT SEE ANYTHING COME OUT OF THE COOLANT DUMP TUBE. Now my friend who knows his stuff on DSMs said that it could be head gasket.

Does anyone who has had this kind of a problem or knows someone who has, suggest anything at all before getting that checked? Could it be that my radiator is clogged and when I am idling, it overheats because it is not properly circulating. But WHERE IS ALL THE COOLANT GOING?????? Someone please help....thanks a lot!

p.s. Every time I have been filling coolant the past few days, it has been almost a whole gallon every day or every two days.

 

[twoTSis]

Are you positive that the coolant is low everytime you fill it and that the it's not just the reserve tank that is low?

 

[absolute_DSM]

If you think its a head gasket, do a compression test.

 

[ronsam2006]

Are you positive that the coolant is low everytime you fill it and that the it's not just the reserve tank that is low?

Ok when it started to overheat yesterday night, I checked the reservoir, but it was full! I drove about 60 miles like this ----->it would overheat at idle and stop light, but on the highway or while driving hard, it would be fine. So basically, its like the movie speed, ol..i cant stop. So today morning, I checked the reservoir, and it was only full 1/4th the way. I also put about a gallon of coolant in the fill cap.

 

[Laysher91]

Make sure the system is full AND the overflow bottle. If its not the headgasket (compression check, mixed oil and coolant), check all of your hoses. Keep an eye out for puddles after the car sits. Check to make sure your fans are kicking on too.

 

[dimon2000]

i had the same problem. the car temperture will never get too hot but the coolant would boil like crazy and dissapear some where all the time. I put an aluminum rad and slim fans and that solved the problem for me. you could also have a week water pump. good luck

 

[ronsam2006]

I dont think I have a weak water pump as I replaced it like 6 months ago. Im being optimistic and suggesting that I just have air in the system or I just need a new radiator with slim fans, etc. I think it would be cheaper to go ahead and replace the radiator instead of the head gasket...plus when I was installing my FMIC, I noticed that my radiator had a lot of fins messed up.

 

[2GeNTSi]

Perhaps it is your heater core that is bad. Check under the carpeting on the passenger and drivers side to see if there is any coolant going down there, if there is, then your heater core is leaking. It is possible to loop the heater hoses that go to the firewall (or even just point the bottom hose down towards the ground so that less coolant gets in the cabin) this way you can temporarily solve the issue.

 

[ronsam2006]

GOOD NEWS------> I just got a block check done to see if there are and hydro carbons in the coolant to see if the head gasket is blown at a reliable radiator shop and they said its not the head gasket...he suggested it could be the radiator seals or the heater core. Ill have to do it old fashioned style and put a cardboard box under it. But thats the update.

 

[Bubbs Malone]

I had the same thing with coolant running out of the overflow, then it got worse. I was putting coolant in every morning before my 45 minute commute to work. It turns out there was a crack in the tank of the radiator. I replaced the radiator and haven't put fluid in since the system cycled and I was able to get the proper levels. I also lost the funny water flowing sound coming from behind the dash, I read on the forums this was due to low coolant in most cases. Check you hoses too, look for fluid residue on the motor.