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!

 

[johnmarines]

OK.. I have tried to figure out what going on but I am at a loss. About 2 months ago my 2g gst overheated. I removed the head and took it to a machine shop to be checked (which it was warped) while the head was at the machine shop I replaced my water pump, thermostat and all my water lines and hoses. Anyways, to make a long story short.. it's still overheating. I have replaced pretty much everything that has to do with the cooling system.... water pump, thermostat, hoses and even installed a new mishimoto aluminum radiator. I flushed the whole system and even wired both cooling fans to come on at the same time. The thing is, it only overheats when ever I am on the highway. It can be siting in the driveway for hours and it wont even get close to overheating. I even replaced the sensors on the thermostat housing. My list of mods are:

evo16g turbo
264/272 cams
FMIC
ported/poshed and decked head
ported exhaust manifold
660 injectors
2 1/2 " exhaust w/o cat.
maft translator w/ 3" mas
255 fuel pump w/fpr set @43psi
arp head studs
3 layer cosmetic HG
aem wideband
afc neo
boost set at 18psi (but have not seen past 10psi since hg replacement)

ok... I think that sums it up. Like I said, on the freeway past 55 it starts to rise in temp but as soon as I slow down it goes back to normal. The hotter it is outside the quicker it starts to overheat. I am assuming my HG failed but the car only has about 600 miles on the new gasket. By the way my head studs are torqued at 85psi if that matters. There is no smoke coming out of the tail pipe and I am not losing any water. My system does presurize because when I loosen my radiator cap when its warm I can hear the pressure being released. My water is not milky either. My engine oil is normal. Any ideas??? I am sooo lost as what to do. Could it be that the machine shop messed up the head? If it was a bad HG wouldnt I see some loss of fluid? I am so ready to push my car off a cliff

 

[The_EE]

Did you ever try a new radiator cap?

 

[johnmarines]

yes the cap is also new.... I do hear bubbling sounds coming from the radiator reservoir when its over heating. My logger also states its overheating. I shut the car down at 217 degrees. And as far as the sensors, I have replaced both of them.

 

[92-eagle-talon]

Is your timing right ?

 

[ekanddsm]

When the fans come on do you feel hot air coming through and are the fans wired to pull air through the radiator? did you check to see if water is actually moving when the tstat opens?

 

[FP3065TSI]

Is your timing right ?

Just out of curiosity if it starts right and everything seems right (excluding the overheating situation.) would the timing come in the equation? and if so could someone explain to me.

 

[ilikespeeding]

Stock cap or high pressure cap? What water/antifreeze ratio are you running?

Has run cool on the highway since you've installed the front mount?

 

[johnmarines]

Timing is dead on, I did a timing belt install when I installed the new HD and I triple check it. As far as if hot air is coming through the cooling fans... yes... It is pulling hot air out of the radiator. When I have the radiator cap off I do see water moving through the housing. I even took out my thermostat just to see if it would help, which it didn't. As far as the cap goes, I don't know if its a stock or high pressure. I bought it from the local autoparts store. It does have a relief lever to release pressure b4 u open it. My antifreeze ratio is 70/30 and the FMIC has been on the car for about 2 years... this is the first time I have ever had a problem like this. I just removed my bumper and took off my FMIC to take a look at my a/c condenser. It was covered in black paint from when I got my car painted. I went ahead and sprayed some paint remover and washed it clean. It looks brand new. I am hoping with the paint removed it will allow more air flow. I just have a feeling that it will not make a difference. I am even considering making a couple of holes in the top part of the bumper, right where the misu logo is in the middle. I have seen pictures of 2g's with different type holes filled with some type of mesh just to help with the flow problem. I really don't want to but I am running out of ideas.

i just read this in another post....

Both the block and head need to be resurfaced correctly in order to run an MLS with no leakage. Other's have gotten away with it, but taking that chance is up to you.

When I had my head at the machine shop I DID NOT take the block to get resurfaced. could this be my problem?

 

[jrprich]

Odd problem started today. My 96 Eagle Talon Auto Turbo AWD Tsi has started overheating......but only when on the highway at 50+ MPH.
Tonight was a 65 degree day, so it wasn't the outside temp.
On the street it runs right at normal temp, but as soon as I start cruising at 50+ the temp shoots all the way to the top of the gauge. I checked the system soon after pulling off the freeway, cap was tight, overflow bottle was max full, top hose seemed fine.
On the street the fans run as required.
So what do you think ? Bad cap, bad thermostat, collapsing lower hose, or ??? WTF

Thanks in advance

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

Check your termostat first. Is there any sign's of leaking water anywhere? How old is the water pump?

 

[jrprich]

Check your termostat first. Is there any sign's of leaking water anywhere? How old is the water pump?

No water leaking, water pump has about 84k on it.......I will replace the thermostat next. But wouldn't it overheat on the street if the thermostat was stuck closed ?

 

[ilikespeeding]

Doubt it. You said no signs of leaks or burns right?

You still have A/C and you wonder why you're overheating? Pull that shit off. Roll the windows down. Use God's air conditioning. Haha.

Id say the next step is to pull the themostat completely out. If it's still overheating, we'll work from there. Test at night too.

 

[Defiant]

Failed thermostat, or the water pump impeller's died. Thermostat is most likely. There's no telling how a given t-stat will fail.
Check your harmonic balancer while you're at it.

 

[jrprich]

Failed thermostat, or the water pump impeller's died. Thermostat is most likely. There's no telling how a given t-stat will fail.
Check your harmonic balancer while you're at it.

Thanks,

How do I check my harmonic balancer and verify if the water pump is dead ?

This AM, now that it is cold, all the coolant was gone from the overflow tank.......was full to the top yesterday when hot. No coolant showing in the filler neck or when I squeezed the bottom radiator hose.......but she was full last week when I looked. Checked the oil, no sign of water in the oil.
This puppy is in my garage every night, so if it was leaking, I would know right away.

 

[Defiant]

If you don't have a stethoscope, get one. Listen to the water pump. If there's any growling or rumbling, it increases the chances it's the problem.
However, I don't like the sound of disappearing coolant. Top-up your engine, fill the overflow about halfway, drive to a Wal*Mart twenty miles away, browse for a half-hour, drive it back home and check tomorrow for either leaks or water in the expansion tank. There should still be some, or a puddle.

 

[50trimmed1g]

I'm having the same problem. Been having it for about 2 months now. I only overheat under load or high rpm though. I have so far replaced thermostat, refurbished radiator, flushed system with hose, new hoses, new radiator cap, water wetter. Fans are working and sensors are working. My next guess would be the ducting removed for fmic fitment is causing radiator not to get enough air flow and if that isn't it then headgasket. Check a few of the things that I've checked. Hopefully it is something very easy to fix/replace.

 

[Turbo Talon DL]

I'm having the same problem. Been having it for about 2 months now. I only overheat under load or high rpm though. I have so far replaced thermostat, refurbished radiator, flushed system with hose, new hoses, new radiator cap, water wetter. Fans are working and sensors are working. My next guess would be the ducting removed for fmic fitment is causing radiator not to get enough air flow and if that isn't it then headgasket. Check a few of the things that I've checked. Hopefully it is something very easy to fix/replace.

I just corrected the very same issue you describe here. My coolant temps would get up to 216* on the freeway at 70 MPH in the summer. I spent quite a few hours fabricating some duct work around my radiator and it made a HUGE improvement. Granted it was at night and my logger was showing 82* outside my coolant temps at idle were 199-203. I took the car for a test run and they dropped even further to 189*. Before the cooling fan would almost NEVER turn off and idle temps could get up to 209* and never got as low as 189*. I'm almost thinking about putting my 192* thermostat back in now.

 

[jrprich]

If you don't have a stethoscope, get one. Listen to the water pump. If there's any growling or rumbling, it increases the chances it's the problem.
However, I don't like the sound of disappearing coolant. Top-up your engine, fill the overflow about halfway, drive to a Wal*Mart twenty miles away, browse for a half-hour, drive it back home and check tomorrow for either leaks or water in the expansion tank. There should still be some, or a puddle.

Will do,

The stethoscope is a good idea......will pick one up

I replaced the thermostat, pressure cap, and coolant yesterday afternoon. I will drive her to work today and see how it goes......but we have a cool/wet day for casted. WTF

As I posted, no leaks when parked.......hope it isn't the pump or balancer.........

Thanks for all the suggestions......my Tsi is bone stock, never raced, and I have had it since new,,,,,,,been pretty problem free for 124k. Just the usual bad lifters and water pump replaced at about 45k........and the sunroof motor Needs the 3rd gen lifters now.......have one that sticks sometimes at high speed.
It has never had an overheating problem before.

Drove it to work this morning, about 10 min of stop and go in town, 10 min at 60 on the freeway........temp stayed right in the middle , as usual, but the weather was cool and damp (55d) so not much of a test.
But the weather was similar the day it overheated so badly and lost coolant. Still no clue where the coolant went
So perhaps the new thermostat or cap did the trick.......hope so

 

[siceclipse]

just a small thing to throw out there.

your fans turn off when the car reads over 45/50mph, because airflow at that speed is more than enough to cool your radiator.

Make sure you have your stock plastic ducting that goes from the mouth of your front bumper, up and to your radiator (directing airflow).

but as of now it sounds like it was a bad thermostat.

 

[johnmarines]

I removed the t stat and after cleaning the a/c condensor it still overheated. I had to put on the heater to bring the temp back down. I did notice that after it overheated , when I would drive on side streets it would overheat when I was driving at 30 mph. Someone told me to take the radiator cap off and rev the motor alittle to see if there is any bubbles. here is the like to youtube.... let me know what u think... sorry for the poor quality of the video, It was taken from my cell phone

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ka93cT0jFVc"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ka93cT0jFVc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

 

[mndsm1]

My car has been doing this a lot lately, and noticed I was overheating today, checked to see if the fan was running and it was not. Once I got home I checked if I had any coolant in the reservoir which I didnt, could this cause my fan to not turn on if it gets to hot? not having coolant? Also im shooting white smoke out of my exhaust, blown headgasket? Probably a reason why im losing coolant correct?

Question #2, is that im getting a squeeling from my power steering belt/accessories belt and I just sprayed it down with belt condition and it didnt do anything, what should I do?

 

[Epixinc]

#2 replace the belt!

 

[motorboat]

#1 possibly a blown headgasket, sounds like the symptoms, take your spark plugs out and see if there is any coolant in there... #2, yes change the belt

 

[Defiant]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...-just-time-pics-video.html?highlight=harmonic

 

[jrprich]

No overheating over the last two days of driving it to work.......BUT
I am still finding the overflow tank empty and no water showing under the main fill cap after letting it cool down.
I have topped off the fill point and filled the overflow tank to the Min level each morning. Have burped it many times squeezing the lower radiator hose.
Checked the oil each day, no sign of water in the oil.



Well it was not the Thermostat or the Cap as I had a BAD overheating episode today after about a 45 minute drive of city/freeway mix. Again in 50 degree weather........this time tons of steam came pouring out of the hood, once I got the hood open the hissing and steam all seemed to be coming out of the back side of the engine. By back side, I mean the intake manifold side.......all seemed beneath the manifold, but I couldn't really see the source......any ideas ?
Also, this time the radiator fans NEVER turned on that I could tell........not when I pulled into the garage with it steaming.
BTW, the oil is still fine, no foaming, no sign of water. So if it is a head gasket, it is not leaking into the cylinders........a good thing.

Again, looking for ideas as to what to look at