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!

 

[Dsmj89]

Well just last night, after all this time of having a fmic, my car started overheating.
While driving at night, the car's temp started going up, so i let go of the gas, put it in neutral while rolling and the temp lowered. Then i got back cruising at a smooth speed to go back up and it stayed mid-way needle, then as i got closer to home about 2 blocks away, it started to rise somewhat again.
Ran the car today today to prove this and same results.

I changed my water pump 1 week ago, have new radiator hoses, no leaks or overflowing on the coolant overflow bottle, no boiling water either, it just gets hot, and when standing still, it doesn't overheat ????
Could this be i need pusher fans ? Aluminum radiator ?
I am currently running a mishimoto ac fan as my stock one broke, but this little fan seems to not flow enough, it sucks.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[johnmarines]

Have you made sure your fan is pulling air and not pushing it back into the radiator? How long ago did you install the fan? I had this same problem before, it turned out to have been my head gasket. I would start with a radiator flush and go from there.

 

[Hubbell91Tsi]

probably a head gasket problem... I dont even run fans on my car and its never over heated. Im also running straight water.

 

[Dsmj89]

I bought the a/c fan about 5 months ago and have never had a problem with it, and it is installed correctly.
If it were the head gasket, wouldn't my compression be bad and cause the car to idle funny ?
My car idles like a charm.
I just drove to my friend's house today and i didn't have a single problem or symptom of it to overheat. It got there perfectly fine.
I was thinking about doing another flush with 25/75 coolant/water mix and 1 watter wetter bottle and ordering 2 FAL pusher fans to see if it helps.

Any other inputs would help.

 

[JesterJess]

What thermostat do you have in there? It sounds like you have a thermostat that may be having fits. It's a cheap fix. Get a GOOD ONE. We sell one that is stainless steel and fails OPEN, not closed (as most do.) Go you your loal NAPA store and pick up a good t-stat.

 

[Dsmj89]

Hmm good call, my t-stat is new as well, few days on the car only, not even a week.
It is some generic company, it's like a 170-180 degree t-stat. It would suck to have to replace it but i don't mind to get a true oem mitsu part.
You guys believe a new t-stat could fail that quickly ?

 

[96eclipzGsT]

Is it full of coolant when you take off the radiator cap?

 

[Dsmj89]

Yes i checked this twice already. Coolant is always there when i take the cap off, it doesn't leak any coolant.

I'm thinking about getting a new radiator for the sake of it and doing a 75/25 water/coolant mix and a bottle of watter wetter and see if that helps along with a new mitsubishi t-stat.
If that don't work out then i will order me 2-12" fal slim fans.

Like i said, this only happens when i drive the car hard, when i drive it nice and easy it doesn't overheat.. i'm at loss..

*PS* My fmic is 3.5" thick if that matters..

 

[96eclipzGsT]

Yes i checked this twice already. Coolant is always there when i take the cap off, it doesn't leak any coolant.

I'm thinking about getting a new radiator for the sake of it and doing a 75/25 water/coolant mix and a bottle of watter wetter and see if that helps along with a new mitsubishi t-stat.
If that don't work out then i will order me 2-12" fal slim fans.

Like i said, this only happens when i drive the car hard, when i drive it nice and easy it doesn't overheat.. i'm at loss..

*PS* My fmic is 3.5" thick if that matters..

Maybe the radiator is just plugged up. You can get them rodded at a radiator shop for like 40-50 bucks.

 

[Dsmj89]

I flushed my radiator about a week ago. It's nice and clean as far as i know.
I might just end up getting a new one for piece of mind.
This is really frustrating.

 

[Droptop Spyda]

I vote for bad head gasket.... especially if you start puking into the radiator over flow tank.

 

[Dsmj89]

Damn i hope it's not the HG. It had the head gasket replaced in november before i bought it in december last year.
Sucks for a HG to go that fast if it is that, nonetheless i will do a compression check asap.

 

[Dsmj89]

Bump. Anyone else think it's the head gasket or could it be that it needs extra cooling ?
Last night i got home and it was running quite warm but it cooled down a bit, but i saw that both my fans were on non-stop, so i know for a fact my fans are kicking on when needed.

 

[greenDSMdude]

i had a car that did that once and it fried the head gasket a few days later so umm be careful so u dont get stranded.

 

[srpjosh]

Stop saying it's the HG, it's NOT. Here's a quick way to tell, pull your dipstick out, if the oil looks normal, it's not the headgasket because there isn't any water in the oil. If it looks like chocolate milk then it may be either the HG or a cracked block, since there's water in the oil.

I hate when people read the forums for a few days, and assume they know how to diagnose a problem. Stop assuming our cars ALWAYS blow headgaskets and crankwalk.

If the car is overheating during cruising speed ONLY, then this is what I would check/do.
1. Pull out t-stat, and check for any signs of failure. Sometimes even new parts fail. Remember N.E.W. stands for Never Ever Worked before.
2. Check for external leaks of coolant.
3. Flush system again and add a 30%/70% coolant/water combo respectively.
4. If this doesn't work, you may want to add better dual fan setup and/or aluminum radiator.

 

[Blurred Talon]

Do you have any ducting to force air through the fmic and then the rad?

Air takes the path of less resistance and this is something very commonly over looked on many cars.

 

[Dsmj89]

Stop saying it's the HG, it's NOT. Here's a quick way to tell, pull your dipstick out, if the oil looks normal, it's not the headgasket because there isn't any water in the oil. If it looks like chocolate milk then it may be either the HG or a cracked block, since there's water in the oil.

I hate when people read the forums for a few days, and assume they know how to diagnose a problem. Stop assuming our cars ALWAYS blow headgaskets and crankwalk.

If the car is overheating during cruising speed ONLY, then this is what I would check/do.
1. Pull out t-stat, and check for any signs of failure. Sometimes even new parts fail. Remember N.E.W. stands for Never Ever Worked before.
2. Check for external leaks of coolant.
3. Flush system again and add a 30%/70% coolant/water combo respectively.
4. If this doesn't work, you may want to add better dual fan setup and/or aluminum radiator.

Thanks olot for that info brotha, just what i needed to hear. And i agree on everyone assuming the most overrated answer.
I check my oil everyday, including today, and it looks normal, no milky looking oil.
I agree on the t-stat, i will check that out and see if it looks bad. I will actually just replace it with a mitsu piece as well as the rad cap while i'm at it.
And i will do another flush with 30/70 this time.
I'll post back the results.

Do you have any ducting to force air through the fmic and then the rad?

Air takes the path of less resistance and this is something very commonly over looked on many cars.

No i don't have any sort of ducting but good thinking i will look into that.

 

[southrneclipser]

you said it only runs ot wen you drive it hard. I had the exact same thing happen. I replaced my T-stat, water pump, all hoses, and flushed my radiator a few times. Noting worked until i simply replaced my radiator and it runs fine now. Remember to burp your coolant system too.

 

[jm1080]

dsmj, I'm also having similar problem. Well my dsmlink reported overheating and stock gauge was normal. Could also be coolant temp sensor. Anyways I replaced t-stat to a 170*, radiator cap, aluminum radiator, all new hoses, flush with new coolant/water + water wetter, new coolant temp sensor, new water pump, and i drove it hard yesterday for like 30-40min of stop and go and stock gauge reports normal, but dsmlink temp gauge (set to stock boost gauge) goes above mid line, but CEL doesn't go on like it did before, I believe I have CEL set to go on when temp raises above 226*. I'm still confused, don't know what to do. Maybe it is normal in our heat? Hopefully it not headgasket, is there any way to determine when headgasket going bad?

 

[sicktsi]

I have a built 90 tsi and don't have any of these problems. I have a koyo racing radiator, with a oem thermostat, gates racing hoses, two slim fans a 12in and a 10in and a power enterprises radiator cap. With a fmic. I personally would get the aluminum rad n oem thermostat n two slimfans make sure they are pulling the air throught the radiator.

 

[Dsmj89]

Southr thanks man i will be replacing my radiator for a new oem unit for the sake of it.

dsmj, I'm also having similar problem. Well my dsmlink reported overheating and stock gauge was normal. Could also be coolant temp sensor. Anyways I replaced t-stat to a 170*, radiator cap, aluminum radiator, all new hoses, flush with new coolant/water + water wetter, new coolant temp sensor, new water pump, and i drove it hard yesterday for like 30-40min of stop and go and stock gauge reports normal, but dsmlink temp gauge (set to stock boost gauge) goes above mid line, but CEL doesn't go on like it did before, I believe I have CEL set to go on when temp raises above 226*. I'm still confused, don't know what to do. Maybe it is normal in our heat? Hopefully it not headgasket, is there any way to determine when headgasket going bad?

I think it is our weather down here jm. I NEVER had a problem with my fmic until friday night. Lately the weather has been horrible and very humid, so both of those aren't helping out.
I have a new water pump and radiator hoses so i know it can't be that.

This is my approach to the situation and see if it works :
New oem radiator cap
New oem t-stat
New oem radiator
Coolant flush with 75/25, water/coolant
And if it doesn't cut it, I will be getting 2 flex-a-lite 12" fans


As for your headgasket jm just check your oil dipstick and make sure your oil doesn't look milky as stated above.

 

[jm1080]

Southr thanks man i will be replacing my radiator for a new oem unit for the sake of it.



I think it is our weather down here jm. I NEVER had a problem with my fmic until friday night. Lately the weather has been horrible and very humid, so both of those aren't helping out.
I have a new water pump and radiator hoses so i know it can't be that.

This is my approach to the situation and see if it works :
New oem radiator cap
New oem t-stat
New oem radiator
Coolant flush with 75/25, water/coolant
And if it doesn't cut it, I will be getting 2 flex-a-lite 12" fans


As for your headgasket jm just check your oil dipstick and make sure your oil doesn't look milky as stated above.

will check it today, thanks. Keep us updated if you fix your problem, also if you have dsmlink what are your temps showing?

 

[Dsmj89]

I don't have dsmlink, wish i did, i'm getting safc2 later down the road.
I will keep you posted after i get these parts changed.

 

[jm1080]

oh so your stock gauge goes well above mid line?

Also I checked my overfill bottle and it emptied out a bit, don't know where it went, still had some left, but was kind of low, filled it yesterday. Also checked oil dipstick (I changed recently to synthetic 10/40 mobile 1) And it was milky! Well I think. It was a bit darker and when I touched it it was like silky (don't know how to explain) But I know synthetic is usually really light goldish color and is like waterish, don't know how it got silkier and darker brown color! Does that mean headgasket?!?!?! Will take a pic soon to show.

 

[Dsmj89]

Wow hopefully it's not the headgasket but mine is perfectly fine. Post a pic to see how it looks like.
I think since it's hot out here in south florida these last couple days, the heat is started to take it's toll on my car wit hthe huge fmic. Time for some REAL fans after i change those above parts.

JM you said you had an aluminum radiator ? Did this really help cool your temps down ?

And yes my needle goes well above the middle but ONLY after hard driving it hard.