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!

 

[Oldsid]

yea my top hose was cold cold not even the slightest bit warm it was very odd thank you again for your help im gonna hopefully find the sending unit in stock but with my luck ill be waiting for ups but if they have i will post my results as soon as i can thank you both again for your help



well to be honest with you i wont let the car run past the point of the temp gauge saying its hot under the assumption it was working correct because it was moving and functional i feel to much to risk if it is getting to hot its already 3000 bucks sitting on brand new rubber i never even got it out of my driveway yet just out of the garage to my driveway and back in for a wash working out kinks i had a srt-4 that i blew up in a race thinking "nah the cars not to hot the gauge just isnt working and then i launched and it was all over so i really dont wanna do that again i get frustrated even thinkin of that all over again

You can at least check your thermostat. Remove it and put it in an old pan full of water. Bring it to boil and check if it opens. If you have a thermometer, you can check at what temperature it opens (a coocking thermometer will do!). There is no risk involved and you can eliminate a possible cause if the thermostat is OK. At the same time, you can run it without the cap and the thermostat for a very short time and see if coolant is flowing. That will allow you to eliminate the water pump as a cause if there is flow.

 

[4g63eagle]

OldSid is right. Ok so if right when you turn the car on the gauge goes to hot immediately than it's your sending unit, but if you are driving around and and the gauge goes hot it could still be a bad sending unit. What I am saying is that if you are not flowing coolant like he said than you would over heat but if the stock gauge is just going to hot immediately right when you turn the car on the gauge sending unit is bad. It's also a single prong sending unit not the double k.

the gauge when i first put the key in is on all the way cold like it should be i start the car it seems like it casually makes it way to the red zone like its working normal and it reall should be overheating but like i said that hose is cold im gonna get a new aftermarket rad. on my list of things to buy tommorow might as well get it over with ill change it soon enough anyway i just dont wanna blow it up before i ever even drive it

You can at least check your thermostat. Remove it and put it in an old pan full of water. Bring it to boil and check if it opens. If you have a thermometer, you can check at what temperature it opens (a coocking thermometer will do!). There is no risk involved and you can eliminate a possible cause if the thermostat is OK. At the same time, you can run it without the cap and the thermostat for a very short time and see if coolant is flowing. That will allow you to eliminate the water pump as a cause if there is flow.

the thermo i had to replace when i got it "maybe a little over a month" because the old one wait there wasnt an old one the prev. owner felt that was a extra part

 

[brassc2007]

it sounds like a stuck thermostat to me, the thermostat is what allows coolant to cycle through the top house to the radiator if it is cold and the engine is hot then the coolant is not passing through there and since your not pushing coolant you can almost rule out a head gasket. I would check the thermostat and the radiator cap, firstly a thermostat if its ok put i back in a new gasket is what $1.50 cheap thing to check huh

 

[DeadsEvolution1]

Ok, so when you start the car and you are just letting the car warm up the gauge gradually goes from cold to hot into the red zone? Sounds to me that your temperature gauge sending unit is BAD like I said before. These guys are analyzing way to much into it.

Your car is going into the red zone on the gauge a few minutes after you start it? That is not possible even if your thermostat was stuck closed only because it takes a couple minutes just to get to 180 degrees. Unless you are reving the motor up the whole time on warm up than I don't see how it can over heat when the car is still warming up.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

How does the lower hose feel? If it's hot then it's the thermostat not a sending unit.

 

[DeadsEvolution1]

the Thermostat was replaced less than a month ago, I know that doesn't means it's working but stilll.

Start with the basics, replace the sending unit. If it still is getting hot replace the radiator cap, next try another thermostat, and last the water pump

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

the Thermostat was replaced less than a month ago, I know that doesn't means it's working but stilll.

Start with the basics, replace the sending unit. If it still is getting hot replace the radiator cap, next try another thermostat, and last the water pump

Or he could diagnose the problem instead of throwing parts at it hoping it will fix it. You can test the resistance of the sending unit. You can check the hose temps. on the top and bottom, you can check the radiator core temps. to see if it is plugged. All of these things can be done FREE instead of buying part after part hoping to get it right. Otherwise what are we here for?

 

[4g63eagle]

alright so after working from morning till night again on my 1g i got it i went to the store in the morning got a stock temp gauge sending unit weird they had one in stock changed it and my gauge is still goin from the cold position when its cold to the hot position gradually and so i ran new wires and connectors soldered everything and still same thing so finally i go get me a nice shiny new autometer temp gauge and removed my sensor above the thermostat on the housing and swapped it out started the car and the gauge worked its way up to about 190 having a 192 this is still normal and then a miracle happens drops down to 160 and everything is great so i pulled it out of the garage finally ran it for about 50 miles tonight first time i ever drove it and wow for a stock car it is fast ton of potential now for the good times i can start buying some upgrades thanks all of you for your help it was all helpfull i got the fans on and working last night temp gauge today so its looking real good for the future of this car now so i thank you all again for the help!

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Glad you got the problem taken care of. Before you start modding do some checks first. Check all your fluids; oil. transmission, t-case, diff, coolant and replace if you feel it is needed. Next inspect the timing belt. If it even looks remotely worn or doesn't look like a good Gates or OEM belt replace it and your hydraulic tensioner as well. Next make sure you have a good set of NGK plugs in there. Either BPR6ES gapped to .028" if your mostly stock or BPR7ES gapped to .028" if you've got some mods. Then move on to a boost leak test to ensure there are no leaks forming that could cause more problems later. I would do ao compression test just to give you a baseline of the condition of the motor as well. Then I would say you are safe to start modding without having to worry about anything. Good luck!

 

[jm1080]

Hey dsmj, you find out problem? Just took apart my head to inspect headgasket, and it was fine!

I changed out everything on my car

aluminum radiator
170*thermostat
waterpump
new oem radiator cap
new radiator hoses
flushed radiator like 3 times
new headgasket (installing tomorrow)

Anyways from what I read in this thread:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/302001-resolved-overheating-issues-continued.html

he apeared to have the same problem and it was the fans that was the culprit! When I have my A/C on, BOOM overheats real fast. The cheap eBay slim fan don't flow too well even though they state they do. The Spal are the best and that solved his problem in a heartbeat! Might buy them just incase once I save up more money.

 

[rpg_dog]

So the coolant feed to the turbo of my 92 GSX blew the other day. I filled it with new coolant and crept it down to the mechanic. The temp gauge made it into the red and she started pouring a bunch of steam as I made it to the shop. Today the mechanic called after replacing the line saying that once started the line swells up twice its size like its gonna blow again, and the car only runs for 30 seconds or so. He says the head or block is likely cracked and needs to pull the head for a large sum of course. I recently had him change my starter, and he seems honest, but this is an interesting situation.
The head gasket was changed about 2K miles ago, could this have gone bad? Also as of the last week or two my oil pressure gauge has been stuck on the L, but oil is still circulating. What would cause this line to recieve so much pressure? Would the overheating have cracked my head or block?
Any help or input is appreciated.

 

[delta448]

Overheating can be both a cause and a symptom.
The head usually warps, depending on severity of the overheating. When there's severe overheating you can be sure that you're going to have to pull the head to fix it completely.

I suspect that you'll find the headgasket is junk and the head is slightly warped. Was the head resurfaced when the gasket was changed? For some reason a lot of backyard mechanics often think they can get away with skipping that even on an engine with the high cylinder pressures of a turbo 4G63 under boost. Was the block deck checked for straightness and thoroughly cleaned? Was a brand new gasket used? Were the studs re-torqued after each of the first few heat cycles?

It sounds as though you're seeing some combustion pressure exiting by way of the coolant passages, with the turbo coolant line the path of least resistance for it. Check for coolant in the engine oil and check around the engine's deck surface for evidence of high pressure steam escaping from the headgasket. It melts stuff and acts like a pressure washer on nearby surfaces. Had you noticed any smoke out the exhaust? The color and odor of exhaust smoke can often tell you when there's coolant or oil getting into combustion.

 

[rpg_dog]

The headgasket looked fine, and I didnt see any damage to the head. The center 2 cylinders had what looked like oil and coolant in the intake and exhaust ports. The mechanic says I need a new head and figures there is a crack somewhere in the head. I'm gonna clean it up and look, but will likely have to take it down to the head shop that rebuilt it. Yes i used a new headgasket and the head was resurfaced. I did not do any re-torquing after heat cycles, could that have caused the problem? I didn't notice any coolant comming from the exhaust, but it didn't seem like much in the head. Is my head really ruined?

 

[brassc2007]

hard to tell by the naked eye have them magnaflux is and that will tell you in minutes if it has the smallest crack

 

[RayBan GST]

hi all,

just a quick update that i only discovered yesterday , you know i have been going through the overheating issue and i changed the head gasket and the timing and a whole lot of new things and paid a lot of money but even after changing the HG my car was still slightly overheating at some time and the temp will not read lower than 104 C , anyway yesterday i was driving on the high way and i saw my temp gauge to the max just suddenly in few seconds i pulled over and found that my radiator is cut into half from down next near the plastic area WTF i dont know how but yes it was cut into HALF.

i went to the scrap and managed to find a used Radiator and guess what this damn radiator was my problem from the begining ,my old raidator was not working properly and it resulted in bad cooling system, eventhough there was no leaks or dirt in it what so ever . all the fins were clogged and mashed and the plastic below had a lot of cracks.

now i have almost a new car with brand new parts everywhere so i hope this will last for a long time.

 

[Dsmj89]

Ouch what a bummer !!!
I also had many people telling me my head gasket was bad when i had my overheating problem, guess what, i took off my thermostat and problem solved.
Guess sometimes you have to inspect your car real well before coming on here and asking opinions on a problem.
Glad to hear it's fixed.

 

[slickonice]

I ended up fixing my overheating problem by doing what a lot of people did and making my own ducting out of thin aluminum sheet metal I got from home depot. I made two panels between the AC unit and the FMIC and then a scoop starting where that stock plastic scoop use to be and bent it so it comes right under the bumper. It's hardly noticeable but it fixed my highway driving completely. I also ended up replacing my radiator with an aluminum mishimoto one because my stocker ended up getting a huge crack at the bottom.
Thanks guys!

 

[Dsmj89]

I would have advised to take your t-stat out for good. It worked for me and i live in a warm climate as well. Ever since i took out my t-stat my car has never overheated since then and the needle actually drops lower with highway driving. This is without any fancy radiators or ducting either !
And my core covers up the whole front of the bumper's mouth. 28x11x3.5" thick FTW.
Glad to hear you fixed it though.

 

[black_eclipse96]

okay had another problem today. After driving around for about an hour i noticed it starting overheating. So i took it back to my shop and checked for antifreeze.It was a little low, so topped it off.Still continued to overheat. So changed out the T stat and the same thing. Could it be my water pump?

If it is i might as well go ahead and replace all tensioners and pully's. i had in mind a small rebuild as well. Like just re-ringing (150 across the board) , headgasket, and timing belt.

thanks

 

[1993eclipseGS]

-fan not kicking on

-coolant temp sensor

-headgasket?

-water pump

Just a few ideas', In no particular order.

 

[ttetzner]

probablly the water pump, try getting the radiator flushed if the temps aren't extremely high

 

[KevinRR]

Make sure your radiator cap is still good, before you go and changing your water pump.

 

[qnz]

did you install a new FMIC? that might be blocking all the air to your radiator.

 

[sk8anddsm]

Hey everyone i have looked around and cant find someone with my exact problem so im going to post about it.

I have a 98 TSi AWD i has been overheating for around a year now and i can not get it to quit i have installed new: Thermostat, water pump, mishimoto rad, MLS headgasket and ARP studs, new coolant, water wetter, rad cap, new rad fans (that do work).

Nothing has worked the only other thing i can think of is a temp sensor but would that make a difference? Oh and the car does have an FMIC its the slowboy race kit.

HELP needed please!!!! haha

Thanks, Matt

 

[JEFFREYCASTGSX]

During what conditions does it overheat?