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!

 

[v-mac]

alright thanks guys ill look into the fan any suggestions on best prices?

 

[greathuskie]

i dont get why either.
things ive fixed or changed or other information.

2 14" fans on mishimoto radiator
water wetter
new 180 tstat
compression tested coolant system to 20 psi
NOT pushing coolant and no signs of headgasket
car sits at 190 degrees on the highway IF i dont drive in town too long prior to this
big ETS race FMIC

when my car just starts and is idling, it can idle for 20 minutes at 185 degrees, but when i start driving in town it goes up, and never really recovers. hit 213 on the way to work. any ideas?

 

[DSM_PWR]

Your absolutely sure the fans are coming on? Powered by a switch?

If you've got the know-how on changing timing belts, id start with a new waterpump since they're pretty cheap

If thats not the case my best guess would be head/block surface or small crack in the headgasket

 

[ThEDrEaMEnDeR]

did you test the tstat in a pot of water?
have you made sure all air bubbles are out of the system?

 

[greathuskie]

Your absolutely sure the fans are coming on? Powered by a switch?

If you've got the know-how on changing timing belts, id start with a new waterpump since they're pretty cheap

If thats not the case my best guess would be head/block surface or small crack in the headgasket

fans are on all the time. cant do a timing belt and im not losing any coolant, its not milky at all coming out of my car. im not overheating a LOT either, like 215 is as high as it gets, but obviously way too hot to run the car. could air in the system be causing it to run hot in town but not on the highway?

 

[ThEDrEaMEnDeR]

i know it can cause issues with the temp sensor reading right.
there could be other issues such as.
are you sure the tstat is facing the correct direction?
and driving in the city is going to cause it to get hotter regardless especially with a fmic.
in all honesty the fans my not be moveing enough air to cool it off enough a solution would be a push fan between the fmic and the radiator.

 

[DSM_PWR]

Air in the system can cause it to run slightly warmer

Reason why your staying cool on the highway is because air is constantly hitting the radiator, even tho its being blocked by the larger FMIC, its still getting a good amount of air to help keep it cool

Obviously while driving in town, your not getting as much air, and with the constant stops, your engine works harder

 

[greathuskie]

Air in the system can cause it to run slightly warmer

Reason why your staying cool on the highway is because air is constantly hitting the radiator, even tho its being blocked by the larger FMIC, its still getting a good amount of air to help keep it cool

Obviously while driving in town, your not getting as much air, and with the constant stops, your engine works harder

"slightly warmer" is basically where im at, in town at 215 degrees or so. it cools off as soon as i turn my heat on. maybe it is air in the system...

 

[ThEDrEaMEnDeR]

id almost put money on not enough air flow.
you have to realize what the fans are pushing through.
1 fmic
2 ac condenser
3 radiator
thats a lot of work for the fans.
if getting the air bubble out doesn't work i would recommend some push fans.

 

[greathuskie]

sounds good. i have a 12" fan, i should wire that up as well as my 2 14" pull fans

 

[falcon8r]

I do a lot of work on high powerd hot rods. Some are driven on the street and heat is a problem. Power= heat. Almost always it is a factor of airflow and waterpump balance. I just changed a w/p on a built s/b chevy that ran hot with one pump and not another. You need to get more airflow thru your core. That's why you get some cooling on the highway, where fans are obsolete. Turn on the heater core and more heat is absorbed. You have a bit of a challenge with the big frontmount and sutch. Tres...

 

[boosting_laser]

Is it an Auto?...your profile isn't updated. Have you checked the radiator for cool spots & debris that may be sandwiched between it & the condenser?

 

[greathuskie]

Is it an Auto?...your profile isn't updated. Have you checked the radiator for cool spots & debris that may be sandwiched between it & the condenser?

manual, and its fine between there i just had FMIC off a few days ago playing with some bracketing.

no AC either, though i watn to add it eventually...

 

[floader]

do you have the fans wired up so that they spin the right way? I did that once, had pushers wired to pull Car would work down the highway but would run hot around town.

 

[DSM_PWR]

^^
This is a good thing to double check

id almost put money on not enough air flow.
you have to realize what the fans are pushing through.
1 fmic
2 ac condenser
3 radiator
thats a lot of work for the fans.
if getting the air bubble out doesn't work i would recommend some push fans.

Are you indicating that the fans push the hot air towards the front of the car??

As in Heat > Radiator > A/C Condenser > FMIC > Outside bumper

 

[ineedagsx]

you said no a/c, do you still have the condensor in? pull that out if it is and that should fix the problem also if it is.

 

[keilum]

Might need to replace the water pump or try driving without the tstat and see what it does.

 

[greathuskie]

yes fans are wired the right way,no condensor in the car. driving without tstat doesnt make a difference i did itbefore.

 

[4cefed4g63]

Are you sure your water temp. gauge is reading right? I only ask because I had 2 autometer gauges that read high. I pulled my hair out until I tested it and it read 15-20 degrees high. Make sure you don't take the t-stat out. With out the t-stat your rad. doesn't have enough time to cool because the fluid never slows. I put the 195 degree t-stat back in my car to give the rad. more time to do its thing.

 

[NB4G63T]

I had the exact same issues until I built rigid ducting between the intercooler and AC condenser.
Search "rigid ducting" theres a thread with pics but I can't seem to track it down.
You must direct the air at the rad it won't do its job if its able to bleed off and go around the rad

This made my car driveable before it would always over heat around town, it was just a matter of time until it over heated. Now it never moves off 190 even in 90* temps and this is with one fan and koyo rad.

You should be able to hold a peice of paper up to your intercooler when your fans are on and it stay there.

 

[greathuskie]

tstat is in the car, and im getting my temps off both my prosport gauge AND what the factory is reading (based on my boost gauge being changed to a coolant sensor via dsmlink) above the 2nd line is 210 and it pretty much matches my stock one.

i just drove 700 miles in the car yesterday and it overheated in nashville, i dont know why either. i cannot figure it out under any circumstance!

 

[xhackerekx]

FMIC, hot weather and bumper like on yours pictures = overheating problem

 

[TranceNRG]

Coolant temp starts to climb quickly under boost in 3-4 gear pulls cant get on a 5th with out coolant gauge 3/4 to HOT! I been turning the heat on in the car to pull the heat away. Also on the freeway 3500 rpm an above temps start to raise slowly, if I decide to do a 4th or 5th pull on freeway forget it. A/c is charged havent used it since this debacle.

FMIC, A/C Condenser, Big Oil Cooler, Stock Radiator

Power sprayed all 4 yesterday to rid of any debris
Added 1 gallon of straight Prestone coolant instead of 50/50
Air Dams to direct flow to radiator
Stock radiator fan on Passenger side
Rolled hood mod
180 thermostat
E85/Dsm Link v3
9:5:1 comp
90 degree weather
Car has no leaks of any fluids
Mitsu 4 layer gasket/ARPS

Turbonectics 50 trim, aluminum piping
Pics of my setup are included
I used to run pump/meth previously and temps were ok

Is a fluidyne Radiator necessary for my setup now? What else can be done?

 

[rstchris]

The fmic is not helping the radiator at all but the stock rad should be fine. Try to block the sides with your blue stuff and command the fan to come on at 190 and stay on at speed.

 

[OZ Rally]

Looks like you have no airflow going to the radiator. Thicker core aluminum radiator will help to dissipate the heat. Have the fans stay on when you're reaching 200 deg.