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!

 

[slowboy101]

you can pick up a tool from oriellys that test's it, you put it on your thermostat houing and do it that way you should get one and test it.

 

[streetillEagle]

Could be the oil/water lines. If you're starving one of those lines it would make the turbo over heat. Try taking the lines off and see if they're clear.

 

[boostd_mitsu]

I would say if your manifold is getting red hot then your exhaust plugged up some where, that would heat up your head and what is bolted to the head, the t-stat houseing. That would cause the coolant to get very hot and it can't get rid of the heat fast enogh. So check your exhaust to see if it is plugged up and see what happens

 

[EagleTalonTim]

what would be a good way to check if the exhaust is plugged? I have straight exhaust all the way back to the muffler. No CAT or resonator.

 

[supravw]

If your manifold is getting red hot under normal driving conditions you have some problems with your ignition timing/AFR. Your manifold should never get red hot under normal driving only after multiple wot pulls in a row generally. Seems to me your running lean for some reason and the extreme heat is causing your overheating problems.

 

[juanpac0]

Yeah your issue is in the timing. I've had this happen before when my mechanical timing (at the tbelt) was off, and also when my timing was off at the CAS. Other symptoms include about 180miles to a tank and the car spooling the turbo but you not feeling any boost kick in.

 

[EagleTalonTim]

So far, I have not lost any coolant at all even driving the car every day back and forth to work 40 miles one way. It starts getting hot about half way there but the needle never gets past 5/8 of the needle travel. It is just past the center symbol on the gauge....meaning the needle is to the right of the center symbol.

As far as performance / gas mileage. I am getting the same mileage I have always gotten (16 - 17 mpg) and when I do put my foot into it, I have all the power I had before this problem. I stay out of the throttle when the temp gets to the half way point since i don't want to blow anything.

 

[supravw]

So far, I have not lost any coolant at all even driving the car every day back and forth to work 40 miles one way. It starts getting hot about half way there but the needle never gets past 5/8 of the needle travel. It is just past the center symbol on the gauge....meaning the needle is to the right of the center symbol.

As far as performance / gas mileage. I am getting the same mileage I have always gotten (16 - 17 mpg) and when I do put my foot into it, I have all the power I had before this problem. I stay out of the throttle when the temp gets to the half way point since i don't want to blow anything.

Your not overheating. That's normal operating temperature for a dsm. The needle should stay right around the center symbol, that's 206*, the temp your stock thermostat will be completely open. You have nothing to worry about.

 

[brute]

Just to clarify:

Does your coolant overheat (i.e. the temp gauge in the cluster reads hot), or are you just worried about overheating because of the red hot manifold?

If your engine (coolant) is at normal operating temperature, then the issue lies further down the line (like plugged exhaust or something). If your engine is overheating and you've replaced all coolant stuff, look into ignition and valve timing. I assume you are not throwing any CELs? You bled coolant of air after replacing hoses/radiator? If you do not see smoke under engine load, more than likely your turbo/seals are fine (otherwise, they'd leak oil into exhaust where it burns off = smoke).

All the comments so far seem like good advice, so keep us informed (especially if you find the problem!).

 

[johnmarines]

Your not overheating. That's normal operating temperature for a dsm. The needle should stay right around the center symbol, that's 206*, the temp your stock thermostat will be completely open. You have nothing to worry about.

when I log my ecu through the linkv3... exactly half is around 220*

 

[EagleTalonTim]

The temp gauge stays over half though. It has never done this before. It is usually right at half or a little lower. The manifold has never glown red hot under normal driving conditions. This is what has me confused. I hooked up my logger and the temp was at 260 I was not able to get a log since the battery died. I am going to go through each step from the beginning and look over everything to see if I can track down the problem.

 

[nek]

260! O_M_G
Yeah thats a different story. I would not drive my car if I saw those numbers.

 

[EagleTalonTim]

ok, here is the first test. I pulled the entire timing side down and found that the adjustable tensioner pulley actually came loose enough to lose a little tension on the timing belt. The belt was still tight but it was from the hydraulic tensioner. Apparently the timing jumped to about 16º BTDC Hopefully this does not mean bent valves. I reset the timing and spun it 3 times around to ensure everything lined up perfect. After I put everything back together, I took it for a 30 minute test drive. I drove moderately aggressive on the highway for the first 10 minutes to help get the temp to normal. The temp stayed normal at first. The rest was all back roads which I tested different things to see if it would get hot. I did notice every time I was in boost for at least 5 seconds, (anywhere from 4 to 7 psi) the temp jumped up pretty quick to where it has been...roughly 250 to 260 degrees. The temp did drop back down quickly (1 to 2 minutes) without me having to turn the heater on. I did a few WOT tests after the temp dropped back down and strangely enough, the temp stayed close to normal??? The last 10 minutes of driving was very easy driving, no boost if I could help it. As soon as I pulled in the driveway, I popped the hood and sure enough, the manifold was slightly glowing I guess the next step is another compression check then a coolant pressure test. If anyone has any ideas on anything else I may need to test, please let me know!

 

[94EclipseGSR]

check to make shure your pulleys are all tight. I heard of problems with the main balanced pulley actually spinning in the rubber under load. That would cause the water pump not to spin as fast under boost. you could just have a bad water pump also. Did you try with out the thermostat? and by the way the turbo bearings dont come in contact with the coolant its a water jacket that keeps it cool so no worrys there plus it water got it there it would be bad for the turbo. I am sure your tired of hearing it but it sounds as if your a tooth out on the exhaust side of the timing. That tends to be the reason for the manifold glowing like it is unless your running 2 lean. your exaust temp shouldn't be 1200 to 1400 degrees.

 

[rizzzo29]

also now that it has been glowing hot for some time. once fixed make sure it didnt crack in anyway, and after it all check out the entire exhaust system seeing as the manifold was so hot just loading hot air through it all as well as the exhaust side of the turbo

 

[EagleTalonTim]

I did inspect the manifold and the exhaust side of the turbo. No cracks The manifold is off a 2g which is apparently stronger.

Yes, all pulleys are tight and I double checked the physical timing again and all the marks were spot on.

What is a good way to start checking if my exhaust is clogged? I have already felt the exhaust and it really moves when throttle is punched. The turbo spools perfectly fine just like it always has since I got it. As stated before, the only thing I have on my exhaust that may limit any flow is a muffler which has been on the car since I upgraded to 2.5" exhaust. The CAT and resonator have been removed. The only part of the exhaust that was glowing was the center of the manifold where all 4 chambers connect. Nothing closer to the engine or the turbo. Even after hard driving, the turbo did not glow....just the center of the manifold.

 

[mnetwork]

Ok, I am fed up with this car and I think it may be time to call it quits and move on to something else...

Last year a well-known shop (which I won't name right now) rebuilt my motor in an effort to fix my overheating issue. After many return trips they refused to do anything else when the car was still over heating. A few months later the car started developing oil pressure issues. This spring I pulled the motor and brought it to a machine shop that I know personally. The previous shop had not checked the bore, the bore was too big for standard size pistons. They also put EVERY rod cap on the wrong rod. I had everything freshened up bought .020 oversized Wiseco's.. the shop machined everything, re condidtioned the rods. The motor was also magnafluxed, the head was pressure tested.. everything. My friend and I assembled the motor ourselves. I had also put a 6262, 1450cc injectors, and my friend PNP'd the head, oil pump, all new seals, gaskets, etc. I drove the car for more than a few blocks for the first time today...... and the car STILL over heats! Temps got as high as 213 and probably would have got higher if I kept driving.

I really don't know what to do anymore...

 

[bertrenolds]

Is the coolant system bleed/there is no air traped in the system? I read most of the posts and I didn't see anywhere you saying you got all of the air out of the coolant system.

 

[mnetwork]

Is the coolant system bleed/there is no air traped in the system? I read most of the posts and I didn't see anywhere you saying you got all of the air out of the coolant system.

I did about 5 warmups and cooldown and squeezed the bottom hose and topped up aftewards. Last time I squeezed the hose, I didn't get any bubbles. I don't see how there could be any air in the system.

 

[bertrenolds]

I thought you were supposed to run the car with the radiator cap off up to running temp, then when the thermostat opens fill the system as necessary to get air out until there are no more bubbles. Drive the car then check it again.

 

[greathuskie]

start car with tstat housing cap off and run it for 25-30 minutes or more if you need to, it will push coolant out, refill til it stops, drive car for 30 minutes, let it cool then pull cap and fill it one more time. ive been dealing with this for a LONG time, im gonna try and put a factory fan back on the car.

 

[bertrenolds]

It's seems that most people feel the factory fan is actually better and pushes more air then most aftermarket slim fans. 5 more posts!

 

[mnetwork]

I thought you were supposed to run the car with the radiator cap off up to running temp, then when the thermostat opens fill the system as necessary to get air out until there are no more bubbles. Drive the car then check it again.

Whenever I've tried it this way in the past as the coolant gets warmer it just starts to expand and spill out...

I just did another oil change for the new motor and removed the tstat. I am going to drive it work (40 miles each way) with the tstat out. What am I looking for when runnign without the tstat?

 

[turboglenn]

i just did an article in the tech article section about this and a cause that no one ever mentions... check it out and then ask what brand of water pump you're running

 

[johnmarines]

It's seems that most people feel the factory fan is actually better and pushes more air then most aftermarket slim fans.

I have heard the same. I was battling issue with overheating after I installed a new turbo system. While driving and with the a/c on I would reach over 220* and while at stop and go traffic I had the same issue. I installed a new aluminum radiator and 2- 12" spal fans that flow over 1600cmf each and havnt had a issue since.