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!

 

[0r1landoDSM]

If you are facing the front of your car looking to the back, the left fan should be coming on when temp gets hot enough. The right fan is usually your ac fan it will turn on when your a/c is turned on.. I could be wrong but the a/c fan will not turn on no matter how hot the sensor gets..

If you have hooked up any gauges with water temp and you hooked it up to the ecu sensor wire that is your prob. I had done that being stupid and it stopped working until I unplugged it from the wire and just ran it straight. Not saying you did just a thought....

no havent hooked up anything at all, i Pulled my ect sensor out and it was covered in that radiator stop leak crap, when i had a leaking radiator just used it temporarily untill i got some money to by a new 1.

 

[cliffkemp]

If you dont have a temp sensor other than stock, get one if you can and see what the temp actually is. If your temp gets above 230+, you dont want to keep the engine on and potentially warp the head or worse. It sounds like you have a clog or your thermostat is a 160 and stays open all the time or if stock, it still sticks open if your car is actually overheating.

The reason it overheats is because the coolant is always circulating and doesnt stay in the radiator long enough to cool down enough unless you are on the highway. You could have air pockets (been said earlier). Does the heat blow very hot or just slightly hot? You can use the heater core as a secondary radiator if needed and turn on the ac to hot to activate the other fan as well.

Main thing is to verify that you are actually running hot first with a dependable gauge and not the stock one.

 

[d_breezer13]

When i drive on the highway it will stay cool enough. I just installed a new radiator and raised the bumper to get more airflow. But as soon as I get into town where there is slower traffic and stopping at stop signs it starts to overheat. It has also only overheated twice and it has been over 80 degrees F. I have only one fan on the passenger side. Do i just need to upgrade my fans to dual fans? What are good aftermarket fans to use? Would it be better to put a pull fan and dual push fans?

Thanks

 

[talondave]

Are you sure the fan is kicking on? If so, you probably will need to do dual pushers! Thats what i'm running and haven't had any issues. Its normal for it to run cooler while driving, and running hotter while in traffic...More less the fans are only needed while stoped or going really slow, when cool air's not being pushed in through the rad!

I'm also running two 12" slimfan's

 

[kibbas]

When you did this work did u happen to replace the thermostat as well?I have installed them backwards before.(im a dumbass sometime). I am only running 1 fan right now and have no overheating issues.(the driver side fan was melted wen i purchased the car)

 

[d_breezer13]

What slim fans do you use? I was looking at dual Flex-a-Lites. And do you have them on a switch?

I did replace the thermostat but still overheating.

 

[kibbas]

i am in no way trying to insult your intelligence when i ask, are you sure you didn't install the thermostat in upside down? i have done this before . i am using the stock slim fan.(1 is scorched) i have a 2G btw..

 

[d_breezer13]

Yes i installed it the correct way .

 

[kibbas]

ok i was just making sure. i know it sounds dumb but when i installed 1 in a chevy a year ago it overheated until it got real hot and then the temp would go down. i fixed my dumb mistake and it was fine. if you havent done so check coolant level too. i always start with the simplest and/or dumbest thing it could possibly be, and then work upward..i hope you resolve your issue, sry i wasnt of much help...cheers!

 

[V12 Killa]

Flush it and put in a higher water to coolant ratio, maybe?? Check for leaks, thermostat, leaks & etc...you know the usual. But I'm running on one fan and stock radiator and a 60 trim with no over heating in stop and go traffic.

 

[Ed's90gst]

Also, make sure that the fan is not spining backwards.

 

[my dreamt dsm]

You need to make sure you put it in the right way, coolant I meant.
You need to turn the heater on high and to defrost. That will open the heater core to allow coolant to get into the heater core making sure theres no air in there. With the cap open you will see coolant go down and passing through, add as needed till it's full. That will eliminate all air bubbles and show you it's flowing.
When you drive around town make sure you have the temp to high heat, fan level off and on defrost mode. When you see the gauge overheat turn on the fan to like the first or second position and that will activiate the fan to kick in allowing coolant to flow to the heater core also.
But I feel you have air in there!

 

[TSi Kid]

Are you running ac when it over heats?

 

[tron2119]

Make sure your fan is actually turning on. Mine was overheating and it wasnt turning on.

 

[99vipereater]

So we took my roomates gsx on a trip recently and the damn thing overheated. He toped off the coolant before we left but a lot boiled out when it overheated so we filled it back up and were able to continue on another 200 miles with no problems. Well on our way back it overheated again so we thought it might be the thermostat which had a only a few thousand miles on it. We ripped out the thermo to make it home the car ran cold like I expected untill we got close to home and then it overheated again without the thermo this time. So could it be that his waterpump is intermittently failing? Also the car cuts out really bad under load and boost I think it's a really bad boost leak because we noticed his intake was loose so we tightened that back up.

 

[AK Maniak]

So we took my roomates gsx on a trip recently and the damn thing overheated. He toped off the coolant before we left but a lot boiled out when it overheated so we filled it back up and were able to continue on another 200 miles with no problems. Well on our way back it overheated again so we thought it might be the thermostat which had a only a few thousand miles on it. We ripped out the thermo to make it home the car ran cold like I expected untill we got close to home and then it overheated again without the thermo this time. So could it be that his waterpump is intermittently failing? Also the car cuts out really bad under load and boost I think it's a really bad boost leak because we noticed his intake was loose so we tightened that back up.

I literally had the same exact problem and it turned out to be the water pump. Sometimes my car would make it 10 min and then overheat other days it would make it 45 min. Both with the thermostat completely removed.

As far as the cutting out goes just do a boost leak test. At the very least you can eliminate that as one of the culprits if you don't find any leaks but i'm 99% sure you'll find at least one.

 

[ampsyco]

a water pump wont fail intermittently. make sure your cooling fan's are working.

 

[ampsyco]

Make sure your fan is actually turning on. Mine was overheating and it wasnt turning on.

i second this. make sure the fans are running.

 

[monster4g63tawd]

check your cap. a cap that doesnt seal will allow air into the system it has happened to me before.

 

[99vipereater]

a water pump wont fail intermittently. make sure your cooling fan's are working.

That's what I thought... They are working. So why would it overheat without a thermostat cruising down the freeway?

 

[fourgsixthree33]

+2 on the cap. Just replaced mine 2 weeks ago due to the same issues you are having. Do you know if you are losing any coolant? How much coolant is in your overflow tank?

If you have your A/C removed, you could put your A/C fan (fan on the drivers side of the radiator)back in. Then turn the heater on to any level and push the A/C button twice (green light should be on, not yellow) and that will turn on the A/C fan. This is my setup. I have it basically to serve a similar purpose to a turbo timer. Just to cool the engine down before shitting it off. Or for an emergency situation where the temp does start to rise above normal.

But, you need to figure out what is causing your car to overheat. Obviously same is wrong. Try a BRAND NEW radiator cap. They are very cheap at Carquest or any parts store. Check for leaks as well.

 

[Absit]

Radiator Cap.

 

[99vipereater]

Radiator Cap.

It was replaced 2,000 miles ago and was secure

 

[Absit]

Then I'd check your compression.

 

[LambdaJoker]

These 2 links may prove helpful.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/377985-dsm-cooling-system-faq.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...ngine-coolant-system-compression-testing.html