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!

 

[daR3alEddieJ]

I second what everyone else has suggested here, definitely check your thermostat and make sure you installed it correctly, make sure your radiator isn't leaking, and it probably wouldn't hurt to flush your radiator, but don't forget to let your car run for 10 min or so with the rad cap off after you refill it and squeeze all your rad hoses til bubbles don't come up anymore because I have had problems like that before with bubbles in the cooling system....good luck hope it works out for ya bro.

 

[DSMTyson]

no i got the t stat in right side up. not that much of a dumb a**. I noticed it did start doing it once i got my new vet plates for my car. I did a rad flush and the guy suggested use full coolant. should i have mixed it 50/50? the oil is good no milky brown. i will replace the cap cause like you guys said, its only 11 bucks and wouldnt hurt to do it anyways. Thank you all for the info. im going to start with the cap and work my way through.

Your car will run hotter with straight coolant. 50/50 cools better because it is half water, which cools better than coolant. I would take that coolant out and refill it with 1 bottle of Redline Water Wetter and the rest with 50/50 coolant. Take a good look at the radiator too, if it is the original it probably needs to be replaced.

Personally, I use 1 bottle of water wetter, 30% coolant, 70% water. My temps never go over 220 degrees in 100 degree weather with stop and go traffic, 180* thermostat, and a big ass Intercooler blocking air flow to the radiator. It gets really hot here.

 

[WickedBlk95GSX]

Have you tried to bump your coolant hose? I've had a air bubble in the cooling system that made it over heat from time to time.

 

[minimoose]

Becarefull taking advise about your coolant mixtures as in louisiana it doesnt freeze. I have never been to oregon but I think it gets cold there. If you run your mixture less than 5050 the water will freeze and you will want to shank anyone with in stabing distance.

 

[Jeff99GS]

I still think you should take a garden hose and spray out the radiator FINS from the back to front. You won't believe how much dirt, debris, bugs, leaves will be jammed in there after 19 years. It can block airflow to the rad signifigantly.

 

[turbo_rookie]

I still think you should take a garden hose and spray out the radiator FINS from the back to front. You won't believe how much dirt, debris, bugs, leaves will be jammed in there after 19 years. It can block airflow to the rad signifigantly.

^^ I agree it can get pretty nasty between those fins over time. I worked at a recycling center tearing them apart its gets rough. A good flush and the right coolant should set you up straight along with that new cap. Good luck OP

 

[Rideit636]

If it didn't do this before you replaced the thermostat, it is likely that it is something you touched. Did you install the thermostat with the "jiggle valve" up? What water:coolant ratio are you using? I have a feeling that you have an air bubble trapped in the cooling system, air gets super-heated and makes readings inaccurate, and possibly over-heat. You may just need to "burp" it. Take the thermostat housing cap off, turn the heat all the way up, on defrost and outside air, run the car up to operating temp, then run it at 2500RPM for about a minute (Watch that you're not overheating!), get out and squeeze the upper radiator hose. You should be able to see bubbles floating up towards the neck of the housing. Keep squeezing it in different spots until you see no more bubbles. I use one of these Amazon.com: Lisle 24610 Spill-Free Funnel: Automotive at work. It makes things WAY less messy and it will help with the process.

 

[JusMX141]

Our cooling systems are rather simple- if you're having an issue, you can guarantee that one of a handful of things is happening. Either the water pump has failed to the point where the impeller fins have completely disintegrated (seen this before, common on the Ford Taurus) and the water pump is no longer moving water, you have a thermostat issue, or the rad is clogged or not receiving enough airflow.

Some will bring up the fans not coming on as a possible problem, but honestly during daily driving the fans should never run unless you're sitting in traffic and the engine heats up from no air movement. You should be able to drive eternally on flat ground at highway speed without the need for the fans to come on.

With your description of needing the heater to be on to cool the engine, I'm betting your rad core is blocked or the fins have rotted away so the rad is no longer doing it's job.

 

[gpopppa]

straight coolant...no no no. That is probably your issue. 50/50 is about what i would use. Same thing happen to my 96 talon, redid the headgasket, and still had issues with going past the middle line, Took it in and my brother noticed that it was to much coolant and not enough water, Properly mixed it and no more over heating and no more heater Just drain some fluid out the drain plug and put water in to see if that works for ya, I am on the 90 percent sure mark thats what your problem is from describing the symptoms.
I am pretty sure that no one runs straight coolant.

 

[I-DSM]

ok I have a 91 GSX all stock exept 3" megan racing exhaust. When i bought it it it was overheating so i thought it was The head gasked gone bad. Took it all appart and installed a new one along with all belts and gaskets. Had the head taken to the shop prior for inspection, it was fine. the car runs smooth, just and metal against metal noise like a chopsaw when going over 6k rpms, I thing might be the turbo. Other than that all good exept water evaporates somehow and the car overheats. I refill it with water and temperature goes back to normal untill the water evaporates again. The water will evaporate regardless of the speed i move. Things ive done to it since head gasket change... Bought brand new radiator, thinking it might be plugged, new thermostat, fixed tons of fuses, cealed the water feed to the turbo thinking the water was escaping through there since water shoots out the exhaust when at high RPMS, Ive checked deepstick and oil, its as clear and clean as i had just put it in. I can only get 7 - 10 miles before the car starts overheating. Car starts right up, just dont know where else to look. also have something on the back of my head saying that the saw noise might be comming from a messed up waterpump, would it cause the water disappearence? All help appreciated.

 

[1983gsp]

Thermostat might be backwards, or waterpump is bad. Use 50/50 antifreeze & water to help locate leaks a little easier. Also, inspect the radiator fill cap gasket, it's prone to cracking after a while and wont allow the coolant to cycle from the overflow reservoir after the engine cools down.

 

[95DSMawd024]

Try to replace the waterpump, or like 1983gsp said check your radiator cap make sure it is on all the way and check your gasket.

 

[miguelmcv]

If you said that, you just replaced the radiator cap.

Then, Check you reservoir cap, It might be crack.

My car did the same thing 2 weeks ago.
I replaced the radiator cap, and still overheating until I saw the reservoir cap that was crack.

the radiator was taking the water out, But was not getting the water back, because it was getting air from the crack.

I hope your cap is crack which it will be an easy fix.

 

[luv2rallye]

Have the cooling system pressure tested.

 

[I-DSM]

its too late to check now but, i dont remember seeing any cracks on either cap. I have seen however dripping from the reservoir when it gets boiling hot, temperature 3/4 on gauge, but untill then no water comes out. Theres no leaks anywhere, at least not visible, and i am using 50/50 coolant even tho its wasting it. it just evaporates. this thing got me puzzled.

Have the cooling system pressure tested.

how do i do that??? Its got pressure alright... I open the cap and wants to fly out.

 

[talonDSMerr]

You can rent a pressure tester from auto parts stores, like Autozone. It uses a hand pump so you can pressurize the system without having to run the engine, and you can look around for leaks, wherever they may be.

 

[I-DSM]

Thermostat might be backwards, or waterpump is bad. Use 50/50 antifreeze & water to help locate leaks a little easier. Also, inspect the radiator fill cap gasket, it's prone to cracking after a while and wont allow the coolant to cycle from the overflow reservoir after the engine cools down.

Thermostat its correct i checked from the book, it didnt have one when i bought it, someone was trying to figure it out too.

You can rent a pressure tester from auto parts stores, like Autozone. It uses a hand pump so you can pressurize the system without having to run the engine, and you can look around for leaks, wherever they may be.

nice, im tryig that tomorrow. how much pressure can i add to it?

 

[talonDSMerr]

For the turbo 4g63, the manual says pressurize it to mid 20's psi, I can't remember the number off the top of my head. I'm not sure if its the same for the N/T or not, you'd be best looking for it in a service manual.

 

[I-DSM]

For the turbo 4g63, the manual says pressurize it to mid 20's psi, I can't remember the number off the top of my head. I'm not sure if its the same for the N/T or not, you'd be best looking for it in a service manual.

theres no N/T GSX i just dont know how to make my profile show its turbo. but anyway, i just checked and theres no crack or anything on either cap. Im definetly giving it a shot tomorrow first thing.

 

[talonDSMerr]

I SWEAR it said 91 N/T below your picture. My bad. Definitely give it a shot, it makes looking for leaks so much easier.

 

[I-DSM]

I SWEAR it said 91 N/T below your picture. My bad. Definitely give it a shot, it makes looking for leaks so much easier.

thanks for the help so far ill see if the test work tomorrow.

 

[BoxheadTim]

Definitely check the waterpump very closely, mine was having exactly the same symptoms and it was leaking quite heavily from the waterpump.

Also check if all the ducting is still in place, otherwise you might have an issue getting air through the radiator in the first place.

 

[perks563]

Did you bleed / burp / get all of the air out of your cooling system when you replaced the radiator? I just replaced mine and forgot to bleed it. That, along with replacing the radiator cap, made a huge difference.

Good luck and let us know.

 

[1983gsp]

You say the headgasket is good but it sounds like its pushing coolant. Fill the system completely up and run the car to operating temp with the cap off. After the fans cycle 2 or 3 times add more water to bring the coolant level to the top of the radiator cap housing. Watch closely for tiny bubbles. If you see a constant stream of tiny bubbles you have a bad head gasket.

 

[Aestabrook1]

Ok guys heres the deal. got a 99 eclipse RS, non turbo, manual, all bolt on mods, my radiator thats currently on it is alluminum/plastic, its a cheap piece of shit off ebay that the previous owner put on there. ive been looking for 3 days for a damn radiator thats
All aluminum
2 row
crossflow
and doesnt have a fill on the radiator seeing as how my fill is on the engine.

does such a radiator even ####ing exist? if so i would LOOOOOOOOOVE to see a link.