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!

 

[dsmlover07]

Check compression first of all.

 

[Lavery]

When you put the cap on does all the coolant get pushed into your overflow? Are there constantly bubbles coming from your radiator when the cap is off?

 

[Empire1208]

I dont know if this applies but this happened to my integra. On idle the car's temp is fine even when its been idling for 20-30 mins. When I start driving it, it would go 3/4 ways up on the temp guage. I change the thermostat as I thought that would be logical. I bled the system and it was still doing the same thing. So I changed the temp sending unit for the guage and now its working fine.

 

[CJ2300]

The overflow stays at the same level and there are no bubbles coming from the radiator.

 

[2GCruiser]

How new is the coolant. First things first with any overheating issue I would flush the system and refill with new fluid. Also is your radiator all gunked up on the front. Spray it down with a hose to clean it off so it can get the most air flow.

Your post is kind of vague can you please give some more detail on the problem

best of luck

edit: oops i just saw you said 'all new fluids'

 

[Peterbeter]

Check if the radiator is clogged. You probably have a heat exchange issue. The reason it doesn't overheat with the cap off is because without the pressure the cap adds the BP of the coolant is still pretty low. So the engine keeps adding latent heat to the coolant, but it can't raise its temp any higher until you put the cap on.

 

[CJ2300]

I haven't yet tried replacing the cap itself, i will have to try that. How would I go about finding out if my radiator is clogged?

 

[frankl661]

Stock 1990 GST

White smoke while at idle and some while driving.

Overheats when above 65 mph, but seems stable under that speed.

Oil in coolant. Looks very thick and is brownish in color.

Was told by seller that the headgasket was replaced, but who knows if that is true.

Slow, but I know the basic maintenance that is needed and boost leak test.

Thanks guys for most likely cause/where to begin.

 

[rellow88]

sound like a head gasket issue thats the first thing i would check

 

[DSML7dropkick]

Sounds like a blown head gasket to me. Do a compression check to see for sure. I don't know if you can do it on dsm's but i have taken off the radiator cap before and cranked the engine and coolant will geyser out of the hole. Telling me that exhaust was getting in the coolant passage blowing it out like that. It shouldn't geyser out if its ok, or do a compression check way less messier. Good luck.

 

[mondale]

If the combustion leak is bad enough you can also smell the coolant, and it will give off an exhaust smell. Do you have poor heat output inside the car? If so, that is another sign of a combustion leak introducing air into the cooling system.

 

[frankl661]

If the combustion leak is bad enough you can also smell the coolant, and it will give off an exhaust smell. Do you have poor heat output inside the car? If so, that is another sign of a combustion leak introducing air into the cooling system.

There is not really a strong exhaust smell. Heater doesnt work to great.

I didnt even think this may be a problem with the bottom-end...would that be a lot less common reason than head/head gasket?

If the combustion leak is bad enough you can also smell the coolant, and it will give off an exhaust smell. Do you have poor heat output inside the car? If so, that is another sign of a combustion leak introducing air into the cooling system.

While car was running coolant was shooting out with the cap open...thought that would be normal while engine was running but maybe not?

I will try the cranking asap.

 

[talon1990TSi]

I think what the seller meant to say was head gasket will need replaced.. all the signs are their that its a head gasket.

 

[-Boosty-]

yea, sounds like a head gasket, you might be able to tell by inspecting your plugs too sometimes they can have a green tint to them if you use green coolant like the rest of the world. If it is the head gasket, take it from me, its not too bad of a repair on these cars, i had my head out in an hour and a half, and had it back in, in around 3 1/2 hrs. And it was only the second time ive replaced one.

 

[spyderdrifter]

So I've had my new spyder for a little while now and have been driving it back and forth to work for almost 2 weeks now. I know there's a coolant leak probably on the back side of the engine and will most likely need a new head gasket. But today on the way home, my temp gauge went all the way up so I pulled over to check the car and prevent blowing the engine. There's no smoke at all, and the temp felt normal to me. After pulling over, I let it run for a minute before shutting it off and the needle dropped to 3/4 hot and then back up. Could there be a real coolant issue, or just a sensor?

 

[Airsign89]

It sounds like it could be a real problem, here is a troubleshooting list for you to go through: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/200575-help-im-overheating-heres-how-fix.html Hope that helps.

 

[WES_393]

Good to see a local on the forums! Was that picture in your avatar near trippers playground?

If your losing coolant then that could be why your overheating. The cooling system needs to be free of air and full of coolant in order to work properly. You could try replacing the coolant temp sensor, but I doubt that's the real problem. I would find the leak, burp the system, and see if it still acts up. Also, next time it's running and warmed up, grab the lower radiator hose and see if it's cold. If so, your thermostat is bad.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Good to see a local on the forums! Was that picture in your avatar near trippers playground?

If your losing coolant then that could be why your overheating. The cooling system needs to be free of air and full of coolant in order to work properly. You could try replacing the coolant temp sensor, but I doubt that's the real problem. I would find the leak, burp the system, and see if it still acts up. Also, next time it's running and warmed up, grab the lower radiator hose and see if it's cold. If so, your thermostat is bad.

That pic was up on Gold Camp Road. I've made aure that thw resivoir never goes empty.

 

[jukebois]

when the car is overheating check whether the cooling fan is on. if it is not running you need to find out why.

 

[spyderdrifter]

I just got the car home. Needle was going up and down, but didn't once go max, thank God. Gowever I did check the engine once I pulled into my garage. Both fans were running hard, even though the A/C hasn't been on and the lower radiator hose is cold. I replaces the thermostat and the larger of the 2 temp sensors before heading home, so I'm guessing it's another sensor. Any ideas?

 

[spyderdrifter]

Also foind it weord when I removed the t-stat and sensor, no coolant flowed out. Is this normal since the engine was mostly cooled by this point? I've replaced both theae parts on previous DSMs and coolant always came out.

 

[Anubis_4_99]

On my RS I had an incident that was caused by a bad ground.

My heat was pegged, anytime I hit the brakes I would loose power etc, all caused by a bad intake ground wire. I know your profile says GST but its an avenue to explore if nothing else pans out.

 

[alex209]

Have you checked your water pump for leaks ?

 

[spyderdrifter]

I haven't checkwd the water pump, although now that it's been mentioned, that's probably where the leak is given the location of the coolant puddles. I will also check for grounding wires.

 

[Lou98GSX]

i would see what the coolant leak is and fix that before replacing other parts.