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Car Overheated / Overheating / Overheats [MERGED]

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NTRCOOL

Probationary Member
24
0
Apr 10, 2002
Richmond_Va.
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!
 
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I'll just throw out that i have 1/4 inch clearance from my sch10 manifold and the oem rad and I'm sitting at 180* with a 170* t stat and only one oem rad fan. Tubular manifolds creating high CT, is a load of crap IMO

Agreed, my custom mani comes very close to my oem rad and I never overheated.
 
got it in the garage and started tinkering, enough coolant, everything seems to be running fine fan wise. looking into replacing the thermostat and thermal wrapping the manifold possibly. just runs a little too hot for comfort.
 
What happens is the car seems to run fine, but if I run it hard or keep the car in boost, the gauge begins to climb. The hottest to date that it has gotten is halfway between the mid point and the red line. When I use the a/c switch to run both fans at the same time it helps a little bit but not as much as I would think it should. If I don't run the car hard and go slower on the highway it seems stable. It almost always climbs and gets hotter after pulling of the highway and sitting at a light.

The only thing that seems to alleviate the problem is having the air switch set to hot so that coolant flows through the heater core. The car seems to run colder and I haven't seen the problem when the switch is set this way.

The stock gauge has always seemed accurate so doubtful it's the gauge.

The thermostat is an autozone 180. The rad cap is autozone as well. Both new. Jiggle pin cut off thermostat so there is just a hole at 12' o clock. Bled afterwards with heater on for 15 minutes. After about 10 minutes it started to get close to overflowing so I put the cap back on. Seemed to have good flow. These parts replaced an oem rad cap and an aftermarket 180 thermostat of unknown age.

The radiator is oem but it's from 92. There are no cracks in it and no apparent coolant leaks or loss of fluid. There is no boiling/bubbling overflow and the overflow does not overflow LOL.

Most of the coolant hoses are new. A few are older but as I said above, no visible leaks or loss of fluid.

The oem fans are still there, both of them, and the passenger side fan comes on and cycles as it's supposed to. A/C is removed and fuse pulled. Both fans still come on with toggle switch on dash though. Condenser in front of radiator still there.

The downpipe is not stock and does not have the stock heatshield. The exhaust manifold is a 2g and does have an FP heatshield. I also have a vented carbon fiber hood. Stock smic.

At this point the only thing I can come up with is the thermostat needs to be OEM or the rad is old and not as efficient.

Any ides LOL?

Sorry the post is so long but I wanted to be specific so I could get a good answer.
 
I don't know if that was a response to the question I just asked or not, but if it was, thanks for trying but not really what I was looking for.

I already said there are no leaks or loss of fluid and that the fans work as they should.

A compression test, while useful in other cases, wouldn't tell me much about the cooling system other than the hg is shot, and since there are no other symptoms of that besides running hot sometimes, I don't think that's the problem. (No bubbling in the overflow, no overflow out the reservoir, no smoke, no loss of fluid).
 
Hey everyone, ive had my dsm for almost a year and a half. A little history onthe car, the previous owner had done the mls headgasket, hot tank head,water pump, arps and timing belt roughly a year before i got it. Since then i installed an aluminum rad, 170 thermo, new rad cap, silicone hoses and never had an overheating issue. The weather here has got better this week (low 90s) ive noticed the temp gauge somtimes going slightly above the middle then jumping back under. It had me worried went from my single oem fan to two electric fans today and jumped on link, well as it turns out ive got a situation going on. When cruising with fans on im between 193-196, when i stop it slowly rises within roughly 5 mins its up to 219-223...it stayed there for a while but i assume it would still go up if i let it idle longer and once i turn it off the reservoir bubbles. I pulled the cap off the reservoir its flaming hot steam coming back in and causing the bubble noise. None of that is normal at all, ive never known my setup to go over 206, ever! My first thought is to try and be optimistic... maybe the previous owner never retorqued the studs after giving them some run, maybe i can retorque and be done as some others have done. Probably not though, is everyone with me that its probably a headgasket or head lift situation? Im lazy LOL but ill do whatever needs to be done, just needing some opionions and intup..thanks! On to coolant block test and checking for clean plug(s) next.

update:
Well the car passed the block test, as a matter of fact i tried 4-5 times just to make sure. Also passed compression test 150 on all with a harbor freight tester. This all the new parts this is blowing my mind LOL
 
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Could be the water pump. It's about 2 1/2 years old right? I've seen the cheap ones from the part stores go out in a year because the propellers go bad.
 
Could be the water pump. It's about 2 1/2 years old right? I've seen the cheap ones from the part stores go out in a year because the propellers go bad.

True, That thought crossed my mind, It a bummer the amount of effort to check those blades on the pump...I forget if the timing belt must come off to pull the pump.. I know we pulled my buddies belt to do the pump on his but I forget if we really had to. Regardless its all coming off if that's what it takes LOL although I prefer an organized plan of attack if at all possible!
 
98 talon idles at 800-1000rpm, but after warming up and idling for 2 min or so at a train or something it will begin to overheat. Did i mention its burning oil and smokes at low idle also? thinking leaky valve seal?
 
@ Throwback23

What brand(s) are the radiator cap and thermostat?

I had a similar problem that I just posted about above yours (which no one gave any good suggestions to that I might add...) that was solved by changing the autozone thermostat and radiator cap to a Stant cap with Stant Superstat thermostat.

I personally, would try those, or OEM, first before you pull the water pump and have to do a timing belt job (you might as well while you are in there).

Also, you might want to try pressure testing your system to make sure there are no leaks in the radiator.

What fan setup do you have? If you have those slimline ebay fans, they are horrible and even combined probably don't flow as much as one stock fan. There are actual good slimline fans, but if they don't have a name on them, they aren't it LOL.


@ viseversa101

You are going to have to be much more specific in order for anyone to give you a good response.

What fans, what radiator, what thermostat, what are any other symptoms, does it bubble in the overflow, have you verified that it's actually overheating, etc.
 
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its a stant 170 thermo, I test it in a pot of water and it worked good... the cap was a stant but I just got a new one two nights ago and it made no difference.. I forget the brand but its something from AutoZone though. I had the single stock fan in there when the issue started so I tried 2 10" ebay special fans I had laying around and im not sure if that helped or made it worse LOL. pressure testing is my next step..hopefully tonight!

So far:
passed block test
passed compression test 150->
retorqued arp head studs to be sure
plugs looked fine, none were washed
tried both oem and slim fans on all the time
new radiator cap
passed thermostat test
(also just ran without it, same result)


update:

Just passed pressure test (the testing unit I used was garbage it wouldn't seal completely and bled slowly from the base...tried it on my wife's Integra with the same exact results so ill take it as a pass)

I also found an invoice for an oem water pump from extreme psi in april of 2011 so dang im so lost, an oem pump shouldn't go that fast.

up next:
flush system
water pump.....ANY OTHER IDEAS BEFORE I DIG IN?
 
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I finished my testing and everything was good, water pump, tried old rad, system flush....so i decided to dig a little and i found that my old logs show similar temps all the way back to when i got the car and i even found a log from when the previous owner got it tuned that was the same. My conclusion... I just have an inefficient cooling system and im guessing its mostly due to the front mount and lack of ducting as is well noted with modded dsms. Looks like ill be buying some better fans and building some ducting.... whats a good budgetish rad fan setup?
 
once i turn it off the reservoir bubbles.

This is a sign of a bad radiator cap. Try replacing the cap with something better than an Autozone part. I've had good luck with the Murray caps from Oreilly. List: Radiator/Coolant Recovery Cap - 1995 Eagle Talon | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Looks like ill be buying some better fans and building some ducting.... whats a good budgetish rad fan setup?

Unless your willing to dish out $$$, stick with the stock fans. They flow much better than anything you'll find on a budget, and are shrouded very well already. If you can fit the AC fan, install it and wire the fan relays together so they both run at the same time. If you need an AC fan, shoot me a PM. I have an extra one laying around.

Here's how to wire the relays together. It's very simple- it only requires one wire and no cutting/splicing/soldering of any kind.
DSM Forums: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser, and Eagle Talon Forum: DSMtalk.com - View Single Post - 2G Fan Relay Bypass: How To
 
@ Throwback23

As long as the car doesn't go over those temps, then yes, it's probably an inefficient cooling system. You are going to want to make sure all the oem ducting is in place, and as WES_393 said, put the stock A/C fan back in.

I don't know why people even bother running ebay fans. The stock a/c fan flows more. I would bet that the stock main fan blows more than two ebay fans cfm combined. Plus they have shrouds.

Go to (name a part's store here), bring all the radiator caps you have and test them with a tester. They should all have one in the store you can use. Whichever cap tests the best, use it. I wouldn't be surprised if all of them fail, so be ready to buy a new one LOL. It's happened to me before.

You will also want to change your coolant mix. Try running 60/40 or 70/30 with some water wetter. Both of those will make at least a 10 degree temp difference. I have seen 20+ degree temp drops with 70/30 and water wetter. If it gets close to 32 degrees outside where you are though, I would stick with 60/40.

You should also ensure there is no clogging in your heater core, rad, and block. After you get the coolant out, stick a garden hose in the outlet and flush. It should come out of all outlets the same as it's going in. Do a reverse flush as well. It won't work that well on the block though.

Last, did you drill a hole in your thermostat? If you didn't (and most recommend you DO) you will have to bleed your system. Wait until after you have a known good rad cap though. Turn the heater to hot and turn it on. Start the car with the rad cap off. Wait until the coolant get's close overflowing out of the top of the water neck (should take around 10-15 minutes) and put the cap back on. While you are doing this watch what's happening. You should see it sitting relatively still at first. Once it's up to operating temp and the thermostat opens you should see some good flow. It will almost look like a small waterfall or some water rapids LOL. Also, if you have the main fan wired up to a relay, it should cycle on and off at least twice during this procedure. If it doesn't come on at all, that's a problem. If it only comes on once, something is causing the car to heat up to fast or you have some blockage somewhere. Or the fan temp switch is dirty/old.

Good luck.

Keep us updated on progress.
 
I can drive my car all day on the highway, but soon as I get off the highway and come to a stop and rev up again, the car gets hotter.

Flushed the system, new thermostat that was heat tested, new radiator cap. Any ideas?

I am throwing a cell, but its only a fuel pressure up solenoid, but I doubt that has any relevancy.

And I ran a compression test, all above 135 dry, and about 180 wet. tested multiple times.
 
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I'd check the radiator fans first...Can you hear them running when it gets hot?

The fans come on, I started it up and let it idle forever until I saw them come on. Well, the one fan, but the other is the AC fan, correct?

Could it be the radiator? It looks like shit.
 
Is there supposed to be a hose connectoin on the other side of the cap for the reservior for the coolant? I was just looking up some how to's on changing radiators and noticed that the side coming off the radiator cap is connected but the larger side isnt. I always thought it was a breather to help bleed air out of the system.
 
Is there supposed to be a hose connectoin on the other side of the cap for the reservior for the coolant? I was just looking up some how to's on changing radiators and noticed that the side coming off the radiator cap is connected but the larger side isnt. I always thought it was a breather to help bleed air out of the system.

There should be two. One to the T-Stat and one running down the side of the radiator toward the ground.

Don't forget to check your lines to your heater core and if you still have them the lines to the throttle body. I'd honestly drain the coolant and replace all of those hoses since it's so cheap and easy. You should also check your radiator hoses and replace them if necessary.

A empty reservoir has actually caused me to pull air into the system and caused slight overheating issues. I didn't even think to check it when adding coolant, don't ask me why that would slip my mind. However, I'm not sure how the coolant system works and I'm not sure if it's always pulling and pushing coolant when operating normally, so even though you should have coolant it, I'm not sure if something else was making it need to pull the extra coolant in the first place.

My only question for you is do you have a front mount? They are known to cause overheating when sitting at a light or stop sign.
 
Car was running hot, so I installed another fan to go with the slim line fan that's on my visteon radiator. I have a pusher and a puller fan both on all the time via link, a brand new mishimoto 19psi radiator cap, new thermostat, brand new head gasket, etc. I had the bumper off and the car was running around 185 and perfect as it we were doing multiple pulls while tuning it.. I even put air vents on the top of the bumper so that the radiator gets more airflow because I have a big fmic, but as soon as I put the bumper back on, the car started running around 225 and goes up and down from 190-225 and gets hotter as the car sits.

I'm starting to think that this Visteon radiator that I bought years ago is just junk and isn't coolling well enough with the bumper on. I had the same Raditor/fmic on my talon that I had a few years ago and It wanted to run hot too.. and to no avail, I have a completely different car but the same raditor/fmic setup and the car runs hot again.

I've been thinking about swapping it out for a godspeed radiator, but not sure. Thoughts? I suppose it could be the water pump but the radiator/fmic seems to be the only constant between the 2 cars that were running hot.
 
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My 2g awd is overheating.
6 bolt, built motor, FP green, supporting mods
I don't know what it is.
New radiator cap
New fluidyne radiator
New thermostat
3k water pump
3k on cometic head gasket
ARP head studs properly torqued, then re-torqued.

There is no water in oil, and no water sitting on top of the pistons.

Start the car, idles and warms to normal temps. Drive normally and gets to the point where over flow can is boiling (within a few minutes 5-8min). I deemed it a head gasket as I don't think it could be anything else. But i have not fully convinced myself that that is my issue and don't want to pull it apart if I'm not sure.
 
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