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!

 

[stickman]

If your cars not smoking,it's probably not a headgasket.If your fans don't come on that could be the biggest problem.I would check out the fans first before ripping the engine apart,

 

[wicked93GS]

what temperature should the fans kick on at? and what can the problem be if they dont?

 

[stickman]

The fans should come on after the car reaches normal operating temperature.There is a coolant temperature sensor that kicks them on.Or the motors could have gone out.

When you start your car turn the a/c on and one of the fans should come on when you do that.

 

[wicked93GS]

Yeah, the fans definately arent coming on, or at least not the engine fan, dont know about the A/C one yet, I'll check that as soon as I can, but would the fans not working cause it to overheat that fast? I mean, on my mustang I could remove the fan entirely and it would eventually overheat yes, but I'd have to be running it for over 2 hours, but I will check out the fans, thanks

 

[laserblue]

Toolin' down the highway should cause enough air flow to keep the radiator cool without the fans kicking on... even if they did work, so if you overheat on the highway, look for other problems besides the fan. You said that the radiator doesn't get hot. If it doesn't then the sensor mounted on it will not turn on the fan. I think that water flow is your problem. The pump is a good place to start, but I don't know much about it, since that is the ONLY area that has NOT given me trouble in my car.................................... yet!

 

[awd gsx]

if it was your water pump it would be leaking water from the drivers side of the engine. the water would be coming out the weep hole on the bottom. also check make sure on the thermostat the the part that says toward radiator is on the right way. or see if there is water on the passenger floor if so the heater core could of went out.

 

[laserblue]

You could temporarily take the thermostat out, and check for good water flow. Since you replaced everything else, if there is still no water flow [radiator and top hose don't get warm], and the engine sounds good and accelerates like normal, then probably look into a new pump. Like I said above...... I don't know much about that part of my car!!
Does anybody have experience with this problem???? Let's hear it.

Didn't I see another post of yours called 'signs of a dying waterpump' dated 11/27?

 

[Run-GSX]

I have heard of DSM waterpumps losing their blades , although I'm not sure of the cause.

This may be your problem ??!?!?

 

[Dieselboy]

Seriously, I need SERIOUS help. My car overheated on the freeway after (what appears to be) my waterpump went on the freeway (lossing water, ALOT of water, all in about every 5-6 miles freeway driving. Water loss APPEARS to be somewhere under the UIP on the passenger side, only leaks significantly while running). Car overheated quite a bit (I killed the car by myself, car didnt stall). Drove it for I dunno how long before overheating (maybe 5-10 minutes) Let cool for an hour n a half. Tried starting, didnt start. Got towed to house. Checked out the head, appears ok. Checked for water in the block with oil, oil was there, doesnt appear to be any water. Pulled plugs n plug wires for a new set of Magnecore wires and Bosch plugs....STILL wont turn over. Well, it turns over, but doesnt sound the way it should (higher pitched, kinda a squeal. Doesnt sound like its catching and isnt the normal "beefy" sound when starting).

What the hell? I know this is gonna cost bucks whatever it is, but phuck how can I do anything without even knowing exactly what the problem is??? This is SEVERLY frusterating. Any knowledgable imput is GREATLY appreciated. I think the previous owner side the timing belt AND waterpump were replaced, so what could it be?

 

[Dieselboy]

Oh another thing...when it was overheating the orange (I think) Radiator light came on, flashed a few times, then turned off. Whats up with that?

 

[wicked93GS]

well, I'll check the thermostat again, but I didnt think you could put it in wrong, pointy side up right? at least thats how the last one was in there so I was assuming that was how it went(I know I shouldnt make assumptions) so you guys think its the water pump? I mean it doesnt make any grinding noise like the manual describes. Can you tell I really dont feel like tackiling the waterpump in the middle of winter with no garage? I'll check for water though leaking from the drivers side. When I was putting in the new radiator I noticed some water leaking, it was dripping off the oil filter though(I'm sure it wasnt leaking from there, thats just where it was dripping off) and I thought it was just some snowmelt, since I was working in the snow, at this point I'm just hoping its not a blown head gasket. And then I have my other option, I can get a turbo motor for it fairly cheap in the local paper....which I'll probably do no matter what happens with this engine, anyway I'll kepp you guys posted, oh by the way, not that it has much to do with anything, but no check engine lights came on. Diesel boy, you didnt say whether or not you replaced the waterpump, though I guess it shouldnt matter, since I can start my car fine with the water pump blown, it sounds more like an ignition problem/fuel delivery problem to me starter maybe? I dont know, heh, I havent had my car for more than a week or so =)

 

[wicked93GS]

well, I removed the thermostat altogether and ran the car and it was still overheating, big surprise huh? anyway now I am almost positive its the water pump, there seems to be coolant leaking from this pipe looking thing that runs to the power steering pump, or around there anyway, I'm assuming the water pump, I still dont know the layout of these engines all that well, anyway my question is whether I can replace it with the engine still in the car(please say yes) and how long it take generally? I'm a halfway competent almost mechanic.., will I be able to do it in less than 4 hours or will I have to freeze my butt off all day? The haynes manual lists it in like 5 steps, but I know it will probably take much longer, any estimates on a time might help me plan my saturday...., thanks guys

 

[echo]

as i understand it, you have to remove the timing belt and all that to get to it. so whle you are at it you might as well change everything.

http://vfaq.com/FAQlocator-engine.html - check that. it gives step by step on installing a new timing belt and under the prep list it says water pump, so i am guessing you need to do that. have fun

 

[Eclipsor16G]

Are you losing coolant? If so, I would recommend replacing EVERY SINGLE coolant hose (small and large) under your hood. Replace your radiator cap as well, if you haven't already done so. Try this as well: with your car cold, top off your coolant and do not put the radiator cap back on. Start the car with the heater on full blast. Once the thermostat opens, you should see coolant through the filler hole actually flowing through the thermostat housing into the upper radiator pipe (if the setup is similar to my 98 GSX). If the coolant stagnates and never flows, you could very well have a problem with your water pump. While you're at it, I'd modify your stock cooling fans to run all the time.

Chris

 

[wicked93GS]

I'll check to see if there is any coolant flow tomorrow, sounds like it should work to tell me for sure whether my pump is blown, although I'm 90% sure it is right now anyway, and your right, I might as well replace my timing belt while I'm at it, as well as my drive belts, looks like I'm finally getting to the root of the problem(my radiator did need replacing though, so many cooling fins were crumbling it wast even funny)and while I'm replacing my pump, what other coolant lines run where?

 

[wicked93GS]

ok, well I just bought the water pump, the timing belts, timing cover gaskets, tensioner pulley, new radiator cap, drivebelts, etc but I looked over the procedure for instqalling them all and frankly it looked like a pain in the ass, one I dont want to have to deal with in the middle of the winter, my soultion of course being to get my mechanic friend to do it for me at a reasonable price and help him do it(mainly because its a nice warm garage to work in) oh yeah, whats a reasonable price for replacing all that stuff I just listed? I mean, to get the water pump off you have to remove most of that stuff anyway, I've heard people got their water pump and timign belt replaced for 250-600, can anyone give me a ballpark figure by any chance?

 

[91TSi]

Ok guys a posted about a week ago with the thrown belt (which ended up being a falling apart crankshaft pulley) but anyways I put the new one on cost me 170 bucks!!! For a damn pulley??SO i figure i will just leave out my ac clutch/crankshaft belt since I dont have ac anyways. I get her running, tighten the belts, and then proceed to tune her a bit. (running rich) so when I got to leave I glance at my gauges and my temp is almost/borderline with the red. Ok my coolant light didnt go on and I didnt hear hot water under the hood. And and all (gulp) possiabiltys of what can be going on???? Thanks in advance guys.


Robert

 

[pneumo]

You will need at least ONE belt. The one that goes from the crank pulley to the WATER PUMP!
You should have known.

 

[91TSi]

Yeah ok I should of known.... yeah if it was missing!!!! Do you think I would waste your time with a question like this if the answer was starring me in the face??? Thanks for the responce now lets see if someone who "knows" what their talking about can answer.




Robert

 

[Jinx]

Make sure your fan is running. Mine would kick in but it wasn't running. Came to find out that it broke right in the center where the motor shaft goes into the fan. Might want to flush your cooling system.

 

[SANiTaRiUM16]

do you see any leaks any where?? has it done this before?

 

[laserblue]

Please don't yell at me [like you did to 'pneumo'] for this:
Let's go back to the basics...
Does the radiator feel hot to the touch?
Does the top hose feel hot?
Does the bottom hose feel hot?
Do you feel hot [yuck-yuck]? {forgive me!!}
Did you remove the thermostat to eliminate a stuck closed condition?
Then, does the radiator feel hot?
Then does the gauge still go into the red?
How long does it take for the gauge to get to the red?
Can you determine if water is pumping at all?
Did you re-check everything that you touched while performing your original repair?
There was a post a while ago about 'overheating' and after many questions and answers 'we' all decided that it was the water pump. Now, that was their problem, but may not be yours.
Let me know what you find and figure out.
Thanks for not yelling,

 

[docal]

Ok my talon started to overheat. It only does it when I am sitting in one place and immediately goes down when I am moving. OK the fan works fine, the lower hose gets hot, radiator gets hot, upper hose gets hot, new thermostat. The upper hose has no pressure when I squeeze it. Is it the water pump that is bad?? No apparent water leakage from what I could see from water pump.

 

[wicked93GS]

no, if the water pump was bad you'd be like me, the radiator doesnt get hot, nor does the upper hose, if either hose feels squishy, lower or upper, just replace them, they may be caving in under pressure, and take out the thermostat entirely and see if it still overheats, there have been several times when my brand new thermostat was bad, so easiest way is to take out the thermostat completely to check, also tighten up your belts a bit, or it could be the radiator itself....if so you can just get a performance radiator, good time for it, heh, I replaced my entire cooling system so far myself except for the water pump

 

[echo]

i had the same problem. i checked it, and my thermo had cracked in half. i went and bought a brand new one. it was overheating when i was sitting, so i live in florida and weather isn't near freezing, so i pulled it out and everything is fine. the one i bought wasn't from the dealership, i heard only to buy them from the dealership. i also thought it was the water pump, but it can't be, because i see the coolant flowing. and all the hoses get hot and everything seems to be cooling now. the only problem with not having a thermostat is in the mornings, it is cold enough that i need the heater and it's not that hot because it takes a while for the engine to warm up. it will stay cold for about 10-15 mins unless i go out and drive it hard for about 5 mins, but i don't like to do it when the engine is so cold.

sorry it's so long....good luck