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!

 

[yankees1919]

I don't know if the sensor is your problem...I was just kinda telling you where it was...I had a bi*** starting the car because the temp was always reading -44, thats wat the ECU had. As for my problems...without the plug in, the fans should run at all times, so if it isnt a cold day, I would say pull the plug and see if the fans run, if so, you know its not the fan that is the problem...

 

[T9S1i]

alright... the head was warped.... just a little.. and you could see where coolant was leaking by the head gasket... it wasnt really bad tho.. minimal..... anyways.. i resurfaced the head and did the head gasket, arp headstuds and did the timing belt water pump job and its fixed now.... finally im on 15lbs of boost tuned and im gonna hit the track today ill post my times in my profile tonight or tomorrow... just wanted to let everyone know what the problem was and how it got fixed...


thanks for the input


happy boostin

 

[2gPressure]

Just installed a type S BOV and adjusted it. Took it out for a ride and ran great till the 4th time I began boosting and it sounded like the pressure was immediatly being blown off. Looked under the hood and the radiator cap is steaming and the overflow is full. really need some help here

 

[BUCK]

You may wanna back off that BOV a little before you Blow a Head Gasket

 

[2gPressure]

I may have already How can I find out if I have or if that is even the problem. Other notes are that I replaced the wastegate actuator line that goes to some sensor, does anyone know which line goes to which on that sensor on the passenger side wheel well? pulled them both off and pretty sure the wastegate actuator went to the bottom nipple. and the BOV line wasn't super tight, I was going to drive and get a better clamp/hose before this

 

[2gPressure]

Someone out there has to have an idea. I can't even drive my car anywere... help!!!!!!!!

 

[2gPressure]

i'll keep talking to myself How does the Greddy Type S BOV work? I go in the direction of soft with the allen wrench screwing it out and I get the compressor surge noise which is backwards from what is supposed to happen. Then screw it in or the HARD way and it sounds like its sputtering blowing off. And it is about 1/4 the loudness off the stock 2g bov

 

[CyberEye]

1G bov > expensive aftermarket pieces of crap

 

[2gPressure]

Found problem. One of the weak intercooler pipe clamps broke under the fuse box and was secretly leaking. dont know how that got air into the coolant line, crazy!

 

[CyberEye]

Found problem. One of the weak intercooler pipe clamps broke under the fuse box and was secretly leaking. dont know how that got air into the coolant line, crazy!

I highly highly doubt that had anything to do with you're car overheating.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

I highly highly doubt that had anything to do with you're car overheating.

yeah WTF

theres got to be another problem. Iv blown hoses completely off and my car didn't overheat

 

[kchaazz]

hello there. i have a problem here. i have a brand new water pump, new thermostat, new coolant, and my car still overheats. i have good compression across the board, no smoke from exhaust, no oil in coolant or vise versa.

when im driving at highway speeds, the car runs at between 203 and 213 f, when im idling or at very slow speeds, itll jump up to 223f, at which point i turn on the ac and itll cool to as low as 199f. my heater also gets hot so i dont suspect a clog there, both radiator fans also work as well. im about to just buy a new radiator or something, i just dont understand why it does this. wouldnt it have to be my radiator?
please help a guy out.

thanks, charles

 

[GTM]

hello there. i have a problem here. i have a brand new water pump, new thermostat, new coolant, and my car still overheats. i have good compression across the board, no smoke from exhaust, no oil in coolant or vise versa.

when im driving at highway speeds, the car runs at between 203 and 213 f, when im idling or at very slow speeds, itll jump up to 223f, at which point i turn on the ac and itll cool to as low as 199f. my heater also gets hot so i dont suspect a clog there, both radiator fans also work as well. im about to just buy a new radiator or something, i just dont understand why it does this. wouldnt it have to be my radiator?
please help a guy out.

thanks, charles

You didn't mention what temp. thermostat you installed. Have you tried any flushing operation? Are you having to add coolant? Does the radiator cooling fan come on? Youd did say they both turn with the A/C on but that doesn't mean the radiator fan sensor or circuit are working.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[kchaazz]

oh, right, sorry. well, its a 180 degree stat, and the passenger side fan works on its own, without the ac on and also, i did flush the radiator as well. im just stumped!! perhaps there is a bit of a flow problem with the rad? maybe the temp sensors for the fans as well?
its just driving me nuts, so, if anyone has a comment, ill greatly appreciate it!! by the way, its not my head gasket, is it? i mean, wouldnt i have bad compression, smoke from exhaust, and oil in coolant and vise versa? (have a rebuilt head and new gasket with arp studs)


thanks, charles

 

[StockTSI]

Check the thermostat seal, if that is shot, well then air gets in above the thermostat and literally blocks coolant flow into the radiotor. Best way to check it is to drive the shit out of it for a short while, quickly pull over and see where the steam is coming from. I'm sure that somebody has a better way but it works pretty well and its kind of fun. Also 180 degree thermostat is too low, lots of people think the engine will run better if its cooler thats simply not true. Fuel maps hell everything 9 different systems are designed to work with the stock thermo, its either 190 or 195. Just something to think about. But I understand to fix this problem its a good idea. Just get some liquid gasket stuff, warm the car up, scrape off the old gasket (turn the car off before doing so), then I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

 

[GTM]

oh, right, sorry. well, its a 180 degree stat, and the passenger side fan works on its own,
...
maybe the temp sensors for the fans as well?
...
by the way, its not my head gasket, is it? i mean, wouldnt i have bad compression, smoke from exhaust, and oil in coolant and vise versa? (have a rebuilt head and new gasket with arp studs)

Ok on the 180, that we can eliminate as being a source of overheat.

Most certainly you should check the fan switch sensor. You will have to look up the specs in the manual for it's settings and test procedure. Put a thermometer in the radiator fill hole so it's in contact with the coolant and monitor when the fan turns on and off with the engine running.
........................

Your head gasket is a possibility, that's why I asked if you are using coolant (having to add some every few days or a week)? It could be in the early stages and only leaks after the engine has gotten hot while driving. A block check should show some evidence of combustion gas in the cooling system. It might be prudent to check the head bolt torque.

How long has the overheat been going on? I notice you have a lot of mods, these are always a good source for causing problems. Running lean will cause engines to overheat so check for codes though with the 180 you would think it might be on the rich side unless the O2 sensor is trying to compensate and leaning it out.

Though I've never seen one, there are reports of water pumps with plastic impellers which have given problems but you report it's a new pump.
....................................

Check the thermostat seal, if that is shot, well then air gets in above the thermostat and literally blocks coolant flow into the radiotor.
...
Also 180 degree thermostat is too low, lots of people think the engine will run better if its cooler thats simply not true.
...

It would be best if didn't spread urban legends, there is no basis for making such a statement. If it's low on water that will influence circulation but the presence of a gasket has no bearing on this for there are plenty of T'stats that don't have a rubber sealing ring, rather they have a crush ring stamped in the T'tat. There my be some nominal gains in HP because it's running cooler under the hood.
..........................

As a professional I have used 180 T'stats most of my life, I don't use a 180 to make any car "run better". Then saying it's "not true" without knowing your facts is just another urban legend. I use them to provide a greater margin of safety to help in preventing overheating. In this case he's pulling more HP and yet asking the same radiator to do the job of cooling the engine so all the more reason to have the T'stat open sooner. Turning the heater (defroster) to max and fan to high will add 15-25% more cooling.
.......................

It is possible to rewire the cooling fans so they both come on without the A/C coming on. It may be that the real solution is to increase the capacity of the radiator by adding more tubes or going larger in size.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[91TalonTSiCT]

No white smoke, no mixing of fluids, but my car is overheating under hard acceleration and when I stop quickly. The fan comes on when it should and I just replaced the thermostat and radiator cap. The coolant is boiling and just started gushing out of the oil filter area the last time I drove it. Got any suggestions? Oh and it idles like crap ever since I put on 3" exhaust from the O2 housing back and put on another CAS.

 

[sumenlo]

possible bad water pump? That's all i can think of......

 

[91TalonTSiCT]

The waterpump is also new. The temp gauge doesnt go all the way to the red. It rises as long as I accelerate and for a tiny bit after I let off. After that it will start to return to halfway or a little bit over. I have an underdrive pulley on there. Could it not be turning the pump fast enough?

 

[97 Talon Kid]

My 97 talon did this a few weks ago my dad cam out with a towel and unscrewed the coolent cap really slow while car was hot and running so you have to becareful not to burn your self, but ran the car with cap off for a efw while the extra fluids ran off the problems is gone hope that helps.

 

[Tsi_User]

I think i'm in the same boat as you 91TalonTSiCT, since I got my Talon running again the temp. gauge just slowly rises higher and higher almost until it's in the danger area. It has never stopped working on me though and doesn't feel like it's running differently. It's odd though because i have a new water pump, no coolant leaks, etc...

 

[Defiant]

Replace the radiator cap.

 

[DaDeuceIsLoose]

I discovered my car was over heating yesterday. I'm not talking about it being hot and over heating, but the the needle damn near starts heading toward that H as soon as I get out of the drive way. I have plenty of coolant & I'm not losing any either so I think that rules out a leak somewhere. I took out the thermostat, and it still does it so it obviously wasn't that(although I'm going to replace it anyway since I have it out). I did a search and could not find anything about a car overheating so quickly. Whats the next steps to take? I think these are the things I'm going to try in order:

1.Flush the cooling system (a clog perhaps?)
2. check the radiator
3. check the water pump ( The timing belt was changed by the previous owner, not sure if the wter pump was changed/ if it was replaced with one with plastic fins)

Am I missing anything? Also the car has been sitting for 5-7 days at a time during the winter, and although I would go out & start it & let it run for a few minutes every week, I am just now starting to drive it.

 

[andymoraitis]

Those are all good things, but you also may want to replace your radiator cap and replace the thermostat instead of just removing it. Another thing to check would be the coolant temp sensor. Also, are the fans coming on when it gets that hot? If not the coolant temp sensor could be the culprit. I don't like to guess, but if I did, I'd lean towards the water pump as well since it overheats very quickly.

Let us know what you find,

Andy

 

[wannaspoolRS]

im gonna agree with andy. I had the same prob. the senor wire is the lowest one on the water pump. take that wire off of there get some crimpers/needle nose and gently squeeze the connector together, then slide it back on. On mine it was only a false read. next thing to check...u said no coolant loss, replace cap or "burp" your system. fill directly into radiator cap squeeze rad. hose until the sloshing sound seizes, top off radiator, (becareful that your tank isnt too full or else do this on the street). close cap. start engine, let run and and watch to see if it spits any out into the dump tank. after it stops spiting, top off the dump tank to thefull level. let me know how it goes......