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!

 

[skelly]

There are relays used to turn on the radiator fan too - if the temp shoots up like that I would think they should turn on unless the sensor for the dash temp gauge and the temp sensor used to turn on the fan are in two different locations. Anyway you should check out the relay(s) just as a sanity check.

But unless you live in a VERY hot location, most cars will maintain a decent temperature just from convective cooling through the radiator, especially with the hood open, so even if the fan relay is a problem, it's probably not the only problem.

The first most obvious thing to check is that your coolant is indeed topped off. You can also tell if there is air trapped in the system by turning on your heater - as the coolant heats up, so should the heater. If the heater doesn't get hot, then there is no hot coolant moving through the core, a sign of low coolant or trapped air.

The next most obvious thing to inspect is the thermostat. Before you pull it, you should be able to remove the cap on top of the thermostat housing and let the engine come up to temperature (but don't let it over-heat). As the temp comes up you should begin to see coolant flowing through the water neck. If you don't, then either the thermostat is shot, or your water pump isn't pushing anything.

To check the thermostat you have to drain your coolant, separate the thermostat housing (at the neck where the upper radiator hose mounts to the head) and pull the thermostat itself out. Sometimes a REALLY bad thermostat will be obviously corroded and completely disfunctional. Other times it's not obvious from appearance, so you have to test it. Testing can be done in a pot of water on a stove top. Use a thermometer to monitor the water temperature and see if the thing opens itself at or around the temperature that it's supposed to. If not then it needs to be replaced. If so, then it's probably okay to put back on the car. You'll have to replace the thermostat gasket - using the old one is not a good idea if you want a reliable seal.

The thermostat alone can cause an engine to overheat and they do have a limited life expectancy, so it's the prime suspect on an aging vehicle. If that doesn't pan out then the next things to check out are the water pump and radiator themselves.

HTH
- SK

 

[sublime_ing]

Ok, since its been a few days and no one has replied, I pulled off the water pump and its fine. I did a cold compression test and all 4 cylinders registered 180. There is no oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. I'm at a loss on why my car is overheating. I'm going to replace the temp sensor and thermostat again with oem mitsu parts. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[andrewjscott]

I don't mean to jack the thread but I just had the exact same thing happen. My car didn't overheat too bad, got up just below the red when i noticed it and pulled over. I had oil all over my transmission but not on the valve cover, or anywhere else. Did you ever figure out where your oil leak was comming from?

 

[arson]

I had an overheating problem, and it turned out to be my radiator cap. check that out, and make sure the rubber seals are still good on it. It kept overheating and overheating, then i replaced it, and problem solved. Good luck.

 

[wolf20043]

I had an overheating problem, and it turned out to be my radiator cap. check that out, and make sure the rubber seals are still good on it. It kept overheating and overheating, then i replaced it, and problem solved. Good luck.

Those Nasty little caps. For some reason the freaking things cause alot of hassle. I would think the same thing after all the other replacements you have done already.
Mike

 

[evolvingGS-t]

I had the same issues and spent hundreds of dollars replacing stupid shit. Come to find out, it was the radiator cap. It had a bad seal on it which caused pressure problems.

You know how I think of it? Kinda like rewiring an entire house because your light bulb was bad.

 

[wolf20043]

I had the same issues and spent hundreds of dollars replacing stupid shit. Come to find out, it was the radiator cap. It had a bad seal on it which caused pressure problems.

You know how I think of it? Kinda like rewiring an entire house because your light bulb was bad.

EXACTLY!!!! process of elimination"Eliminate it all and start over
Mike

 

[jcranfill]

There's your problem. Don't try to run a modern car without a thermostat.

Actually, I did find the problem. The radiator was stopped up, about 80% or so is what the shop estimated. $120 later, it's back on the road, and running as good as ever.

BTW, it's now listed for sale. I bought an A-body that I fell in love with!

 

[Nanan]

Actually, I did find the problem. The radiator was stopped up, about 80% or so is what the shop estimated. $120 later, it's back on the road, and running as good as ever....

This is why you do not fill your cooling system with water out of a garden hose, the calcium and lime solidify on the radiator fins [Maybe in the tubes] and block it up. You are ONLY susposed to use DI(reverse osmosis/de-ionized) water to fill your cooling system.

I would suspect that many who have overheating issues would find a remedy to their problems by getting the calcium/lime build up removed from their radiators.

 

[Nanan]

Yes Defiant I ment tubes in my previous post.

 

[Defiant]

Coolant temps during normal driving were around 220 or so, when I parked the car they would rocket up to 240* F.

If that was with the engine turned off, it was just heatsoak.

 

[sublime_ing]

Yea, but that has never happened before in the 2 years I've owned the car.

 

[talontsi01]

Hey man, I'm in a similar predicament. Have you figured out what your problem is?

 

[talontsi01]

I am overheating. This happens only during idle or if I'm in a traffic jam. If I'm running down the open road, I'm fine. I already flushed the coolant system and checked for hose leaks. I also replaced the thermostat, no difference; problem is still there. I do have a small coolant leak located on the driver side of the car. I haven't inspected exactly where it is coming from, but I suspect the waterpump. The waterpump is on the drivers side, right?

I've also been told that radiator caps can often be a problem. Would this apply to my overheating problem? I just couldn't understand how the radiator cap would affect overheating substantially. Ultimately, what do you guys think is my problem? Or, what can I do to decipher what it is?

Thank you in advance.

 

[airmail96]

for me when i was driving my mini van i got the same prob. Come to find out the problem was a melted plug that controlled the fan on the radiator. Since the plug melted the fan wouldnt kick on to cool the radiator there for causeing it to heat up if i was moving slow, sitting in traffic, or stopped idling.

 

[ChicksDigBoost]

Maek sure your fan switch is working and your fans are turning on. wireing the 2 fans together helps out a lot too.

 

[talontsi01]

wireing the 2 fans together helps out a lot too.

Thats a good thought. So, if I did wire the two fans together, would they both turn on when the car got above a certain temp, given that I link the ac fan to the regular fan?

 

[92Fwd4Me]

Same here for me. Wuold be driving....in city.....and at idle/stop the temp would soar. Would eventually get this really loud venting noise. First time it happened (my wife was driving the car mostly at that time) that I was in the car for I pulled off the road to a K-mart in South Carolina. They had maintenance bays there. I told the guy what happened....he came out with a voltmeter.....hooked into my radiator fan controller...and in under 2m told me my prob. A trip to the dealership and $117 dollars got me a fan, controller and the whole shroud assembly in one big box. 30m of installation and it never happened again.


I would listen for your fans to kick on. Leave it at idle...open the hood...and just watch. Your fans should cycle on and off regularly. If it climbs high and fast and they never come on....thats your problem.

 

[damooch]

This morning going to work I think my heater core died.I'm pretty sure it was leaking all along because of the smell coming out of the vents with heat on, but now its gone. My question is...Is the core on a "99" Eclipse inside the engine bay,near the firewall,OR Inside the car under dash.I need to diconect but not sure of the location.

 

[RamenPride]

My question is...Is the core on a "99" Eclipse inside the engine bay,near the firewall,OR Inside the car under dash.

inside under the dash

if the heater core is bad, then you're in for some work...

 

[blcknspo0ln]

overheating symptoms will stem from different thhings other than the heater core. does your heat still work?

if your heat still works [blows HOT,not lukewarm air] then check refill your coolant, replace your t-stat, then check your waterpump. check for possible leaks too. and whatever you do, DO NOT use stopleak [or wahtever that stuff is ] for your coolant.

 

[damooch]

Its never overheated until this morning,but if i step on the accelerator the temp would drop.It leaked very little coolant but I always smelled coolant both outside and coming out of the vents with heat on.Also when it did overheat(not badly)It didnt loose much water.When I popped the hood,steam was rolling up on the back side of the motor under throttle body.Are the connections going to the core solid fitting or are they rubber hoses.Not sure what to do.........HELP!!!!!

 

[p5150]

ive had the same problem. Changed the thermostat, rad cap and removed the water pump (twice now) and its fine - I even compared it to a new one that I purchased because I thought it was the problem. In addition, I ran a hose through the radiator at full blast and there is NO restriction on that.... Im thinking about checking the heater core out because I really dont want to pull the head off if I dont have to, but who does, right? . The heater doesnt work very well either.

Im starting to think that the dealer that I bought this from had the same problem because all of the parts I am pulling off look new WTF

I had a similar problem in my supra once - turns out that the system was completely blocked in an unsuspecting place. Is there a place in the block that is succeptable to clogs?

I dont have anything but a stock heat gauge - it goes up to the top 1/4 near the H while im cruising down the highway and will not drop below the top 1/4 once it warms up - ill let you guys know if I figure it out.

 

[Defiant]

I think you just have heatsoak, as I said. When you shut an engine off, the coolant is no longer being pumped out to the radiator and must find its own way through thermosiphon. The heat sensors are at one of the peak water temperature locations in the engine, and there's a lot of heat left over in the motor when it's shut off. The coolant will draw that out and go up in temperature until it dissipates through the radiator. It goes on in every motor out there. Unless you have other symptoms, it doesn't seem you really have an issue.

 

[ddavisaf]

First, answer the questions asked.

Are your vents still blowing HOT air?
If they are then it's not your heater core.

Then like blcknspo0ln said replace the thermostat.
Your waterpump is the last thing to check however.

Your first steps are as follows. Radiator cap. Thermostat. Black flush your heater core.

If your waterpump is leaking, or if none of ^^^ that worked, then you replace the water pump.

To backflush you simply pop off the hoses leading to the core and run water through them. Both directions.

Post back and let us know.