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!

 

[Calmor]

did the dealer not replace the thermostat. I would change that first and do a compression test. Did you check for water in the oil?

Just looked over the original service report. No thermostat anywhere on there. I did pull the dipstick - the oil color is normal, no foaming, milk, or swirling looking substances or streaks. I figure it won't pass a compression test very well, with the mileage that's on it and the questionable background of the car. The car runs ok, but not as strong as I think it should, and I think it's been abused over its life.

Since there were a lot of plastic chunks there may still be some in the coolant passages even though they flushed it at the dealer I would make a fitting going to the upper radator hose with the thermostat removed and run pressurised water, and radiator flush, through the motor to make sure everything is out. hopefully its not the headgasket

Thanks. I'm hoping it's not the head gasket too. If it is, I'm not sure what to do with the car. In this situation, it's not worth much, but I can't afford to dump hundreds into it every couple weeks, and I also need to rely on the car for the somewhat frequent NYC-Pittsburgh-back trips I make. Hindsight - I should have probably done the balljoints, got the car inspected, and sold it. Too late for that now though. It's also my only form of transportation here.

Anyway, since where I live in an apartment complex where I'm not allowed to work on my car, I'll have to send it back to the dealer with the hopes that they'll cut me a break on some of the work, regardless of what it needs. I may pull the #1 plug tomorrow to see what it looks like inside anyway (clean and easy, unlike draining the coolant system).

Thanks for the suggestions - I'd love to do them myself, but I guess I'll have the dealer check them out. I miss working on my own stuff... I really need to find a garage here.

 

[DGK215]

I may be buying a 96 eagle with a 6bolt swap. I'm goin to be picking it up this week. The only problem is that it needs a new power steering belt and water pump. My question is will i be ok to drive it back to my house with out it overheating and causing any damage( roughly 14 miles). If i dont boost.

 

[Livid]

Depends how bad it is. Just pull over and let it cool down if it starts getting in the red zone. Bring a couple gallons of water with you incase you need them.

 

[Quasimondo]

Don't bother. With no working water pump, the engine will overheat even while it's idling.

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

You won't make it. Get it flatbedded.

 

[DSMGSX95]

I wouldn't try driving it without the water pump running. An aluminum head with a cast iron block has a great potential for damage.

 

[jetdriven]

if its all highway you might make it halfway. start the cart, accelerate briskly to 50 mph, and then shut it off and coast. repeat. when the tem gauge gets 1/3rd the way up, pull over. but its only about 50$ to get it towed, so why bother??

 

[DGK215]

I made some calls and my friend is lending me his car trailer and truck so i should be good. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Advice and a decision you won't be sorry about.

 

[wolf20043]

Advice and a decision you won't be sorry about.

Exactly. Will be the best thought in the long run.
Mike

 

[MITZA]

Exactly. Will be the best thought in the long run.
Mike

Exactly the cars heat up quick even with both fans running if you don't have the water pump turning. Warping the Head and other Engine damage will cost way more than a tow. Get New Belts easy as pie to change out. You will need a 10mm wrench 12mm wrench or sockets.

 

[Talon_For_Life]

The other day I was out driving my car when I noticed it was overheating so I pulled over and shut it off. I discovered that my coolent reservoir was dry to the bone! It was so dry that it had actually sucked itself in and the coolent hose that goes into the tank was gasping. I let the system cool off and the next day I tried filling the radiator up with coolent but it was full. So I filled the reservoir up and started the car and it proceeded to overheat again. Another thing I noticed is the fans aren't turning on so this tells me the car doesn't think its hot even though it is... (note: the temperature gauge DOES work)

What the hell is going on?

-Xan

 

[kelvinb]

The other day I was out driving my car when I noticed it was overheating so I pulled over and shut it off. I discovered that my coolent reservoir was dry to the bone! It was so dry that it had actually sucked itself in and the coolent hose that goes into the tank was gasping. I let the system cool off and the next day I tried filling the radiator up with coolent but it was full. So I filled the reservoir up and started the car and it proceeded to overheat again. Another thing I noticed is the fans aren't turning on so this tells me the car doesn't think its hot even though it is... (note: the temperature gauge DOES work)

What the hell is going on?

-Xan

start it up, let it get to operating temperature, and feel both of the radiator hoses, just feel if they are warm or cold, you will be able to tell right away, that is going to tell you if you have a radiator problem/thermostat problem, also is the fuse blown for your fans?

 

[wolf20043]

http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200575
That is a very good tech article for over heating. Hope it helps.
Mike

 

[Talon_For_Life]

The upper radiator hose is very hot but I haven't felt the lower hose. This means the coolent is all stuck in there and not circulating... right?

-Xan

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

If the fans aren't coming on, I think I'd look at that too. They will cause overheat in stop and go, stop and such. Overheat going down the road will not be fans. Unless some chuckle head hooked them up backward. I've seen that once. Losing fluid and getting hot could be the radiator leaking and or stopped up. The thermostat causing overheat. Or the head gasket or head.

If all else fails, do a hydrocarbon test on the radiator. You should be able to get these through a parts house or if they can't get it, Snap on sells them. It's a valuable instrument in detecting a blown head gasket or cracked or warped head. If no hydrocarbons are present then you can pretty much rule those things out.

Good Luck

 

[Talon_For_Life]

If the fans aren't coming on, I think I'd look at that too. They will cause overheat in stop and go, stop and such. Overheat going down the road will not be fans. Unless some chuckle head hooked them up backward. I've seen that once. Losing fluid and getting hot could be the radiator leaking and or stopped up. The thermostat causing overheat. Or the head gasket or head.

If all else fails, do a hydrocarbon test on the radiator. You should be able to get these through a parts house or if they can't get it, Snap on sells them. It's a valuable instrument in detecting a blown head gasket or cracked or warped head. If no hydrocarbons are present then you can pretty much rule those things out.

Good Luck

I don't know why the fan's would have anything to do with my problem. For example, I notice the car warms up way faster then it should. My car is very sluggish in the cold temperatures we have here in Washington. It likes to warm up for about 5 to 10 minutes before it runs good. Now it warms up within about a minute and keeps going up till it overheats, thats not right - but that shouldn't have anything to do with the cooling fans should it?

Does anybody know what tells the fans to come on? Is it a reading the car gets from the thermo. or something?

-Xan

 

[MITZA]

If the fans aren't coming on, I think I'd look at that too. They will cause overheat in stop and go, stop and such. Overheat going down the road will not be fans. Unless some chuckle head hooked them up backward. I've seen that once. Losing fluid and getting hot could be the radiator leaking and or stopped up. The thermostat causing overheat. Or the head gasket or head.

If all else fails, do a hydrocarbon test on the radiator. You should be able to get these through a parts house or if they can't get it, Snap on sells them. It's a valuable instrument in detecting a blown head gasket or cracked or warped head. If no hydrocarbons are present then you can pretty much rule those things out.

Good Luck

Wow, I totally forgot about that test I called NAPA and they stock them. Most cities have them. Best of luck

 

[kelvinb]

feel the lower radiator hose and go from there.

 

[Blk95gs]

Any updates on this issue? I am having almost the same problem with my 95 TSi AWD. Difference is, mine only started after I blew a hole in a heater core hose. Which has been replaced since. Pressure tested and no leaks. It doesn't overheat as bad as your car, but when I'm driving on the highway the temp needle will creep up between half and 3/4, until I throw it in neutral and blast the heat.

We just did a coolant flush. Flushed it 3 times. I also put a new radiator cap on it before the whole incident with the heater core hose. I'm not sure on the PSI, but I know it's off of a 1g. Could it possibly be something that simple? The water pump has been replaced 40k ago, and the thermostat was replaced recently as well. Maybe the thermostat is the wrong temp/broken?

I'd check that if I were you. An easy way to check if the therm. is totally bad or if no coolant is flowing through the rad. is to grab the lower rad. hose. If it's cold and the upper is hot then nothing is flowing through the radiator. In fact, I think I answered my own question haha.

 

[Talon_For_Life]

Ok, so I replaced the thermostat with a new one and the car still overheats. I haven't tried driving the car yet, maybe if it doesnt over heat when moving it will be the fans. Oh and yeah, the fans still don't work, although I haven't performed any tests for that yet and both radiator hoses are hot which makes me think its not the radiator plugged...

Any other ideas?

-Xan

 

[wolf20043]

http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200575
That is a very good tech article for over heating. Hope it helps.
Mike

All of this is listed int the link^^^ I posted. Check it all and one should do it:
(I did not write this)
Replace your thermostat. Try a 180° F Mitsubishi thermostat. It is part number MD997607.

Your radiator cap might be old, and leaking too easily. Try a 16 lb radiator cap from a Nissan 300Z TT. Watch out - you might blow old heater or coolant hoses with the higher pressure, so be careful, or replace your hoses beforehand.

Your fans might not be running. Replace the fan temperature switch at the bottom of the radiator.

Low coolant levels. Top up your overflow bottle. There should always be coolant in the bottle. If your system is perpetually low on coolant, your bottle isn't big enough.

Your overflow bottle is not allowing coolant back in. Check the overflow bottle still has a
hose leading to the bottom of the bottle. The system must be able to draw coolant back in.

Flush your radiator. Old coolant (or a clogged radiator) could be the problem.

Try adding some Water Wetter or RMI-25 to aid cooling. Note that some of these products promote corrosion to a small degree.

Try a 90/10 to 70/30 water/antifreeze mix. More water leads to more cooling, but easier freezing and more corrosion.

Try running with no thermostat. If you still overheat, the problem is probably not in your cooling system per se; probably your difficulty is airflow through the radiator. (TEMPORARY TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUE. Do not keep the thermostat out of the car to fix your problem...)

Wire both fans to run simultaneously. Obviously this only works if you have an secondary (air conditioning) fan to hotwire.

Run both fans permanently. That is, wire them to be always on. Note that the driver's side of the radiator probably doesn't cool as much as passenger side, because of where the radiator inlet and outlet are placed.

Remove the rear hood weatherstripping. Or, shim the rear hood hinges to raise the rear hood edge about 1/4-1/2". This promotes airflow out of the engine bay.

Install better fans. There are "high-performance" models available - get the ones with the best airflow.

Try shrouded fans instead of unshrouded fans. Shrouded fans seem to cool better.

Install some ducting to force incoming air into radiator. This mostly works only if you are having problems only when driving at highway speeds.

Install some high-temperature weatherstripping on top of radiator to try and force more air through it.

Open up front bumper fascia to allow more air flow to radiator.

Replace or upgrade the radiator. Fluidyne and Arizona Performance make upgrade models. You can try to get your radiator cleaned (or "rodded out") if you want to.

Install an external oil cooler to try and lose some heat that way. Leave a gap between the oil cooler and the radiator, if possible.

Wrap the water pipe near the turbo with heat wrap or jet hot/ceramic coat it.
If you have the air conditioning still in, remove the A/C condensor.

Maybe the water pump belt is slipping.

Install a new water pump.

Check your crankshaft pulley has not separated.

Check that your A/C refrigerant level is correct. Only applies if the A/C causes the overheating.

If all else fails, maybe a leaking headgasket is the problem. Run a compression test. Don't forget about the torque specs for the head bolts/studs also. Sometimes a simple torque wrench can fix your problem.


Special thanks to www.vfaq.com

 

[JessesTalon]

Check waterpump if you havent already.

Also check your Coolant temperature sensor. could be messed up giving ecu wrong voltage... also if your fans arn't working check the fan relay...

 

[Calmor]

Any updates on this issue? I am having almost the same problem with my 95 TSi AWD. Difference is, mine only started after I blew a hole in a heater core hose. Which has been replaced since. Pressure tested and no leaks. It doesn't overheat as bad as your car, but when I'm driving on the highway the temp needle will creep up between half and 3/4, until I throw it in neutral and blast the heat.

We just did a coolant flush. Flushed it 3 times. I also put a new radiator cap on it before the whole incident with the heater core hose. I'm not sure on the PSI, but I know it's off of a 1g. Could it possibly be something that simple? The water pump has been replaced 40k ago, and the thermostat was replaced recently as well. Maybe the thermostat is the wrong temp/broken?

I'd check that if I were you. An easy way to check if the therm. is totally bad or if no coolant is flowing through the rad. is to grab the lower rad. hose. If it's cold and the upper is hot then nothing is flowing through the radiator. In fact, I think I answered my own question haha.

I ended up buying a drain pan and thermostat and changed it at work in the parking lot (because I can't work at my apartment). That did the trick - no more problems with overheating whatsoever. The upper hose never did get as hot as I thought it should.

But, alas, it's finally almost fixed. It still needs some things, but at least it's not overheating. Now to tackle that #1 cylinder misfire when the car sits over 24 hours... haha

 

[ddavisaf]

Update?