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!

 

[freebmx444]

i dont know if it is a gap or not but it looked like it could have been, but after looking at it again it oly looks to be 1/4 if even that. just ran a compression test, heres the numbers, 150,160,152,160 is this good/bad?

 

[jongreene]

Those are pretty low numbers on a 2g. Service limit is 133 so yours falls in the good category.

 

[Devilsown]

You figure it out yet?

 

[RedEclipse17]

Check your water pump

 

[BestBuy297]

My car started overheating like crazy today. No boil over, no steam, no smell, no other symptons of a head gasket problem. Replaced the radiator cap, that didn't work. I bought a new thermostat, and will install in the morning. I just noticed that my large fan only turns on when the AC is on. When I turn the AC on, BOTH fans turn on. If the AC is not on, no fan will operate.
That isn't normal is it? So,.......Should I just go buy a new fan and return the thermostat, or try thermostat and see if that works? I'm so confused. WTF

 

[hi_psi_dsm07]

Does it overheat while you are driving, or just when you are sitting?

 

[BestBuy297]

While it's in park, it's normal. Once I start driving, it rises all the way to red.

 

[absolute_DSM]

Put in the thermostat and see what happens.

 

[absolute_DSM]

While it's in park, it's normal. Once I start driving, it rises all the way to red.

Wait if youre just sitting there and it doesnt overheat over time, then your fans must be working. Check and see if the radiator is blocked in anyway.

 

[BestBuy297]

But, I'm standing there staring at the fans, and they aren't coming on WTF

 

[hi_psi_dsm07]

if it's overheating while the car is moving, the fans shouldn't be broken, the fans should only be needed when air is not moving through the radiator. Ex. when you are sitting.

 

[BestBuy297]

Ooohhhhhh..Ok, that makes sense. So, damn, 1)install thermostat and cross fingers, if that doesn't work 2)check for radiator blockage.

 

[BestBuy297]

Probelm Solved!! New thermostat fixed everything! YAY!!

 

[absolute_DSM]

Probelm Solved!! New thermostat fixed everything! YAY!!

 

[YiNYaNg]

Does your fans turn on?
Is your radiator full?

 

[VisegripMech]

Pull the radiator (its really not too difficult) and take it to a radiator shop. Have them pressure test it and rodded out. After over-heating again and again over the years, the passages get clogged up from the minerals in the water. It only cost me about $60, and no more problems (with the cooling system, I mean) ever since.

 

[redeclipse7782]

Are your fans kicking on?
Are they stock fans or aftermarket?
Do you have a front mount?
Have you tried bleeding the system?
Have you pressure tested the system?
Is your coolant reservoir low?
Did you check to see if the coolant is low by removing the thermostat cap?
Can you see coolant leaking from anywhere?
How high is the temp gauge going?

You should also put the thermostat back in the car asap.

 

[Racer_X]

BTW, Why in the HELL would you run a car WITHOUT a thermostat in the first place? Someone enlighten me.......???

 

[chicagoavenger]

I may have found the issue but I'm hesitant to say yes this is it. So I got a chance to work on the car today and when I went to fill the car up with water to try a 3rd radiator(I know I know) I heard a nice gush of water come out the back of the block. As I reach my hands back there I grab this

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

yup the freeze plug. Now I know why it popped out because my dumbass just had straight water in there but I didn't think there was that much to cause this. So I am just wondering before it popped out if it was already loose and the system wasn't fully pressurized and it was escaping from there causing me to overheat? What do you guys think since you read all the things I did to prevent overheating is that possible? I'm gonna grab another one and attemp to get it back in so let's see what happens

 

[blackGSX2g]

Well if your system can't hold pressure, it will over heat. Its possible you had a small leak in the back that you were unable to see. Did you find yourself adding coolant constantly? Pound in a new freeze plug and see what that does.

If that doesn't fix your problem go to Autozone/Advance Auto Parts and pick up a 'Block Tester'. It tests your coolant/water for hydrocarbons found by exhaust gas mixing with the coolant. I had an overheating problem for the longest time, and that was the only test that would show what the problem was. Its possible you have a cracked head, turbo, or your MLS gasket just didn't seal. Metal gaskets are often hard to seal even with perfectly prepped surfaces.

 

[chicagoavenger]

Well if your system can't hold pressure, it will over heat. Its possible you had a small leak in the back that you were unable to see. Did you find yourself adding coolant constantly? Pound in a new freeze plug and see what that does.

If that doesn't fix your problem go to Autozone/Advance Auto Parts and pick up a 'Block Tester'. It tests your coolant/water for hydrocarbons found by exhaust gas mixing with the coolant. I had an overheating problem for the longest time, and that was the only test that would show what the problem was. Its possible you have a cracked head, turbo, or your MLS gasket just didn't seal. Metal gaskets are often hard to seal even with perfectly prepped surfaces.

Then when I did the leadown test why didn't I see any bubbles pop up when we applied 100psi?

 

[Rex2342]

Just pound in the new freeze plug and see what happens. If it still overheats do the test that blackGSX2g suggested. The only other things that I can think of that you haven't looked at would be the heater core and heater lines. Is the fan stock? Have you checked to make sure it's spinning in the right direction?

 

[blackGSX2g]

Then when I did the leadown test why didn't I see any bubbles pop up when we applied 100psi?

When my headgasket wasn't sealikng, I didn't get bubbles either. No mixing of fluids, perfect compression, but when I pulled the gasket off I could clearly see where the gasket was breached.

May not help you, but it happened to me so I figured I'd share it.

 

[chicagoavenger]

Just pound in the new freeze plug and see what happens. If it still overheats do the test that blackGSX2g suggested. The only other things that I can think of that you haven't looked at would be the heater core and heater lines. Is the fan stock? Have you checked to make sure it's spinning in the right direction?

I just got my new fals so I'll check into that but my old one was working fine and spinning correctly. The heater core is disconnected but even if I had a bad heater core the car wouldn't over heat I thought?

When my headgasket wasn't sealikng, I didn't get bubbles either. No mixing of fluids, perfect compression, but when I pulled the gasket off I could clearly see where the gasket was breached.

May not help you, but it happened to me so I figured I'd share it.

Well I'm gonna take a crack at it tommorow if all else fails I really don't have much of a choice but to pull the head again.

 

[92lzerNA]

A couple of weeks ago I noticed my car would heat up a little bit above normal. From the bottom of the water lines on the gauge to the thermostat in the middle, an move back and forth between those two points. I also noticed it would get lots of pressuere in the upper radiator hose like the thermostat wasnt opening up. Well I had to make a long trip an after boosting pretty hard following some traffic I noticed it start to heat up, HOT.

The following day I replaced the thermostat and flushed the coolant etc. Thinking that was the problem. It contined to run hot and the heat stop blowing hot, so then I figured I warped the head when it over heated. So I did a headgasket change and the head had a slight warp in it. The compsite fel-pro was all wet and no longer sealing, not blown anywhere though.

Now after doing the headgasket and everything I notice still after I do a couple of boosted gear pulls of driving with out the heat on it will move up a few degree's on the gauge. But if the heat is on it doesnt do it. From the bottom of the wavy lines to almost the middle of the gauge. What could becausing this? Did the headgasket not seal properly?