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Car Overheated / Overheating / Overheats [MERGED]

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NTRCOOL

Probationary Member
24
0
Apr 10, 2002
Richmond_Va.
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!
 
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Push (or switch on the AC unit) and put the fan switch to first click. Both fans should kick on.

Your temp sensor at the bottom of the radiator could be kaput. Unplug the plug from the temp sensor and put a paper clip across the contacts in the plug and the radiator fan should kick on with the Key on "RUN"

The fan relay in the relay box could be acting up as well. Swap relays with a similar relay.

T-stat could be stuck closed. If you put a new one in, did you put it in correctly (with the spring toward the block?)

some tips ... - DSM
 
Push (or switch on the AC unit) and put the fan switch to first click. Both fans should kick on.

Your temp sensor at the bottom of the radiator could be kaput. Unplug the plug from the temp sensor and put a paper clip across the contacts in the plug and the radiator fan should kick on with the Key on "RUN"

The fan relay in the relay box could be acting up as well. Swap relays with a similar relay.

T-stat could be stuck closed. If you put a new one in, did you put it in correctly (with the spring toward the block?)

some tips ... - DSM

HAHA, I remember my first thermostat job. I did that exact same thing and it drove me absolutely nuts trying to figure out what I did wrong.
 
Have you done a pressure test of the coolant system? Most auto parts stores can rent out coolant pressure testers (they're not that expensive to buy either). If you are losing pressure (such as a leaky hose or a busted head gasket) a pressure test will tell you right away.

Also, make sure your radiator isn't clogged, and make sure your radiator fan is turning on (your car could overheat in idle if the fan isn't turning on).

Good luck,

Warren
95 GST

Ok so heres my problem,I Keep Overheating and i dont know why.
ive done a transmission flush,and replaced my themostat sensor thing.checked fuses,i'm at a loss i got it to stop about 2 months ago when i did all that,and its doin this again
 
Found a leak today by the tstat housing/waterneck area. Fixed it and now the problem is worse. Here is where it was leaking, very slow not even a drip.
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Here is the gauge where my fans used to kick on, and the temp that the car stayed at ALL the time.
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Here is the temp it reaches now when the fan activates.
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I don't know what I did...there are no leaks that I can tell...its holding coolant, the upper hose pressurizes, and there is no coolant being pushed into the bottle...

It hasnt really gone over the temp in the second pic yet. If I let it sit for long enough once the fan comes on it slowly cools it back down to the middle..


and sorry but I dont know the exact temps all this is happening..my logger cable is in pieces :(

any ideas would be great..
 
The fact that it isn't pushing coolant into the overflow tank worries me, verify that there is a clean path to the overflow tank.

Based on the picture, I would say that is somewhat "normal" or even "stock" but if it goes any higher, consider further troubleshooting.

try a higher ratio of water in your coolant. You will lose resistance to temperature extremes when doing this, so watch out.

Remove your thermostat and see if the problem persists, or just buy a new one to be sure.

You can bring your car to a shop to have it pressurized and they can watch for a leak.

being that this isnt a huge issue, I would just watch it, and watch out for temperature extremes.

Also: I have never had a temp sensor give false hot reading, false lows, but if it says its too hot, believe the sensor.

Worst case: cracked block because someone overheated it before you owned it, just a small hariline crack, I have seen this once before, but chances are it is simple, just keep an eye on your car and monitor coolant levels.

If it is pure Antifreeze this could also cause said symptoms, I would recommend flushing the system just to be safe, cost you about $15 worth of new coolant (mix your own) I live in minnesota, so I always mix 50/50, you can do 60/40 safely.

Tell us how it goes.
 
Thanks for the thoughts...

About the overflow bottle... I had a lever-type pressure relief rad cap on there. I was just at napa and the guy told me that these caps dont allow a transfer of coolant to and from the bottle. So I bought an oem cap..we'll see how that goes.

Also...timing is set, and someone suggested colder plugs so I got somw bpr7es cause id been meaning to anyway.

Thermostat is a tested working 180*

I wil try a more water-biased mix, maybe a bottle of water wetter. Thanks.
 
Colder plugs don't make an engine run colder. Has to do with the amount of heat retained the nose of the plug. More heat in the plug leads to earlier detination, less heat in the plug can turn into early fouling. Run the hottest plug you can w/o knocking to keep em clean and last longer. We run colder plugs at high boost to prevent knock.

And lever type radiator caps only stop it from turning. Flip it over and push the little pad up and down with the lever closed.

As for your issue. Did you verify the temps the fans kick on? Have you flushed the system? maybe something is clogged or not flowing fully.

Bryan
 
Colder plugs don't make an engine run colder. Has to do with the amount of heat retained the nose of the plug. More heat in the plug leads to earlier detination, less heat in the plug can turn into early fouling. Run the hottest plug you can w/o knocking to keep em clean and last longer. We run colder plugs at high boost to prevent knock.

And lever type radiator caps only stop it from turning. Flip it over and push the little pad up and down with the lever closed.

As for your issue. Did you verify the temps the fans kick on? Have you flushed the system? maybe something is clogged or not flowing fully.

Bryan

Yeah I mainly got the plugs because I bought the wrong ones last week(car breaks up past 15psi on bpr6es), figured it might change how the engine runs enough to effect egr/operating temp because it feels so different with the right plugs, even at cruising. Could be in my head though.

The cap I had didn't work like that. It pushed down on a rubber plunger lookin thing to allow it to expand into the overflow tank without blowing the cap off.

Not sure the exact temp the fan is coming on yet. My logger cable broke. I think I have a thermometer around here but am unsure of its temperature range.

I do think my coolant was a little heavy on antifreeze. I drained about 3 quarts and filled it back up with distilled water. The fan seems to come on around the center of the gauge now rather than way up top...I didnt have a chance to drive it much though. Only about 30 minutes. I sat in it idling for a good 15 minutes after that, the fan kicked on about 3 minutes in, and the temperature stayed right below the middle the whole time.

Ill take it for a drive on the highway tomorrow and get it nice and hot, see how it acts..
 
So when I drive my car, and then sit there for more than a couple minutes, sometimes my car begins to slowly overheat. The temp needle will slowly climb and I usually catch it and turn on the AC so the fans kick on(if they haven't already), and blast the heat. The car has a new head job (was dye tested for cracks, etc.), new 170* thermostat(OEM), and obviously new coolant(standard green stuff 50/50). It doesn't do it every time, but it has done it about four times now. I also noticed when it was hot, my overflow bottle had quite a bit more liquid in it than when the car is off and cool, if that matters at all. Thanks!
 
I had the same problem after i had my head rebuilt the mechanic didn't burp the cooling system. Take off the radiator cap and see if the fluid is full and if it isn't put some coolant in and replace the cap.
 
I can see coolant when I pop the cap, but I may try adding more until it is FULL... I did burp it, but I may go ahead and do that again. I do not think it is the water pump, because when the head was off I inspected it and it spun normally, and it isn't too old anyways, it maybe has 15k miles on it. The cooling fan is turning on, but I think it may be small. It doesn't have a brand name on it, so I think it is some generic slim fan. I might add another or get a SPAL fan.
 
Can i ask why you got a head job done? was it over heating before?
 
Old owner decided to do a headgasket and timing belt job (He was an idiot and didn't notice the motor doesn't have many miles on it) and trashed all 8 intake valves by not doing the timing belt install correctly. I got a very slightly used head from a friend with like 300 miles, I got it tanked, dye tested, guides all checked, and evo 8 valves, springs, and retainers put in with an OEM head gasket and some ARPs.
 
Sounds like the cooling system needs to be bled.
Top the radiator off with water. Jack the front of the car up as high as you can making sure the radiator is higher than anything else. Loosen the rad cap and let it run for a few minutes. shut the engine off, lower the car and see if you then have to add any more coolant. If you do then you have gotten all the air out and should be good to go. :hellyeah:
 
My fill cap is on the thermostat housing, so I don't think that method will help. What I may do is just take off the cap and run it to operating temp and burp it that way. Any other suggestions?
 
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