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!

 

[nek]

I had mine in the fender where the side mount intercooler was. Just made a bracket and it fit like a glove.

 

[xkspikex]

All right guys, I made another observation, today is like 70 degrees out with no humidity, the car is not overheating anymore. The pass couple weeks, the weather has been in the high 80's and in the 90's with humidity. That was when my car was overheating. Do you think this has to do with a broken thermostat, broke radiator, etc. I am going to flush and clean the radiator anyways if you guys think that might be the problem. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK

 

[punxnotdead185]

Most definitely a blown head gasket or a cracked head or block. 420A's are well known for blowing head gaskets

 

[AlaskanDsm]

The issue does sound like it could be head gasket related. Is there coolant in your oil or vice versa? You can leave the car running when cold and take off the coolant cap to see if there are any bubbles. This is also an indication of a blown head gasket. You can also perform a compression test to see if you have any low numbers for each cylinder which can also show a head gasket issue.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/338152-compression-leak-down-testing.html

Most definitely a blown head gasket or a cracked head or block. 420A's are well known for blowing head gaskets

... Where is the Proof? I agree with the first part of your statement but definitely not the second.

 

[KrazyRob]

Wow I can see a ton of people are dealing with this issue as well... My 99 gsx gets hot when the ac is on also.. I have a large FMIC, Toyorad Radiator and 2 FAL slim fans.. My car can sit in the sun all day running at idle with the AC On and not get hot but about after 5- 10 minutes of driving 25-45 mph on city streets or even hwy speeds, the temp will get up to about 80% but not go into the red..

How much air is really blowing over the car at 25 mph? Does this sound like duct work is needed at this speed? When I turn off the AC I can drive all day in 100+ temps with out overheating.. but I need AC its a sweatfest out here in the Valley CA ....

I was thinking about getting a 12" 1630 cfm spal pusher fan to mount on my condensor and maybe a 170 stat... What do you think? I really dont want to start adding all this home made ductwork stuff to my 99 gsx with only 52k original miles.. plus I gotta keep it SOME what stock looking here in Ca for smog and because cops are dicks around here...and make you pop your hood

 

[awddarrell]

My coolant temps start climbing too when I go 75mph for long periods of time in 90ish heat with the A/C on. I've tried ducting, a huge racing radiator, cooler thermostats, high flow thermostats, etc,etc... Normally it will rock steady at around 190, but flick on the A/C and it starts to climb to around 210 or so, then I have to shut off the A/C for a few miles.
I'm thinking a water to air IC might help because the typically have smaller radiators, but I haven't done any testing to support this. I do know that having a useless ebay air to air FMIC reduces this phenomenon.

For you and the OP, and the other few who are having cooling issues. When looking at your mods I dont see any Logging, or tuning solutions in your profiles. WB o2, Datalogger, and tuning solutions are a must when adding upgrded Turbo, injectors, ect. a GM MAF and MAFT, are not going to be enough.
IF the ducting does not work, and you are still having cooling issues, make sure to check your A/F ratio via, WB, and or datalogger. I had similar problems, the engine was running to lean causing it to get hot at any driving speed in heat above 80*F, I tried everything under the sun Fans, Rads., ducting, thermostat, burping the cooling system, pretty much everything shourt of putting a bullet in the engine block and sending the car to the crusher.Then I hooked, up my WB, and SAFC, (which should only be a temp. fix till you can get a better tuning solution) WB was reading almost no fuel, did some adjusting through the safc and bam coooling issue went away. Not to mention the vehicle ran so much better, pulled harder and sounded much helthier. take my advise if you want but sometimes going the easy way and making an air duct is just not the correct way.

 

[Chrispy0530]

I recently just got rid of my over-heating problems with A/C on. A good condenser fan makes a huge impact on how your temps are going to be when your rocking A/C in hot weather.

Bit of info on what I did,
My 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse


Still have yet to do ducting, as temps cruising on highway for about an hour at 75mph don't go anywhere passed 186F, on a super hot day. But will eventually get to doing it just to help out even more.

 

[KrazyRob]

I need to update my profile. I actually down graded alot of mods and put the car back mostly stock. I dont have the gm maf or maft anymore.. only difference is my e 3 16g turbo on stock boost.. i just ordered a 10" push fan for my condenser and im just leave in my 180 stat and not go lower than that.. well see how this fan works out.. hey chrispy what side did you mount your condensor fan? Drivers side?

 

[KyleClyne]

I've had this issue ever since I went to smaller slim fans to fit my jpipe. Sucks.

 

[FLASH1970]

If I were you I'd try to get the factory fans on there. Also, in the Ceddymods you can adjust what temp the fans come on. Maybe setting them to come one sooner will help them keep up with the heat. I know my car is pretty much bone stock, but it's black with black leather and I only had on the passenger side fan in 90 degrees with the AC on and I didn't have a problem sitting in traffic. OEM fans are pretty good I think... The driver fan was off for only a couple weeks along with the lower heat shield, it's back on there now.

 

[red_devil]

I've almost fixed my over heating with a/c on problems. I installed the stock a/c fan on the passenger side since the stock cooling fan wont fit. Then installed a 9" slim fan on the condenser. Sealed up the condenser and radiator, did a little duct work. Enlarged the front intake and installed a 170 thermostat. The car will sit in traffic in 95 degree weather for about 10 minutes before it breaks 210 degrees. It will then climb to 226 and stop. Driving around at 25-30mph it stays at 205, and on the highway 195, a/c on the whole time. The only thing to do now is replace the cheap slim fan with a SPAL fan and maybe try to fit a 10" instead.

 

[KrazyRob]

Got my 10" condensor push fan on order. And plan on sealing the condensor to radiator.. what about the 6" massive open gap between the condensor and fmic? I hear people seal this gap as well....

And does anybody have a drawing or diagram of where to exactly install ducting and where u want the air to flow.. from the bottom up? From the sides? I would like to possibly install some duct work that is pretty much unnoticeable.. i only found a couple pics of duct work when i did a search.. be nice to find a diagram of some sort or some better pics with explanation of air flow..

 

[zerq]

If the pulley is squeaking, then the belt is loose. If I remember correctly, it's a 14mm near the A/C unit. I could be wrong though

 

[Tiki2777]

Just some more tips for you:
Run a higher concentration of water to keep your car cooler. (that doesn't mean run no antifreeze )
Make sure your temp sensor is still good.
And make sure that you don't have any coolant leaks (make sure you keep it up and filled with coolant)

Other than that, listen to the reputable people on here because it does sound like you may have a water pump problem.

good luck.

 

[LOLVTEC]

If you do replace your water pump, might as well replace all your timing components.

 

[awddarrell]

OP, do you have any updates on your issue?

 

[DSM_Newblet]

Ok so I am having an overheating issue that has followed me from my 7 bolt to my 6 bolt swap. The overheating happens only while sitting still and up until I hit 35-40mph then while I'm cruising it slowly returns to normal. I know the first instinct is to think maybe the fans aren't working or maybe there is air in the cooling system since the overheating only occures at idle but I have checked everything. The fans work properly, there is no air in the lines/hoses, replaced my headgasket, coolant hoses, water pump and flushed the system many times. The heater works so I'm pretty sure the heater core is ok. A/c works but gets warm when the car warms up. The only things I have not replaced are the radiator and when I did the swap I kept the 2g heads. There is no white residue on the spark plugs so I'm pretty sure the head is okay. Plus I had it machined for the swap and they said they saw no defects in it. I took off my front bumper to see if it would help keep the temp down which it did for about 40min or so but once I hit a red light the temp went up started moving and it went down once I was cruising for about 3 min at a constant 45 mph. So I think I might as well replace the radiator since it is one of the last things to be done to my cooling system. It is an aftermarket god speed radiator, not sure of it's condition because it came with the car. But my main questions are should I go with a oem skinny radiator to allow more air flow or a fatter mishimoto radiator? Or could there be another cause to my overheating? I reallly need help please I am very confused..

 

[sccrbrandon4788]

Have you replaced your thermostat? They are cheap enough to just replace anyways. After 12 years mine finally had to be replaced.

 

[SY1100]

Easy thing first. When you flushed the system did you start the car with rad cap off and let it run with the heater on full blast for 15min or so?? I only asked because I forget this step and was having similar issues. If you havent changed the T-stat might as well do it now since it may be the original that came on the car, also check the hoses for any debris that maybe clogging the system..

 

[dsmotors95]

i agree with sccrbrandon4788..check/replace your thermostat or remove it..or maybe your radiator is leaking coolant.

 

[crash89]

Did you actually do a coolant flush?? There could be a bunch of crap stuck in your radiator, preventing it from cooling properly.. After you run the car for a while are BOTH hoses hot? Also, when filling the system, when the radiator is full squeeze the lower hose a few times. Squeeze slowly then release, do that a few times then refill. This will push a bunch of air out.. Ive never had to run the car for 3 fan cycles or whatever they say for that method by doing this.

 

[DSM_Newblet]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I changed the thermostat and housing. I also checked for air last night. Let it run for 15min with heater on, cap off and also checked to see the fans were operating fine.

 

[Abe'sGST]

Are you leaking coolant? If you are not, I would suspect it being the radiator. I think the OEM radiator works great, unless you're aiming for high hp on your car.

 

[fallenauthority]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I changed the thermostat and housing. I also checked for air last night. Let it run for 15min with heater on, cap off and also checked to see the fans were operating fine.

Probably a clogged radiator. You can try taking the radiator out and sticking the hose in the inlet and outlet one at a time of course and pumping water through it each way a few times to try and dislodge anything that might be stuck inside.
Also, you do not need to have the heater on to burp these systems, they dont have a valve to shut off flow to the heater core so coolant always flows through the heater core even if you have the heat off. So no need to turn the heater on.

 

[DSM_Newblet]

Are you leaking coolant? If you are not, I would suspect it being the radiator. I think the OEM radiator works great, unless you're aiming for high hp on your car.

No leaks what so ever. and I'm only aiming for about 350 maybe 400 hp max. Do you think an oem will hold up? or what do you recommend?

So I'm definitely getting a radiator. Any recommendations for which one I should get you guys? I will have around 350hp, 400hp max. Oh and I live in PHX where it gets 120 in the summers.