over heating problems.

[ccsimpson3]

I'm having some trouble with over heating, when it first happened I checked the fluid and it seemed to be pretty much empty, I filled it and it worked fine for the rest of the day. Then, when I got in the car the next day about 14 minutes into the drive it started over heating again, I pulled over and checked the fluid, it was low again, I filled it and the same thing it worked fine, then I parked somewhere for a few hours, and when I started it back up again I was hit with the same 15-20 minute driving limit and the coolant was low again. I could not find any leaks originally then I started testing it with the hood up, it seems to be forcing too much coolant to the expansion tank and then periodically forcing some out of the tank completely, I let it run for about 10 minutes like this, watching is periodically push about an once or two out every 30 seconds or so and then shut the engine off, when I shut the engine off coolant started pouring out of the expansion tank steadily. I do not have a thermostat in there currently because it got stuck closed and was causing the car to overheat awhile ago, I'm going to replace it tomorrow but it's really warm whether where I am located right now. I thought that running without a thermostat would only cause serious problems if it were cold outside, have I been misinformed? does anybody know what might be causing this, I think there is a possibilty that i've damaged the head in someway, also, if it matters, I have a fairly large crack in my exhaust manifold and my air conditioning is not working for cold air, I plan on ordering some headers on may 1st, can that contribute to my problem......I'm confused; I went all through the haynes manual and did not see any problems similar to this.

 

[96TurboGS]

When you run without a thermostat (some type of restriction) you aren't giving the radiator a chance to radiate/dissipate heat correctly = overheating (once operative temp is met). Depending on ambient temp; most the time you will never warm up to the correct temp, but when/if it does, it will stay hot. (Most notable on hot days) Running without a thermostat is a good way to ruin you engine. DON'T DO IT, . You might want to do a compression check just to be safe.

***Edit***

 

[VelocitàPaola]

When you run without a thermostat (some type of restriction) you aren’t giving the radiator a chance to radiate/dissipate heat correctly = overheating. Depending on ambient temp; most the time you will never warm up to the correct temp, but when/if it does, it will stay hot. (Most notable on hot days) Running without a thermostat is a good way to ruin you engine. DON’T DO IT, . You might want to do a compression check just to be safe.

Actually, not having a thermostat would prevent the car from ever heating up, not staying cool. The ambient air temperature has little to do with it as it's much lower than the normal operating coolant temperature.

In any case, not having a properly functioning thermostat is bad. Replace it immediately.

 

[96TurboGS]

Have seen it happen to many times on numerous cars came to me without one. It will take a lot longer to warm up (if it does) but once it's warm it's not going to cool down. I had some log sheets of neon without one to confirm it is true, give or take years ago. Having no thermostat will make you overheat in the long run, I don't know if ambient temp was the correct thing to say, but ofcoarse if its 0*f degrees out side it will take longer to reach its operative temp (if it does) vs. 105*f days.

Here was a similar link I remember seeing a while back when I was having those problems.

Team 2GNT Forum - Viewing topic #66688 - Thermostat.........not running one......

 

[VelocitàPaola]

It's interesting Nate found those results. I never did... in my experience, the car never warms up; even in 95*F South Florida weather.

 

[ccsimpson3]

thank you guys very much, everything your saying seems to be consistent with what I am experiencing with my car. I will replace the thermostat immediately and let you all know my results. Thank you all very much for your time.

 

[sarge281]

This may sound like a no-brainer, but don't forget to replace the thermostat gasket as well. Especially if your t-stat overheated & locked up on you. I know people that replaced the stat & not the gasket (figuring it looked good, it couldn't hurt) & drove around. They'd start losing coolant and leaking, and then start overheating again.

 

[ccsimpson3]

mine doesn't have room for a gasket, I just lined it with some rtv sealant, everything is working fine now, I can't believe it was having that big of an effect on the car it feels so much more stable now. Thank you all very much for the help.

 

[ccsimpson3]

well.....looks like I spoke to soon, the car was driving fine, then it started to over heat again.........I refilled it and it ran fine for an hour, then I got where I was going and shut it off, when I got back in the car it overheated within 10 minutes, I waited for it to cool and then checked the coolant, it was pretty much empty, I refilled it and it drove fine for another hour, then parked it and when I got back in it did the same thing....over and over and over again, it's like the car is dumping out all of my coolant when I get the car off.......any ideas? Could it have anything to do with my check engine light being on due to an exhaust leak or the o2 sensor being bad.....I have no clue.

 

[96TurboGS]

There is a gasket that occasionally gets baked onto the housing from the heat that you usually scrape off with a flat head driver, and then replace with a new one. It sound to me the problem is a head gasket. What color is you exhaust smoke (when stepping on the gas, idle), Whitish?? If your exhaust smoke isn't white (or sweet smelling) and your compression test is good on all cylinders then you have a major leak you need to find. Just put the car on the jack stands and watch for the leak. (If you cant find none of the above) Otherwise, the head gasket is the culprit.

 

[bullettdsm]

Classic signs of bad headgasket. I let this slide because I thought you had solved the problem, but what you are describing is a bad headgasket.

MB

 

[chiuchimu]

Classic signs of bad headgasket. I let this slide because I thought you had solved the problem, but what you are describing is a bad headgasket.
MB

I thought so too, but he said:

"I shut the engine off coolant started pouring out of the expansion tank steadily."

But pressure buildup in the coolant system is usually thru bad head gasket. Comprerssion testing the pistons should give more info.

 

[ccsimpson3]

I do need to do a compression test....as far as the head gasket is concerned. I don't want to have to pay a mechanic to do it, anyone no where a tutorial is for replacing it?

 

[chiuchimu]

I do need to do a compression test....as far as the head gasket is concerned. I don't want to have to pay a mechanic to do it, anyone no where a tutorial is for replacing it?

Too much important details involved. Get the Haynes or Chilton manual(Haynes preferred). Cost about $20. Since your going all the way down there, you'll probably want to replace worn stuff like hoses, Engine mounts, seals, etc... Anything that is a b!tch to get at, do it now.

 

[ccsimpson3]

I hear ya, I have the haynes manual, i'll get at it sometime this week, i'll let everyone know how it goes. thanks again.

 

[ccsimpson3]

well it's not the head gasket, turned out to be a little pin hole in the lower radiator hose. Everything seems to be working fine for now; I'll give it a few days before I get too excited. The check engine light is gone too; which is weird because the code it was giving was for an exhaust leak..........don't know.

 

[bullettdsm]

well it's not the head gasket, turned out to be a little pin hole in the lower radiator hose. Everything seems to be working fine for now; I'll give it a few days before I get too excited. .

Good idea. Could be a symptom of the problem. You lost a lot of fluid and saw no puddles for just a pin hole.

Let's keep happy thoughts

MB

 

[ccsimpson3]

still having trouble....from a cold start it drives for about 30 or 45 minutes before it starts over heating then it goes up a little and down alittle each time getting closer to the redline....it's not losing any actual fluid but when it did actually run hot for a minute I lost a lot of fluid but in exhaust form from the expansion tank no liquid just steam........and it's having trouble from a cold start now, I have to pump the gas to get it to crank up...i've stopped driving it for now................but can that all be related to a bad gasket and or a warped head? still drives beautifully when started no noise, drives smooth still goes over 90 with no rattling or loss of power...weird car.

 

[bullettdsm]

Classic signs of bad headgasket. I let this slide because I thought you had solved the problem, but what you are describing is a bad headgasket.

MB

^^^^^Lookie, I just quoted myself!

I guess happy thoughts weren't enough

MB

 

[ccsimpson3]

haha nope not at all, although I am experiencing all sorts of weird stuff, one of the spark plug wires went out so I replace all of them........and now the car runs for like an hour before it starts to over heat, then I ran it without the radiator cap on for a minute and found out that the brand new thermostat I put in was not working properly, it seemed to only be letting coolant pass in a very small little stream so I took it out and ran it and it ran for over an hour without every reading that it's over heating but I popped the hood and the coolant is still boiling in the expansion tank, maybe this is all normal with cars but from the perspective of someone that hasn't really had any experience with automobile mechanics it seems like a really unbelievable episode of house or something........but this is just how I see it from a programmer's angle, I'm finding out quickly that logic has no bearing here.....kind of fun though.

 

[chiuchimu]

For some reason I thought you replaced your radiator cap with a new one. Did you?

If not, please do so. If this is a sudden occurrence then $5 radiator might solve your problem. Do that before doing your head gasket.