overheated, oil on valve cover

[dsm1212]

ok so today i was driving around in the nice weather following my buddy on his bike. I was cruising at about 90 when i noticed my temp guage was about 7/8 of the way up. I immediately pulled off the road and turned off the car. I turned the key forward one click so all my gauges would work. I popped the hood and it was HOT. There was oil on the valve cover looks like it came from the oil cap. No oil on my spark plugs. I noticed that neither of my fans were running so i went in my car and turned the a/c on and one fan came on. I found the rely for my radiator fan and unplugged it and plugged it back in then that fan turned on. My coolant was full. I let the car cool then started it back up and it was fine. drove it around for about another 10 miles keeping a close eye on the temp gauge everything was fine. I then accelerated hitting about 23 psi going from about 50-95 mph. the temp gauge started to rise a little so i slowed down back to about 50 and the temp dropped. drove about another ten miles keeping it out of boost and it has been fine. What do you think is causing this? head gasket?

 

[dsm1212]

also i just had the water pump replaced about 3000 miles ago

 

[juanpac0]

Start with the simple stuff first - replace your thermostat, it sounds like its on its way out, check your overflow for oil, drain your oil and check for coolant. Whenever you overheat your engine I suggest (me personally, I'm not saying it's proven or anything) replacing the oil because I recall reading that prolonged high temperatures/extreme temperatures reduce oil's ability to do its job.

EDIT: And replace your oil cap.

 

[viprez586]

You don't need to replace the entire cap, you can order just the gasket.

I'm sure if you even used the search button you could find the part number.


Sounds similar to a headgasket leak. I'd check for oil in the coolant and vise versa.

 

[ndsti]

No worries my car runs hot and the temp fluctuates a lot while driving. and gets pretty hot if I'm stuck in traffic.

My remedies where:

1. Hood Vent
2. Wired up switch to turn the fans on whenever I want.
3. Installed Autometer Water temp gauge just to make sure it was getting as hot as the stock gauge is reading.
4. Just keep an eye on the temp gauge!

 

[solidviper89]

hood vents, and a fan switch are just band-aids...
You might want to drain and flush that coolant system, and take that radiator to a shop and have them flush it out. Switch that thermostat as it might be the culprit (PN:MD997607 is 180* thermostat, it might be for 1g only not sure...)



http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151205905-post1.html

a post about things to look at to lower temps...

 

[ndsti]

HMMM.... That link you posted has hood vents and upgraded fans so how are they band aids?? WTF

If you would have read my car profile, I have all off those mods: aluminum radiator, 2-1000 CFM fans a large hood vent (That works quit well!), new thermostat, same mixture of coolant, 1.1 bar radiator cap and my bumper opened for more airflow to the intercooler. Even with all of this extra precaution my car still gets hot if it sits!


To the OP; your car overheating could be variety of things, start with the thermostat and work your way back to the radiator when you install the new thermostat flush the system and add new coolant.

FYI... If you still have A/C; the condenser is a large airflow restriction.

 

[kk95gst]

mine did that, it would stay cool until i started to get on it or go up a hill, it was the thermostat, quick fix.

 

[dsm1212]

alright thanks i will go pick up a new thermostat and let you guys know what happens after that

 

[aaronhawk60]

I had issues with my gauge shooting up when I got on the highway and then drop off I change my thermostat and haven't had any probs since. deffinately the cheapest best place to start

 

[k2crasher]

also a good idea to replace your radiator cap as well


A radiator cap has several functions. (1) It keeps the cooling system sealed from outside contaminants. (2) By keeping pressure on the cooling system, it raises the boiling point. (3) The radiator cap allows coolant to go to the expansion recovery tank when coolant gets hot, expands, and pressures increase. (4) As the system cools down, it allows coolant to return to the engine from the expansion recovery tank. A bad radiator cap can cause the engine to overheat at lower temperatures. This will cause the coolant to boil over to the expansion tank. A radiator cap that is faulty could also prevent coolant from returning to the engine. This would create a vacuum and cause the radiator hoses to collapse.

 

[viprez586]

If you have issues with your coolant temps, check out my tech article involving the PR radiator kit. I installed a lower diffuser that another member recommended. The diffuser alone dropped my cruising coolant temps 6 degrees.

I run 203-209*F in 70-80*F ambient temps.

 

[dsm1212]

alright sorry i haven't posted back in a while, but I have replaced the t-stat, radiator cap and the radiator hoses. Still have the cooling issue, mostly only on the highway after driving about 20 min it will rise then drop then rise then drop. Or if i get into boost much the temp will rise. I also noticed today that my fans will not turn on at all unless I turn the air on in my car. i don't have to turn the a/c on in my car just the air and both fans will kick on. otherwise they will stay off even with the temp gauge 3/4 of they way from being pinned. what should i do?

 

[Jeff99GS]

First you need to test your Coolant Temperature sensor. It is Mounted in the Thermostat housing.

Remove the Cooling system Cap and check the coolant level. IS the coolant right there under the cap? If NOT then the system it LOW on coolant.

Now begin to drain coolant out of the radiator till the level is below the Thermostat housing. Remove the CTS coolant temp sensor.

You will need a Multimeter to check the resistance (ohms) of the Coolant temp sensor.
The CTS is Likely the problem causing the fans to not turn on. However the fans are not cooling the engine at 70 mph...they are mostly used when driving slow or idling. So you may have other issues. Like a leaky Head gasket. Do a Compression test or a leakdown test.

Also there are 2 Coolant sensors. One is for the gauge and one is for the ECU. You want the one with the bigger plug on it. That sends a signal to the ECU to operate the fans.
I put a switch on both of my fans anyway. I run them ALL the time, cause the FMIC blocks airflow to my RADIATOR.