Help car overheating.

Originally Posted by legendisdope

could be a bad head gasket

Originally Posted by 904thebangem

there has to be a leak in the radiator even thoough there isnt any sweet smell.
thats all i can think of if you already replaced the thermostat.

turn the car on leave it in park and rev the rpms up to about 4 grand check under the hood while your doing this for leaks in the radiator. i had this problem with my honda

Originally Posted by Jaiden05

I hope that's what it is. To me it doesn't make since to only over heat while traveling over a certain speed. I think she may need a new rad.

Originally Posted by DaKingIsBack

There no smoke at all?

Originally Posted by Bman409

There could be numerous problems for the car to overheat. I would suspect the head gasket and radiator last. You didn't mention that you burp the system either which could cause overheating. Is the radiator cap on tight? Are there any visible leaks? (hoses and radiator) Did you fill the radiator and resevoir to proper setting?

Ignition timing and idling speed could be the problem as well.

Originally Posted by 904thebangem

how can this be the problem if the car hasnt been modified? ive never heard of a stock car having ignition timing and idling problems unless it was a honda.

Originally Posted by Jaiden05

I just replaced my girls thermostat on her ride because was over heating and heat stopped working. I went to the auto store and purchased a new thermostat and rad plug because her plug had a hole in it. This was my first time ever doing this type of work so I am going to explain what I did. Replaced the drain plug and added the new antifreeze in the radiator. Replaced the cap and started the car up. Let it warm to normal temp and took for a test ride. The car ran like it did before, before this hick up.

THE BAD....

She took the car to work today and hit the highway ( high speed ) and it began to overheat again.

What I've noticed: No, thick white smoke coming out the tail pipe. No, sweet smells of antifreeze. It doesn't over heat under normal speeds < 40 - 50 mph.

He never stated what kind if car he was working on nor did he state if it was stock or not. I'm just throwing suggestions since I've had overheating problems myself in my Integra.

I forgot to mention that he might have a defective thermostat as well and it's not opening up once the car is at operating temp. Stuff do come broke bought new from auto stores.

But I'm suspecting that he didn't burp his cooling system right. When he drained the radiator and refill it back up he got excessive air in the radaitor from draining. He has to have proper pressure thus burping the system gets the air out. It's a simple mistake.

Originally Posted by Bman409

There could be numerous problems for the car to overheat. I would suspect the head gasket and radiator last. You didn't mention that you burp the system either which could cause overheating. Is the radiator cap on tight? Are there any visible leaks? (hoses and radiator) Did you fill the radiator and resevoir to proper setting?

Ignition timing and idling speed could be the problem as well.

Originally Posted by 904thebangem

well i assumed it was stock because he said it was his first time working on a car, and its his girls car so obviously she dont know nothing about cars. but i thought burping only applied to brakes? and if its over heating and hes losing anti freeze there still would be some in the radiator so why does it need to be burped. why cant you just add more? im askin cuz i dont know much about radiators.

Originally Posted by Jaiden05

What's good Bman??? I don't even know for sure how to go about burping the system... This was my first time ever attempting do this. Can you explain how this is done? Also timing, wouldn't the car idle differently or have a hard time starting the car?

Originally Posted by Bman409

See you assumed it was stock and I assumed it was modified. It doesn't matter whether its a male or female who owns the car. I suspected it was used and most of the time used cars are tampered with in some sort of way without the buyer knowing. Replacing a thermostat is fairly easy as well its like something basic.



The whole purpose of burping the radiator is to get the excessive air out when you drained it. You have to have a certain pressure in the radiator if I'm not mistaken.

This is how I burp my radiator:

• Open your radiator car while the car is cool (NEVER EVER open it while the car is running)
• Turn on the car and let it up get up to operating temp
• Go back to your radiator and you should see the coolant flowing because the thermostat is open.
• You should see bubbles coming up, watch it till you dont see them anymore
• Add coolant if necessary (I usually have a garden hose by me and fill it up that way cause I dont want to spill the coolant on the ground)

You should use 50/50 coolant since thats a mixture of anti-freeze and water unless you want to mix it up yourself then just cop the anti-freeze. Put the required amount in the resovoiur (sp?) as well.

If the car idling and drops RPM while overheating then I'm guessing its either the ignition timing or idle speed, if not set right they could overheat the engine and cause you to blow your head gasket. If you suspect that then take it to a shop and have them look at it, it should be like 10-30min task and shouldn't cost no more than $40. But your not experiencing any white smoke so your head gasket can't be the problem. Like I said.. I'm just throwing out suggestions of overheating symptoms.

Check the radiator, radiator upper/lower hoses and thermostat housing for any leaks.

Originally Posted by Jaiden05

Thanks Bra.... Do I have to drain the Anti-freeze again or just burp it with the stuff I put in already. Yeah Know drops in idle.