overheating on freeway
06-15-2005, 12:22 PM
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overheating on freeway
driving a stock 92 vx, 150,000 miles, has been running fine for 2 years now, no overheating problems.
two days ago i go out to the garage and there's a decent amount of coolant on the ground. pop the hood, there's coolant on the bottom right side of the radiator, looking at it from the top. i topped the radiator with coolant/water (didn't take much), used a radiator stopleak product, reservoir was maxxed, let it sit for a day, no new leaking. i ran the car in the garage for 20 minutes, never overheated, went right to operating temp and stayed there. drove it around the block, 5 minute drive, never left operating temp.
get on the freeway (avg spd on freeway 75-80mph), 5 miles down the road it starts to overheat, i throw on the heater and fan, temp cools to normal. few more miles down the road it starts to overheat again, heater and fan come on but this time it doesn't help, so i get off the freeway (avg spd on surface streets 0-45mph)and it starts to drop to normal temp again, and i drive the rest of the way to my buddies with the heater and fan turned off, the car ran normal the rest of the way.
fan works. radiator doesn't seem to leak, anymore at least. waterpump runs without any weird noises and isn't near where i first saw the coolant on the ground.
what could it be? thermostat? radiator cap? i used a radiator stopleak product and the radiator stopped leaking, assuming that was the actual problem to begin with.
why would a car overheat at speed, but not at idle?
two days ago i go out to the garage and there's a decent amount of coolant on the ground. pop the hood, there's coolant on the bottom right side of the radiator, looking at it from the top. i topped the radiator with coolant/water (didn't take much), used a radiator stopleak product, reservoir was maxxed, let it sit for a day, no new leaking. i ran the car in the garage for 20 minutes, never overheated, went right to operating temp and stayed there. drove it around the block, 5 minute drive, never left operating temp.
get on the freeway (avg spd on freeway 75-80mph), 5 miles down the road it starts to overheat, i throw on the heater and fan, temp cools to normal. few more miles down the road it starts to overheat again, heater and fan come on but this time it doesn't help, so i get off the freeway (avg spd on surface streets 0-45mph)and it starts to drop to normal temp again, and i drive the rest of the way to my buddies with the heater and fan turned off, the car ran normal the rest of the way.
fan works. radiator doesn't seem to leak, anymore at least. waterpump runs without any weird noises and isn't near where i first saw the coolant on the ground.
what could it be? thermostat? radiator cap? i used a radiator stopleak product and the radiator stopped leaking, assuming that was the actual problem to begin with.
why would a car overheat at speed, but not at idle?
06-15-2005, 01:40 PM
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Re: overheating on freeway (Nooch)
When was the last time you replaced your water pump? Or changed the coolant? An when I mean changed the coolant I mean all of the coolant in the radiator AND the engine itself.
06-15-2005, 03:03 PM
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Re: overheating on freeway (Lord Helmet)
i've not changed the waterpump or fluid since i've owned the car... could it be something as simple as the fluid being old/crappy? if it weren't for the coolant found all over the garage floor i would assume it to be the fluid, thermostat or something along those lines.
would a bad waterpump cause the freeway overheating but work fine at idle?
what are some signs of a failing waterpump? any weird sounds to listen for?
would a bad waterpump cause the freeway overheating but work fine at idle?
what are some signs of a failing waterpump? any weird sounds to listen for?
06-15-2005, 03:09 PM
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Re: overheating on freeway (Nooch)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nooch »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've not changed the waterpump or fluid since i've owned the car... could it be something as simple as the fluid being old/crappy? if it weren't for the coolant found all over the garage floor i would assume it to be the fluid, thermostat or something along those lines.
would a bad waterpump cause the freeway overheating but work fine at idle?
what are some signs of a failing waterpump? any weird sounds to listen for?</TD></TR></TABLE>
u could see if u take off the timing cover, "weeping" or lil drops of water from the bottom of the pump or is if ur belt is a little wet.
or could be ur radiator..may be clog or sum'n..new on may be inorder..had the same prob..and that fix my prob
would a bad waterpump cause the freeway overheating but work fine at idle?
what are some signs of a failing waterpump? any weird sounds to listen for?</TD></TR></TABLE>
u could see if u take off the timing cover, "weeping" or lil drops of water from the bottom of the pump or is if ur belt is a little wet.
or could be ur radiator..may be clog or sum'n..new on may be inorder..had the same prob..and that fix my prob
06-15-2005, 03:25 PM
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Re: overheating on freeway (Nooch)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nooch »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've not changed the waterpump or fluid since i've owned the car... could it be something as simple as the fluid being old/crappy? if it weren't for the coolant found all over the garage floor i would assume it to be the fluid, thermostat or something along those lines.
would a bad waterpump cause the freeway overheating but work fine at idle?
what are some signs of a failing waterpump? any weird sounds to listen for?</TD></TR></TABLE>
I'd power flush the entire system. Since you said you use coolant/water. I'd power flush the system due to you using just plain water. You're suppose to use distill water not the regular tap water. Regular tap water has alot of mineral in it and it will form mineral deposit in your engine cooling passages which will block the flow of coolant going through the engine. Also I doubt the prior owner ever used anything other then tap water on your car.
At idle the engine flow of coolant is less because it is not working that hard. At high speed the coolant is flowing more rapidly throughout the system to get the engine cool because it is under load. Where at idle there is no to little load present.
The easiest and cheapest route for you is to power flush the cooling system before you do anything expensive. Autozone/Pep Boys, etc... sells the kit for you to power flush the system or you can get it professional done. I'd do it myself if I were you.
BTW having air bubbles in the system can also cause overheating problems. So power flush the system.
would a bad waterpump cause the freeway overheating but work fine at idle?
what are some signs of a failing waterpump? any weird sounds to listen for?</TD></TR></TABLE>
I'd power flush the entire system. Since you said you use coolant/water. I'd power flush the system due to you using just plain water. You're suppose to use distill water not the regular tap water. Regular tap water has alot of mineral in it and it will form mineral deposit in your engine cooling passages which will block the flow of coolant going through the engine. Also I doubt the prior owner ever used anything other then tap water on your car.
At idle the engine flow of coolant is less because it is not working that hard. At high speed the coolant is flowing more rapidly throughout the system to get the engine cool because it is under load. Where at idle there is no to little load present.
The easiest and cheapest route for you is to power flush the cooling system before you do anything expensive. Autozone/Pep Boys, etc... sells the kit for you to power flush the system or you can get it professional done. I'd do it myself if I were you.
BTW having air bubbles in the system can also cause overheating problems. So power flush the system.
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