my temperature shot up all the way to hot the other day. then when i let the car cool down, all it need was a .9 oz of water to fill it up and a little bit of water to fill in the reservoir. i know my car is old, i check my oil level once every month and i always overlook the radiator fluid. now i'm going to remember to check it everytime i check the oil.
i've checked for leaks no where to be found. hoses and radiator looks fine. the next morning i added a little bit more water and ever since then temperature stays the same and seems to be running fine.

with this problem, what should i start to do? i don't want to be stranded somewhere. i plan on taking him on a long road trip this year.

should i flush the radiator fluid and replace the thermostat? would that be a good start?

 

Are you sure it wasn't a temperature sensor glitch? That little water missing wouldn't make you overheat.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Archidictus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are you sure it wasn't a temperature sensor glitch? That little water missing wouldn't make you overheat.</TD></TR></TABLE>ever since i added the water it has been normal. whats a temp sensor glitch?

 

no tech has no opinion on this?

 

I would be more concerned with why your temp went up. That amount of coolant missing should not make your car overheat. I would look closer at your radiateor fan and thermostat not working properly.

 

radiator really old? might need a flush as there are contaminants in the water and that builds up over time and can cause premature radiator failure.

if you do flush it and want to replace it with water wtih less contaminants then use distilled water.

 

If it doesn't happen again I wouldn't lose sleep over it. If it does happen again start looking at why. Was it in traffic? Was it on the highway? When you pulled over was the fan running? If you turn your heat on full blast, does it help it cool down?

 

Maybe the fan relay decided to not click on the fan? I remember one time my 'ol Escort did this at a drive-through...the temp started rising and rising, but then after I crossed over the sidewalk (bumped it I guess) it turned on and the temp went down.

 

It could have also been some air trapped in the system??? If you flush it, be sure to get all the air out of the system. Its happened to me a few times....