Engine overheating

The engine can overheat for many reasons. First, have you tried replacing the thermostat? Has the radiator ever been flushed? Are you using coolant or water in the system? It can be a head gasket, but check the basic things first.

Let me know.

Joe

Sometimes temperature shoot up to it max and than after few minute it cools down and temperature gauge comes back to it normal. Also, no heat.
Have replaced thermostat twice.
It heats up again and cools down fast and does it again all over again for last few months.
Now when it overheats the temperature gauge stays on max.

If the coolant is full, thermostat is good, the radiator is clean, and the fan is working properly, I would say you have a bad head gasket. Does the vehicle overheat at highway speeds?

It also happens at highway speeds, the temperature gauge go to max for a minute and come back to normal.
After showing to local mechanic he figured out the coolant was getting low and there was no leakage, he also think that it was a head gasket issue. For time being he suggested to check the coolant every third day and if it is low fill it up. This might be the temporary fix.

How much it cost to change the head gasket?

Average around here is about $500.00. But that may be different where you live. You can "Chemical Test" the cooling system with a kit available at most auto parts stores, it detects exhaust gasses in the cooling system. If you continue to overheat the engine you will cause more damage than just head gaskets, I would suggest fixing it ASAP so it does not cost you even more.

Mine did the exact same thing. Took in in to have the head gaskets done and they found a cracked head. Be sure to check for cracks, runs like a new truck now.

Had the thermostat and heat sensor sender replaced but the temperature gauge will sometime shoot up to HOT. I don't think it is actually overheating but don't want to take a chance. This is my daughter's car. Has anyone seen this problem?

Best way to find out, is to have car scanned in live data mode and look at coolant temp the PCM is seeing. If different from gauge, then temp sender or gauge itself.

Where is the PCM reading coolant temp? It is my understanding that the gauge and PCM both get the temp for the one sensor beside the thermostat. Does this car have a second coolant sensor.

There are two senders, one for gauge and one for PCM.

You can also have Ford test gauge itself.

My explorer started overheating 2 summers ago. I had the clutch fan replaced during the fall and it seemed to fix the problem. Last summer it started over heating again. It only over heats when it is hot outside as I drove it all winter with no problems but with summer coming up I need to get it fixed. I am not losing and coolant at all, except when it overheated and came out of the over flow. I changed the thermostat several times and changed the over flow cap, I do not have a radiator cap. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking its the water pump or radiator but how can I check them without having to change them if thats not the problem. Please help. Thank you

have you ever had the radiator flushed? As far as checking them, they both need removed to properly check them. At that point, it's worth replacing the part. However, if you never had the radiator flushed, I would start with that.

After thought: Is the engine running properly?

Let me know.
Joe

It has been running properly until just recently it started cutting out when I first start driving, which I think is the fuel filter. I am going to change it but have not had a chance yet.
I have not flushed my radiator. Is there any way I can flush it myself or do I need to take it in somewhere and get it done?
Thank you for your response

You can do it yourself. Most any parts store will sell flush kits. Just follow the directions listed on them. It isn't hard.

Let me know if you run into trouble with the flush or the running problem. My only concern is a bad head gasket.

Joe

Hello I was woundering if you know what going on with my suv. Today I turn on the car and I heard something pop but I thought it was no big deal, then I went to pick up my soon and as I waited with the car on and out of no where the rpms when up to 3000rpms by it's self.after that on my way home I started to smell something like oil burning but when I got home the hood started smokeing. And I pothe hood open and I saw this green color liquid that I think was the coolent and the engine was over heating. What could this be ? The thermostat houseing? (when I put water in the car it just leaks out of the thermostat houseing)

THe green liquid sounds like coolant. However, is the thermostat cracked or leaking at the gasket or hose?

Let me know so I can etter guide you.

Joe

Yes it's the gasket it's leaking and the engine never cooles down it's says heated up for awhile .

Replace the thermostat. When you get the new one, it will come with a gasket. Inspect the thermostat housing to make sure there is no damage and just clean everything and install the new parts.

Let me know if that takes care of it.

Joe

Yes the temostat is broken I can tell and today I'm going to get a new one at the ford dealer I'll tell you if that dose fix it thanks alot for your help

Good news I changed the termostat houseing and got a new gasket and now it works just fine and it dose not leak out anymore! And now the explorer dose not overheat and it dose not smell like burning coolent. Thanks alot for your help. I'll be back when ever I have another problem. And I'll tell my friends about this web site.

Car overheated and white smoke coming out of the muffler.

I'm glad you got it fixed. Let us know if you have questions in the future, and we would appreciate you telling friends about the site.

Take care, and thanks for using 2carpros.com,

Joe

have coolant system pressure tested for a head gasket leak.

Hello, i just bought this. and it overheats and dies. My husband changed the thermostat and it is still doing this. It overheats in no time. Could u please help me. Thanks

What does "in no time" mean? A minute? An hour? Slow, city driving? On the highway? What are the symptoms? Are you simply going by the gauge on the dash or is there something else that tells you the engine is too hot?

When you think the engine is too hot, feel the upper radiator hose near the radiator. It should be too hot to hold onto for very long but it shouldn't burn you. If the hose is relatively cool, suspect the thermostat isn't opening, and that would most commonly be due to a leaking cylinder head gasket. Combustion gases can pool under the thermostat and prevent it from opening. They have to be hit with hot liquid. Hot air won't do it. There's a chemical test your mechanic can perform at the radiator to test for a leaking head gasket. That test just takes a couple of minutes.

When the engine stalls, what do you have to do to get it restarted? Has anyone checked for diagnostic fault codes?

Thanks for answering me. It takes 5 or 6 mins to get to normal operating temperature. Then less than a second it shoots to hot. Yes the diagnostics has been done it said #2 cylinder misfire. And overheating. It starts back up when it dies also.

The place to start is by connecting a scanner to view live data and see exactly what the coolant temperature is. If it's normal, around 200 degrees, but the temperature gauge is reading too high, suspect the instrument cluster. The engineers at Ford have turned the really reliable cluster into another computer module, so now we have all kinds of computer-related problems we never used to see.

Your mechanic will also watch that coolant temperature to see if it suddenly jumps up too high. If it does, there could be a problem with the temperature sensor or its wiring, but those should both be down pretty far on the list of suspects.

If we were to assume the misfire and overheating are related, the leaking cylinder head gasket is a good suspect. Your mechanic will perform a test at the radiator with the engine warmed up and running. That involves drawing air from the radiator through a glass cylinder with two chambers partially-filled with a special dark blue liquid. If combustion gases are present, the liquid will turn bright yellow.

My 99 ford explorer was running fine until the next morning when the temperature went down. It ran hot and shut off. It has not done this before. Would like to know what is the problem.

What is it doing? Cranking over and w/n start or just won't crank over at all/nothing when you turn key to cranking position??

How quick did it run hot, when you started out?

How long did you run it while OVERHEATED (HONESTLY, not trying to "Impress Me".....Mine is running!)....We need real honest info, in order to assist you, We do not perform miracles, With "Made Up Stuff"!..........99% say they shut it down immediately, 1% have their head in their hands, cause they know what they done.

Coolant / Antifreeze Correct MIX?.....Not guessing the ingredients (like you cook), but really installed at minimum, 50% Antifreeze/50 Water? (Before it was poured in)

How much water did i take to refill it, after the "Incident"?

The Medic

If an engine overheated after driving 15 miles at 75 mph in 2nd gear but was not driven more than a mile after warning came on, is it possible it could be an easy fix? Thank you for your time.

The fix is to get a driver who knows better than to seriously abuse an engine like that. What else do you think there is that needs to be diagnosed? Any engine can be expected to run hot after doing that, and even if it runs once it's cooled down, the temper will have been removed from some hardened parts, connecting rod bolts will have been stressed, and things like that.

To get an idea of the effect over-revving an engine has, a $100,000.00 NASCAR engine runs at around 8,000 rpm, and they hope it will hold up for 500 miles. A Chrysler 426 Hemi NHRA dragster engine develops over 3,000 horsepower and runs at 10,000 rpm, and it gets rebuilt after every race that lasts less than four seconds. Diesel engines typically run at very low speeds and in big trucks they last almost forever.

Your engine was designed to haul you around for 200,000 miles, but there's always a trade-off. To achieve the reliability we demand, we have to give up power, high speed, or some other characteristic. You can't run it outside the limits it was designed for for very long.

The engine overheated due to a ruptured hose and sprayed coolant inside the engine. What is the likelihood of a head gasket being affected when this takes place?

chances are no gaskets have been ruined during the process, unless the engine was badly overheated and the headgaskets blew, causing the ruptured hose.

My car has been overheating for the last month. We have changed the radiator the temp gage the water pump and the heater core..Why is my car still over heating?

Hi:
Did you replace the thermostat? also, is the engine running good?

yes we replaced the thermostat..the engine was running just fine...my husband changed the oil and he said that there was no water in it so we dont think its got a cracked head....but i have noticed that when i stop it acts like the timing is off it like shaking....

I would have the cylinders compression tested to check the headgasket .. are you getting white smoke from exhaust or OIL in coolant tank ? the shaking could be a sign of water on plugs causing slight misfire

no there was no oil in the overflow and no smoke that i can see....i will have those things checked..thank you very much and have a happy new year....