my car keeps overheating. .?

Question

changed rad. fans,sensors,hoses, wtrpump,thrmstat,no oil in wtr,no wtr in oil, no leks, no pressur in uppr nor lowr hoses when hot.

Answer 1

Move to Alaska?

Answer 2

Well when I have done that extensive an amount of work attempting to address a particular problem on a car, I often find that I begin to suffer from the old can't see the forest for the trees syndrome, and I am forced to retrace my steps and see if I have really done everything I set out to do correctly. That said, some of these suggestions will sound a little stupid perhaps, but I often find when I get perplexed over a problem it serves me well to look for simple oversights.

Regarding the thermostat--if it is the small disk variety that is inserted into a housing it is possible that you may have inserted it upside down. That might be worth a check. I have also seen thermostats that came from the factory faulty. Not likely, but a possibility.

Does the car overheat all of the time or just when it is sitting still? If just when it sits, or is in slow heavy traffic, then I would look to the fans again and the thermal switches that operate them. Have you actually seen them come on?

Does the water in the radiator ever get hot? If not, then the thermostat is either not working or you have a blockage, or the water pump is not operating.

Finally, when you replaced the coolant, are you sure you did not trap any air bubbles in the high points on the cooling journals in the engine? Trapped air can prevent coolant from getting to hot spots and interdict flow. Usually there are one or more large bolts on the head or thereabouts that serve as plugs to allow you to eliminate air pockets trapped when a cooling system is improperly drained and filled. You simply open the plugs and use a funnel to top off the voids.

I hope this has been helpful, but if you have continuing problems, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to mull it over with you some more. I can be reached at [e-mail]

Answer 3

Sounds to me like maybe you got a bad thermostat. Check if the water in your radiator is moving when the engine gets hot. If not then the thermostat is stuck shut and is no good. If you have a newer vehicle that doesn't have a cap on the radiator you can remove the thermostat and put it in a pan of water on the stove and turn the burner on hi. The thermostat should open before the water starts to boil. If not, the thermostat is no good and needs to be replaced. Outside of that you may have an ignigtion timing problem. If so and you do not knowhow to set it you may need to go to a garage. Whatever you do, do not leave the thermostat out and run the engine especially on a newer car. It will definately overheat then because the coolant doesn't stay in the engine long enough to absorb the heat from the block.

Answer 4

May sound crazy to you, but have you checked your heater hoses? Or the heater core? If the deteriorate and begin to leak, your motor can overheat. Other than that, I'd need more info on the car. The year, model, make, engine size, whether it has a carburetor or is fuel injected and whether it has an electronic ignition or a distributor and coil set up. Is it an automatic? Have you had the catalytic converter looked at? There are a lot of details that can be overlooked. Trouble shooting something like this can take time and you need to find a good mechanic who will take the time to find and correct the problem before giving your car back to you.

One last thing to check, and you can do this yourself, is to remove the radiator cap and look at the rubber ring inside of it. If it is hard and/or cracking, replace it. This could be the source of the problem and it is frequently overlooked.

Answer 5

Sounds like the thermostat is too big for the car. The thermostst will open and let water in when there's enough pressure from the water getting hot. If the water never gets up enough pressure to make the thermostat open, the car overheats.

Thermostats come in a variety of strengths - actually, it's just how strong the spring is - so that they can be used in little cars and in huge tractor trailer trucks.

Make sure you have the thermostat that's designed for YOUR engine.

Answer 6

Get a pressure test done, look at the pressure rating on the radiator cap to see what it is. Then check a manual for what the pressure should be and match your test results to that. Maybe you need a new cap?

If that doesn't help. in a pinch, like when stuck in traffic going up a slow hill, turn on your inside heater to full blast and direct the air out of the windows-use your inner heater coil to help the radiator cool, I bet many have used this.

Answer 7

Did you ever think that your gage may be wrong? If you changed all that you said you did, and have no pressure in the hoses when hot, then the system is open somewhere. How about a new radiator cap? Are you losing coolant? Try looking at heater hoses if you are.

Answer 8

Try using a higher mix of antifreeze/water.

Try changing your oil to one of higher density. If you are using 5w30, try 10w40 ... or 20w50.

All heat comes from the engine. All engine heat comes from friction inside the engine. If your radiator system is working properly, your engine is producing too much friction and heat. Increasing the weight of the oil can help this ... but, it is an indication that there is something seriously wrong developing in your engine.

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Answer 9

no pressure in hoses when hot?

1) either low coolant
or
2) you are losing coolant

the pressure has to go somewhere.

I'd lean head gasket leak between exhaust and coolant, without more information.

Take the thermostat out completely and run it, see if it overheats.

Answer 10

You didn't say if you had an electric fan or a thermostatically controlled one. If thermostaically controlled replace that control as well. They do go bad and do not lock up enough to spin the fan at a high enough speed.

Answer 11

if it (car) is showing no signs of overheating.then maybe it is just guage that is giving a false reading.
if this is not the case,check the coolant or fuses to make sure the fans are working. because the fan motors could be burned out.