my engine is running hot, it was overhauled just a short while ago,
the water is up, I changed the thermostat, one odd thing is that
the temp. gauage reads normal but when I put on a remote infra red temp. sensor it reads 210 to 220 after going around the block
several times. when I put on the head gaskets I know that the
notation front is up front on the head gaskets. It is about 90 degrees here today but the engine should not run much more than
200 degrees, the engine has never boiled over just shows hot
when I use the hand held temp. reader.
any ideas? bob
2006-08-20 09:05:37 · 5 answers · asked by robert k 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
You didn't tell us what kind of car, or what year.
Most cars today are designed to run somewhere around 200 deg.F, and anything up to about 225 deg.F isn't going to cause any damage, even for older rcars.
The reason for higher temps might be because there may be a bit of debris in the cooling system around the water jackets, or a restriction in the water pump ports (part of a scraped-off gasket).
If it doesn't run much hotter than that, you aren't facing much.
The purpose for the pressure radiator cap is to reduce boiling when temps are up.
At sea level, for every additional pound of pressure you add to the cooling system, you raise the boiling point by 3 deg. So, if you have a radiator cap that adds 10 pounds to the system, the boiling point has been raised by 30 degrees, or up to 242 deg F for tap water at sea level. Adding antifreeze/coolant adds further to the anti-boiling characteristics as well.
Also remember, that gauge in the dash is not anywhere as accurate as your IR thermometer. It is meant to be only guide of what is going on under the hood as you drive.
2006-08-20 09:34:43 · answer #1 · answered by Ironhand 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the gauge is reading an ok temp you probably are ok. Ther eason I say this is because you havn't boiled over and have taken the neccessary steps to troubleshoot this. When you are taking readings with the infra red reader it's taking the temp of the surface of the engine, not the internal temp or the fluid temp. An engine dissapates some heat this way which could be the explanation for why the temp reading is higher than the gauge reading. Keep a close eye on the gauge and you should be fine. If it does act up a few more things to check out is the condition of your radiator, is there a lot of bent fins? Is your fan in good condition? How is the water pump? While 220 may be pushing the temp range it's still within an ok range.
2006-08-20 16:23:11 · answer #2 · answered by Adam F 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually 210f is the normal operating range at the temp sending unit. Your engine is OK 220f is acceptable.
2006-08-20 16:25:59 · answer #3 · answered by rookie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Leave it alone. If it aint broke don't fix it.
2006-08-20 17:06:45 · answer #4 · answered by Ironball 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how are you mixing the anti-freeze with water it should be half and half.
2006-08-20 16:16:44 · answer #5 · answered by mark m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋