My grandfather drove up today in his Camaro and shut the car off, and I walked by it maybe 10-15 minutes later and heard a boiling noise, so I went and got him and we looked under the hood and sure enough the coolant was boiling. He says that's normal and water boils at 220, we are at sea level, and that nothing is wrong. I say it's not normal and something's wrong. Who is right?
2007-03-31 07:55:10 · 4 answers · asked by brian 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
btw, I turned the key and checked the thermostat, after we popped the hood, and even after being off for 10 minutes+ the temp was past straight up and down(220), and sitting somewhere around 240-245... redline being 260
2007-03-31 07:56:44 · update #1
I mean temperature guage, not thermostat... but could the problem be a faulty thermostat? when I turned the key the radiator fan instantly kicked on
2007-03-31 07:57:46 · update #2
the coolant in the coolant reservoir was boiling
2007-03-31 08:08:27 · update #3
also I have driven theis car myself and had it overheat on 2 occasions(temp guage needle burried in the red while driving, and boiling coolant), but he says it never happens to him so I must be driving it wrong... but this time he was driving it and it was boiling
2007-03-31 08:09:58 · update #4
He's wrong, if it boils something is wrong and does need to be corrected...It's probably boiling because it's straight water and not antifreeze... Antifreeze has a lower freezing point and a higher boiling point than straight water...The engines normal operating temp is higher than waters boiling point... When the water begins to boil it can't cool the engine... Also a faulty radiator cap will cause that, it has to be able to hold certain amount of pressure, the coolant has to be under a certain amount of pressure to keep from boiling like a pressure cooker...You can call any parts store to see what pressure range the cap for your particular model is suppost to be...
2007-03-31 08:20:56 · answer #1 · answered by barfoeng 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Number 1. Water boils at 212 deg. F at sea level. 2. Why does Gramps only have water in his cooling system ? You said the cooling fan comes on when the key is turned on, O K that's working and you are probably right about the thermostat. Pops is the loser. Ah, Norm, the sending unit is located in the engine, not the gauge.
2007-03-31 15:15:59 · answer #2 · answered by Billy TK 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you park a car and turn off the motor the water pump quits working, so the coolant temp in the block continues to increase in temp( temp gauge is located in the motor) If you start the car and drive it around the block the temp will drop to operating temp.
2007-03-31 15:06:00 · answer #3 · answered by Norm W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not normal. Your cooling system isn't at sea level. It's suppose to be pressurized, which raises the boiling point. The antifreeze raises it more. You either have an unpressurized system because of a leak or bad cap, or you're running pure water.
2007-03-31 19:20:07 · answer #4 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋