what can cause overheating

SCedTBird

Registered User
sup my fellow SC'ers, Ive been havin some overheating problems i dont know why it never happen until bout a month now. i changed to a 180 degree thermosat ,flushed and drain rad,checked for leaks,changed the sensor for a fan and still this F@#$^%$ sh$% is happening. any advise from my SC'ers out there:confused: all of the anit-freez was bout to explode from the bottle
 
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What are your boost numbers like? If higher than normal then it could be your cats being clogged. Also on a less likely scenario, your O2's can be going bad and causing a lean condition that is causeing it to heat up. That's a doubtful one but have heard of it happening.
 
well when the car is off im at 2-3 when on im at -10 and when i drive i can hit 15 plus i got new 02 sensors from the dealer the cats i dont know bout, ijust did over the exhaust 2'5 inch with vortex mufflers
 
More than likely you are low on coolant. Did you remove the little bleeder bolt next to the water neck when you changed to coolant?

Jeff
 
its kind of wierd if i drive with the defroster on at 77 dgrees it wont overheat it will play between the o and the m but if i take off the defroster i will overheat but during the day but at nite its ok .wish you could explain that one to me whats wif these damn cars:confused:
 
well, defroster is just adding another small radiator. That's why it stays cooler. Heat it up and see if the fan comes on. If it does then the only thing I could guess would be cats.
 
When you turn the defroster (or AC) on the fan comes on that's why it's not getting hot.

Did you remove the little bleeder bolt next to the water neck when you changed to coolant? You may not think you are low but you might be.

Jeff
 
SCedTBird said:
if i take out my cat does that affect the o2 sensor

No.

Try letting the engine get hot. Drive it around the block (don't use the heater AC or defroster), stomp on it a little and then park it. If it starts bubbling out then that's good. Keep the overflow filled. Add as needed. When the engine cools down the coolant will be sucked back into the system from the overflow. do this a few times and it should clear up. Make sure there isn't a crack in the overflow or it will never work and you will always overheat. At least until you blow a headgasket.

Jeff
 
SCedTBird said:
sup my fellow SC'ers, Ive been havin some overheating problems i dont know why it never happen until bout a month now. i changed to a 180 degree thermosat ,flushed and drain rad,checked for leaks,changed the sensor for a fan and still this F@#$^%$ sh$% is happening. any advise from my SC'ers out there:confused: all of the anit-freez was bout to explode from the bottle

I didn't notice anyone else mention that switching to a colder t-stat like you did will not cool the car off any better. It will actually cause it to run hotter. This is a well known sc fact. You need to make the electric fans come on at a lower temp with the 180 degree t-stat. Those two things should keep it running nice and cool. I have a 180 and up until recently had an adjustable t-stat that would turn the electric fan on at lower than stock temps to aid the 180 t-stat. It cost about $18 bucks from local parts store. Now I have a chip that does the same thing.

So your options would be to either put the stock temp t-stat back in (197 degree I believe) or add an adjustable t-stat and or chip. The chip is the easiest but most expensive. The adjustable t-stat switch requires some electrical knowledge but there are howtos and diagrams available on the web.
 
If it runs "hot" within 10 minutes you are low on coolant. When air gets trapped behind the thermostat the air insulator. Guess what happens when when the the theromstat isn't at the proper temp. The sending unit for the gauge is right there as well.

Another thing to think about is how long does it take to heat up a couple of gallons of coolant. How could you start to overheat if it's only been 10 minutes? That means only the water in the block and the block itself are hot the rest of the coolant is not flowing.

Jeff
 
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