[hootie]

I just recently noticed that my car's engine temp gauge would redline after a highway drive and then stopping at long lineup at the border. At highway speeds the temp gauge is around center. However, after I stop at the lineup the temp slowly starts to creep up until it redlines. Then, after a few minutes (still in the lineup) it would return to center. Then it would redline again. My engine seems to be running OK. Idle stays at around 750 RPM all the time. The FAN is kicking on and the radiator hose is HOT.

Anyone knows what's going on? Is it a bad temp sensor ?

 

[sickbling]

do you have coolant? haha, are you leaking? thermostat?

 

[Teg2Fast]

i had near the same problem. are you running straight coolant? i had that problem and it was b/c i was running straight coolant,so i changed it with a 50/50 ratio and it stopped. also,if u are running the ratio,just change your fluid.

 

[tsqualers]

Have u had ur thermostat changed yet?

How is ur fluid levels?

How many miles are on ur car?

 

[hootie]

thanx to all that replied.

went to check my coolant level today and lone behold, it's was about half empty. I had to refill to top with 50/50 mix (about half a gallon).

I'm hoping that the high temp was due to the low coolant level. I cannot see any leaks so I'm not sure how the coolant level became so low. I'm hoping that it wasn't because I was driving it when the engine was really HOT which caused the coolant to "steam" away (or evaporate away) and so when I checked it, it was low. If this is the case, then something else caused the High temp (which lead to low coolant)...is this possible?

My teg is at 160K and I'm not sure whether the thermostat was replaced or not. However, I know that by pressing on the radiator hose, when the I is warm, the hose is HARD (filled with coolan). When the car is cold, it's pretty easy to press on the hose (ie. no coolant in the hose). Does this confirm that the thermostat is working probably?

 

[CrackerTeg]

Be very careful with that hootie. I made the same mistake of letting the temp guage redline and dropping back down (my oil is now milky and my coolant is oily a.k.a. blown head gasket and car is not running).

When you get a spare hour, preferably after you let the car sit for a couple of hours (ie: while you're sleeping) start her up, let it run on idle and watch your temp. Your fans should kick on after about 20 minutes of idling. Squeeze the hoses from time to time to check if they get soft (your thermostat opening up). Keep an eye on your temp guage. Also look under the car and check for leaks. You may have a leak coming from your water pump and not even know it (it happened to my buddy's civic. He got it fixed before major damage was inflicted, thanks to my trained eye). Your hoses being hot is just the coolant coming from the motor and going to the radiator to cool off. Its normal. Now if your hoses get hot and swell up like a friggin balloon, and the fans didn't turn on at all, SHUT THE CAR OFF.

Do what I have in red and re-post so we know exactly what we're dealing with.

 

[hootie]

Hi 90_DA_Teg,

Yes, both FANS kick on and off so the fan is working. My temp guage is now just less than dead center which I know is pretty good. I don't see any leaks. My parking spot is squeaky clean. So as to why my coolant was so low is still a mystery. I've filled it up now with 50/50 mix and I will monitor it for a while. I hope this is the end of this problem for me. The upper radiator hose gets HOT and FIRM when the car is warm (this means the thermostat open and is recirculating the coolant through the engine). When the engine is COLD, then the upper radiator hose is COLD and SOFT (this means thermostat is closed and no coolant is being circulated). Are my assumptions correct regarding the radiator hose's temp and firmness?

Thanx to all that replied.

 

[CrackerTeg]

Hootie, your radiator hose is always going to be hot when your car is running. Just squeeze the hose from time to time while you're watching it and see if it gets softer. If it gets softer, that means your thermostat opened up and is allowing circulation.

The reason it gets hard like that is from the pressure produced by the heat of the water. Think of a pressure cooker. The more heat added to it, the more pressure builds up. You try to open that sucker up and boom, you get major burns all over and you get a sloppy mess that you'll eventually have to clean up. And the opposite goes for when its cold. Its basic science. Add heat, the molecules go nuts and start moving around faster and faster and expanding away from each other. Remove the heat and the molecules start slowing down and relaxing. Think back to when you were in 8th grade science. I hope that explains it better.

 

[JustinKlemgold]

That probably wasn't the best idea to drive it when it's in the red...I mean, it's red for a reason...heat will kill an engine...