Car overheats bad - won't stay running... help!!
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
Car overheats bad - won't stay running... help!!
ok, so last night i'm in a drive thru, and my CEL comes on. first time i've ever seen it come on in my car ever, so whatever, having known about CELs and how pointless some of them can be, i shrugged it off. but then the car started idling weird. then it wouldn't hold an idle.... then i noticed the temp gauge and it was all the way to H! shit...
so i goosed it into the gas station next to the drive thru, pop the hood, and that wonderful smell of coolant is in the air. i noticed the reservoir was empty. i went inside and bought a huge jug of coolant... filled up the reservoir. then filled up the radiator. started her up to run for a minute and noticed the CEL was gone, she idled now, and the temp gauge returned to the middle. well i always keep my fluids topped off, so obviously i have a problem somewhere. i eased it home, and noticed the needle slowly inch upward until i got off the off-ramp and it almost shot up to H.... so i turned the car off after building up speed and coasted down the access road, to my community, and weaved through the streets until i got to my house. by the time i rolled into my garage the engine was smoking bad.... i popped the hood and smoke oozed off the entire engine...
the coolant reservoir was still full, and i have no idea the levels in the radiator.... but this was hotter than it was the first time. i haven't tried to start it or anything since - this all happened last night.
any ideas? do i need to get this thing towed to a shop? i'm hesitant to do major repairs as i have a d15b and turbo setup sitting at a friend's house and i'm just waiting for it to get finished... but i need a car to get to work.
what should i do?
thanks!
so i goosed it into the gas station next to the drive thru, pop the hood, and that wonderful smell of coolant is in the air. i noticed the reservoir was empty. i went inside and bought a huge jug of coolant... filled up the reservoir. then filled up the radiator. started her up to run for a minute and noticed the CEL was gone, she idled now, and the temp gauge returned to the middle. well i always keep my fluids topped off, so obviously i have a problem somewhere. i eased it home, and noticed the needle slowly inch upward until i got off the off-ramp and it almost shot up to H.... so i turned the car off after building up speed and coasted down the access road, to my community, and weaved through the streets until i got to my house. by the time i rolled into my garage the engine was smoking bad.... i popped the hood and smoke oozed off the entire engine...
the coolant reservoir was still full, and i have no idea the levels in the radiator.... but this was hotter than it was the first time. i haven't tried to start it or anything since - this all happened last night.
any ideas? do i need to get this thing towed to a shop? i'm hesitant to do major repairs as i have a d15b and turbo setup sitting at a friend's house and i'm just waiting for it to get finished... but i need a car to get to work.
what should i do?
thanks!
Seni
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,401
Likes: 0
From: N.Y. Queens
First thing I would do is change or just remove the thermastat. I would just remove it since hot days are here. Then take it from there. All you need is a 10mm bolt about 5 mins and you'll find out what's going on.
warm butter on toast
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,485
Likes: 0
From: The boonies, CT
Check for leaks. It could be hoses, radiator, water pump, or the head gasket. My car did the exact same thing last week except the smoke. It did ALL of that except the smoke. The problem was my head gasket and water pump. Luckily for me though, I have a b16 that will be completely installed in a day or two so I didn't repair anything. I would bring it to a garage and ask them to diagnose it, see whats wrong, then do all the repairs yourself(if you're capable).