overheating..........maybe

[chrish8r]

so my car has randomly overheated this past week multiple times. the resevoir tank overflows and spills coolant all over the road. the car will overheat after like a 10 minute drive but will be fine on like a 30 minute drive a little bit after the 10 minute dirve where the temp gauge shoots up. earlier today i was driving and it started to overheat(according to the gauge) so i pulled off the road adn turned the car off then turned it back on and it was fine. i had recently replace my thermostat which was my only possible culprit for this spontaneous behavior.

[krot84]

According to the tank overflowing it may be the head gasket. you may wanna check you system pressure i a shop.

[chrish8r]

According to the tank overflowing it may be the head gasket. you may wanna check you system pressure i a shop.

i've already replaced the headgaskets a couple of years ago so that shouldnt be it. and also there is usually white smoke out of the exhaust for headgaskets and i dont have that happening.

[krot84]

How old is your radiator?
Try checking the radiator cap or even replacing it, it's too inexpensive so just replace it.

[harrymaneuvers]

I am betting it is the thermostat. When I changed mine while doing the t-belt... I put in a Autozone thermostat and not an OEM one.


My car started to over heat within about 5 minutes of driving it around. Notice how large the opening is on the OEM one with 2 support pillars compared to the shorter aftermarket one with 3 support pillars.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/08/DSC00412JPG-1.jpg

[chrish8r]

So are you saying to get an oem one and not an aftermarket one??? Cause i got it replaced maybe a month or two ago at the local shop. Maybe they put a generic thermostat in there??

[Huffer]

Use an OEM thermostat. Always.

[chrish8r]

Okay....thanks guys. Ill get this done soon hopefully

[chrish8r]

so may car had the shorter one in it and i just put in the longer one....hopefully that fixed the problem. time will tell

[prodriver1]

nice bit of info. I'll remember to get the OEM when I do this. :smt023

[krot84]

so may car had the shorter one in it and i just put in the longer one....hopefully that fixed the problem. time will tell
You'll notice the difference very soon.

[prodriver1]

swapped my thermostat today and its still over heating, the top hose is HOT! and the radiator is ice cold as is the bottom hose, the engine pushes out a tiny bit of coolant as it sits idling is that head problems? is the radiator clogged? HELP :smt017

[chrish8r]

When i swapped the thermostats, mine stopped overheating for a good week then started over again. from what i have read, your culprit may be a water pump or just a striaght up blown headgasket. but where exactly is the coolant being pushed out from??

[Okin DaVanh]

swapped my thermostat today and its still over heating, the top hose is HOT! and the radiator is ice cold as is the bottom hose, the engine pushes out a tiny bit of coolant as it sits idling is that head problems? is the radiator clogged? HELP :smt017

Tho not directly related to your issue, here are some ideas that members through out for troubleshooting ideas:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=23488 (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=23488)
Last time I drove it was last week, and if I just put it in drive, and drive it 20 minutes or so, it seems find. If I leave it parked to build up heat, then try and drive it... same thing. Overflow tank fills, spillage etc...

And from the way I'm reading, it sounds like your thermostat is not opening correctly. The top hose to the motor, and the lower will be the return to the waterpump through the thermostat, back to the radiator and the cycle continues.