I have been having problems with overheating. My engine temp guage will get up to almost the redline and stay there for about 5 minutes then drop back down to normal. Sometimes my SES light comes on and sometimes not. I do not have my haynes manual with me and do not remember how to pull trouble codes or have explanations for each. Please help. Thanks.

 

One step would be to verify that the engine is actually overheating... Do you have access to a scan tool that would allow you to compare with the ECM sensor?? Or one of those infrared temperature guns?? Or a cheapo mechanical gauge?? Make sure there is a problem before you go further, it might just be the sender...

 

Temporary overheating is a common symptom of cooling system intrusion by combustion gases...eg. blown head gasket.

You get a big air bubble of exhaust gases which obstructs coolant flow, the bubble gets burped, temps return to normal until the next bubble.

Is you coolant level in the reservoir decreasing?

If you remove the rad cap (engine cold, not at op temp) is the coolant level well below the cap level?

 

No I do not have any temp guages. What would be causing the SES to come on then? I actually just checked my radiator. The fluid is extremely low in it but the reservoir is at the right amount. The radiator is only 1.5 years old. How would I know if I have blown a head gasket? Thanks.

 

Leak down test. Or your second choice is compression test. You might want to take it to a shop or buy a compression gauge.

 

thermostat is sticking, spend the couple of bucks and pick up a new thermostat and throw that on, since ur gettin a new one anyways might as well get a 170* or 180* rather than the stock 195*(i think).... but thats just my
good luck!

 

And then...

Can't help you if the story keep changing there skipper.

 

I believe he's indicating that he doesn't have another gauge to verify the reading of his stock gauge.

 

Yup... as in, no guage he can hook up to the engine to see what it reads, as opposed to the guage on the dash.

Go to a parts store, and get a mechanical temp guage. It threads into where your sending unit goes. It costs like $5.

 

I have the stock temp gauge on my dash panel but not an external. I ran to the auto store today and bought anti-freeze and began filling the radiator then would run the engine then check it again. I did this 3 times, about 1.5 gallons of fluid were added. I would have noticed fluids on the ground a long time ago and didnt see anything leaking while I let the engine run.

 

i take it nobody else thinks its the thermostat? that's where i'd check first... if you had a blown head gasket i think you'd notice a bit more, and when you opened the radiator cap while the motor was running the antifreeze would atleast gurgle a lot of not completely shoot out. when i blew my head gasket as soon as i assembled the motor i opened the radiator cap to fill it as the car was running and everytime the "bad" cylinder came to a compression cycle the compression would move into the water system and blow anti freeze about 3 feet in the air out of the filling spout.... but if i was you, i'd spend the few dollars on a new thermostat and try that first... just changed mine last night becuase i was having the exact problem you described. whenever i first started the car it would continue to get warm all the way up to +260* and sometimes it would let go right away and come back to about 190* where it belonged and other times it would stick for a long time and i'd continue turn the car off to cool it. swapped out the junk 195* thermostat and put in a 180* and the problem is fixed...i also had anti-freeze extremely low, full in the reservoir but 2/3 empty in the radiator becuase when hte motor got hot it sprayed the anti-freeze out as i was moving down the road and i didn't even notice really... but it disappeared pretty quickly.

 

OK, sorry for the mixup on gauges.

If you're losing coolant but not thru leakage, it's most likely coming out the tailpipes in the form of vapor...head gasket or cracked water jacket being the likely cause.

Rent a pressure tester from AutoZone and test your cooling system, if it won't hold pressure you'll know it's time to pull the heads.

Also, pull the dipstick and see if your oil is discolored chocolate milkshake type color and texture. Not a sure indicator either way, but definitely a data point. Head or gasket failure rarely contaminates the oil.

 

Ok so if I do have a blown head gasket what would be the damages if I still drove on it? Would this also be the reason why all the numbers for my emissions test were very high? What would a job like this cost at a repair shop. How hard a task is this to do it yourself? Thanks everyone.

 

Running coolant thru the combustion chamber(s) is bad practice...you'll get some contamination of your engine oil, O2 sensor if the failure is on the driver side, and may eventually worsen to the point of hydraulic-locking a cylinder.

If your engine blows coolant onto the O2 sensor, it will be poisoned and feed inaccurate data to the ECM...which will cause emission trouble.

As for how hard it is to replace head gaskets, it's easy for some people, hard for others. Time consuming either way.

Shop labor rates vary quite a bit, get estimates locally.

 

Did this fix the overheating problem?

How long had it been since you checked the coolant?

Ground the test terminals in the aldl to pull the codes. Do a search for a picture of which two terminals, pull the codes, and post the results.

 

The cooling problem has been fixed. The SES light still comes on for a short time. The last time I had actually checked the coolant in the radiator was a year ago, since the level in the reservoir was at full hot all the time and my engine was not overheating. I still have not been able to do a pressure test of the cooling system but I am sure I have a bad head gasket. The codes that I have pulled are code 12 and 32. Thanks

 

Why are you sure it's a bad head gasket?

BTW, code 32 should be EGR valve related.

 

Where else would my coolant have gone? I really need to get to autozone to get the pressure tester but the closest one is 15 miles away which doesnt work well when working alot. Eventually I will make it out there.

 

Leaking heater core, water pump, intake gaskets, hoses, etc. Do the pressure test first before pronouncing it dead. It will verify your diagnosis if you're correct, or point you in the direction of the problem if not.