- This topic has 42 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
I have an 02 Dodge Intrepid (3.5l HO) that has an overheating problem. The water pump was leaking, so I replaced that, still overheated after that. Unfortunately it’s my only vehicle so I have to drive it to work and back, I got home from work the other day and shut the car off (it didn’t overheat this time) and steam comes from under the hood. I open the hood and the recovery tank is ruptured at the seam (could be due to age, possibly a symptom) I’ve replaced that, new rad cap, new thermostat, there don’t seem to be any leaks, I haven’t had to put coolant in since I replaced the water pump.
-
Replies
-
I can’t add directly to the overflow tank, it’s completely sealed other than the vent and the hose that comes from the fill neck and goes to the bottom. The rad is also sealed.
Because of this, If there’s some in the funnel the recovery tank will be full (except for the overflow section)
http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-11909-603-307.aspx is the tank. The hose coming from the fill neck is hooked to the nipple on the triange at the bottom (at least that’s how the old one came off. You can see the separation of the tanks there too.
I just put the funnel on with no additional fluid (it was already at the correct mark) and after awhile it started to fill the funnel and began to overflow again. I shut the motor off and it sucked all the fluid back down in. I started it, ran it for awhile, let the funnel fill about halfway up, shut it off.. it kept filling for a few seconds then drained back down. I did this 3-4 times, not letting the funnel overflow, drove it and it did fine for a few miles. I turned the car off and parked a minute, then left to go back home and it overheated on the way home. W-|
I know you said it overheats in park and when you rev it up the temperature goes down. Does it overheat any other time like going down the highway?
yeah, it overheats driving. Previously, before I bled the air, revving the motor for a second to 3-3.5k RPM would cause it to cool down. I guess that was a lack of flow due to air in the system that has been resolved, but it’s still overheating and I can’t find any reason why.
I guess I’m going to try to flush the system and see what that does for me.
Do you get good heat out of the vents (I know its weird checking the heat in the middle of summer) If you do then perhaps you do have all the air out. Have you checked for any obstructions around the radiator/condenser area?
It sounds like you have actually bled the air out of the system but you’re still having the overheat, the cooling fans don’t turn on as they should but you’re not overheating at idle which is what you would experience if they were a problem. Given that it happens more when you drive it I suspect 2 possibilities at this point, one is that you have a combustion leak and for that use the test in the overheat video that I sent you. If that’s not it then you may have a problem with coolant FLOW meaning there is either a restriction in the system somewhere OR the water pump is not moving the fluid as it should as it did in this video.
It didn’t overheat at all going to work today, but it did on the way home, and revving now cools it down again, It appears I’m drawing air back into the system somehow, but not losing any fluid… the rad cap is brand new, it came with the recovery tank, and it appears to be fine.
Considering I’m not noticing any fluid loss I assume it’s somewhere high in the system and air is getting drawn in before it builds up pressure and now it’s not able to build up pressure because of that leak… I’m not sure if that’s a viable possibility or not.
I just thought of a solution, always drive at 3k+ RPM. haha
I’m seriously considering just selling it and letting someone else deal with it, or letting a professional take a look at it.
I didn’t get to check the rad hoses yet, I’m just too tired and frustrated to go out and fool with it. I’ll post back when I have some more news…
Thanks again for everyone’s help.
I’m not gonna lie, this totally has me stumped! Have you watched Erics vid on diagnosing on overheat yet?
all i can say personally is check all hoses to make sure theirs no kinks or anything and possibly bench testing the thermostat in a pot of water heated from lukewarm to a boil to make sure it opens at the proper temp? thats if you havnt done so already.
try this with the engine cold. start the car. run for 30 seconds feel the top
rad hose.if hard and pressurized bad head gasket.if no pressure let car run
5-7 minutes top hose should start to warm up.also the electric fan should be coming on.
you could also feel the tanks of the radiator to see if you have different temps. if so the
radiator is cloggedOne thing I noticed last night is that the fans don’t come on when idling, the car doesn’t seem to overheat when just idling either. When I noticed last night I was getting no fans at idle I checked both fuses, there’s one for high speed and one for low, and both were good, I couldn’t find a relay.
Is it possible that the temp sensor is bad?
I haven’t noticed any water in the oil or vice versa. I haven’t done a pressure test because I don’t have the equipment and have been working 60+ hours a week and not enough time to go rent one from autozone. There hasn’t been any fluid loss that I’ve noticed though.
I’ll test the rad hoses tonight once she’s had time to cool.
There’s no way to feel the rad with it in the car, I could get a laser thermometer and test it I suppose.
try disconnecting the electrical connector from the cooling fan and check to see if you have 12 volts when the engine is hot and the fan should be running. If you have 12 volts on the power side and less than .2v on the ground side then you have a bad cooling fan
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.