Car overheating

Tiny
KHATGILLS
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 CHRYSLER CONCORDE
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 140,000 MILES
I had a new waterpump and radiator put in my car bout 4 months ago. My car was making bubbling noise like there was pressure built up maybe somewhere in the coolant. Almost like someone cooking off speghetti noise. Then weeks later it overheated. Now theres another leak somewhere. What I dont understand was what the bubbling noise might mean and why my coolant was a rusted brown color.
Monday, September 6th, 2010 AT 9:29 PM

24 Replies

Tiny
ERNEST CLARK
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,730 POSTS
First, check that the air was bled out of your system when they replaced the water pump and radiator.

Then as your car warms up, check the temp of your upper and lower radiator hoses. Both should be hot. If one is and the other is not, then your thermostat is stuck closed.

If that checks out good, then I'd say you have a blown head gasket. Sometimes you'll see signs of water mixing with your oil and leaking out of your tail pipe, sometimes you won't.

What will happen is, exhaust gas is pushing its way past a small leak in the gasket and into your coolant. The hot bubbles eventually get trapped in the highest points in the heater core and radiator, which creates a lock that your water pump can't push past.

A quick way to test for this is to remove the radiator cap (or overflow tank cap if your radiator doesn't have one), and while someone revs your engine to at least 1,500 rpm, look at the coolant. If theres large bubbles (same time as engine revs), then that is the exhaust gas.

See the guides below for external leak check and head gasket check

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/radiator-pressure-test
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Friday, September 10th, 2010 AT 5:52 AM
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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  • 2002 CHRYSLER CONCORDE
  • 6 CYL
Will my car overheat if a vaccuum leak was detected from the injectors?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Do you mean there's a vacuum leak around the o-rings where the injectors plug into the intake manifold? That won't cause overheating but it can cause a high idle and a hesitation.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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Okay thank you. Can you help me find out why my car overheats then? I have changed the theremostat, head gaskets, intake gasket, cooling fans, sensors, radiator, radiator hoses and my connections. Everything seems fine but when I drive for about 20 minutes it will get hot and on comes my tempurature light.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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The head gaskets would have been my first suggestion. You might still consider having a mechanic perform a leak test at the radiator cap with a special tool.

Next wuld be to check if the radiator fan is turning on. A fast way to do that is by unplugging the two-wire coolant temperature sensor while the ignition switch is on. That should cause the fan to run. If it does not, there might be a blown fuse for the fan. The best way to diagnose it is by using the DRB3 scanner to command the fan to run.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. The site stopped working on my regular computer. Just want you to know I'm not ignoring you.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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I am still having problems with the car overheating. What would make the thermostat not open? It has a new one, and then fans are working.
I have the pressure tester and I dont see any leaks. What could it be?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JIM CARTWRIGHT
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  • 2002 CHRYSLER CONCORDE
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
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Concorde 2002, 3.5L, engine running excessively hot after 20 minutes of driving. Fine at an idle for 30 minutes of run time. Installed new radiator, new water pump, thermostat and new hoses. System bleed correctly so there is no trapped air. Fans have been tested and running at low and high speeds and coming on at correct temperature. No hydrocarbons in coolant, my mechanic does not know what else to check for. On or about the time this started to happen, air dam (2" black plastic trim under front bumper) was torn off. I've seen an on-line comment that this contributed to a similar problem. Could the loss of this change air flow through engine compartment and cause engine to hit higher temperatures?If not, any suggestions?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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Yes, it helps deflect air flow. However, you mentioned it overheats when sitting in park.

You have replaced and double checked everything. The only things left is a timing issue and there still could be a head gasket leak even though it was checked. Have they done a compression test?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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Would it be caused from a EGR valve or a BP valve?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JIM CARTWRIGHT
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It does not overheat when parked and timing belts were replaced with the installation of the new water pump. I also had a new air dam installed and it still runs to hot. A compression has not been done. I can ask to have that done. The engine runs very smooth and has plenty of power. What else could it be?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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An air pocket can prevent the thermostat from opening. Thermostats open in response to hot liquid, not hot air. You should see a bleeder screw on the thermostat housing. Be sure to open that after the thermostat was replaced.

Feel the lower radiator hose when the engine is hot. If that hose is cold, coolant isn't flowing. You might consider removing the thermostat to see if that makes a difference. If there is still no evidence of circulation, suspect a problem with the water pump. One possibility is the impeller can be worn away or it can be cracked and spinning on the shaft. Also check the tension on the timing belt since it runs the water pump. A loose belt will slip over the pump's pulley.

If you repeatedly find air coming from the bleeder screw, suspect the head gaskets are leaking. When those gaskets are replaced, the heads must be checked for cracks and for warpage. Warpage must be checked at an engine machine shop or by a mechanic who has a straightedge. The maximum allowable warpage with aluminum heads is.002" in any direction.

To check for leakage, first look for the presence of bubbles in the reservoir when the engine is running. If you see any before the engine has warmed up, suspect the head gasket. The clue is the engine isn't hot yet and there's no steam with those bubbles. Most mechanics can perform a test for you that involves a glass cylinder with two chambers partially filled with a special dark blue liquid. Air from the reservoir is drawn through that cylinder. If combustion gases are present, the liquid will turn bright yellow. Those gases will create that air pocket again that prevents the thermostat from opening.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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This is a tough one. I have a couple more questions. First, and I know this may sound odd, was the thermostat replaced with a 195 °F thermostat? I have seen situations where lower temp t-stat was used, opened fully when the engine was at 165 ° and the coolant circulated so fast, it never had time to cool in the radiator. The reason that popped into my mind is because your car does the opposite of what most do. It overheats when driving rather than sitting.

Next, when it overheats, does it ever boil over where coolant is coming from the overflow? I ask because you could have a bad temp sending unit and you are not seeing the correct temp from in the car. They actually make a thermometer to check coolant temp in the radiator.

Finally, when it is overheating, has anyone checked to make sure that both the lower and upper radiator hoses are not collapsed? I have delt with hoses that will pinch shut at higher RPM's causing an overheat situation.

Let me know.

Joe
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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Okayy thank you. Can the overheating be caused by an EGR valve, a BP valve, or a knock sensor?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Nope. The EGR valve allows exhaust gas into the engine at highway speeds only. While that gas feels hot to us, it is "inert" and takes up space so less fresh gas and air fits into the engine. That means less heat is produced in the engine and less fuel is burned.

A knock sensor picks up pinging in the engine, and in response, the Engine Computer retards ignition timing a little. In a very severe case, some of that fuel and air might finish burning in the exhaust manifold rather than in the engine. Heat from the exhaust manifolds doesn't transfer into the cooling system so it won't cause overheating.

Not sure what you mean by a "BP" valve.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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Okay thank you, you are really helping. And I mean a bypass valve. Do you think that would cause the overheating? I am looking for other alternatives that will cause the overheating.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TISAGAL
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  • 2002 CHRYSLER CONCORDE
  • 6 CYL
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Where is my thermastat located.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TISAGAL
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I anted to know where my themastat is located on my 2002 chrysler concorde LXI 6 cylinder 3.5l?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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I'm not aware of a bypass valve but there is a bypass passage. That gives the coolant someplace to go while the thermostat is closed.

When the overheating occurs, feel the lower radiator hose. If it is real hot, the heat is not leaving the radiator. That can be due to air flow blockage, a fan that's not turning on, a fan that's wired wrong and blowing the wrong way, a missing shroud that lets the hot air go back around and through the radiator rather than drawing cool air in. Related to that, look for a missing rubber strip under the front edge of the hood. That is a seal that forces air through the radiator.

If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant may be not circulating properly. Check the water pump impeller and be sure the timing belt is tight and not slipping. You may have to flush the cooling system and try removing the thermostat to verify it is not sticking closed. If the coolant is not circulating, the air from the heater will not be as hot as normal.

A clue to a fan-related problem is the overheating will not occur while driving at highway speeds.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TINO_SOCCER87
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Okay. My heater works real hot. My car is still overheating and I believe that the coolant is not circulating properly. It seems to be circulating from the heater hose to the thermostat. Can you help?
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Double-check that the fan is turning on and blowing the right way. You said you replaced the radiator. Was that a new or used one? If it was used, check if the cooling fins are rotted away. That will reduce its ability to give off the heat to the air.
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Monday, January 21st, 2019 AT 3:51 PM (Merged)

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