Engine is overheating?

where is the coolant leaking out at? is it near the water pump, thermostat, heater core ?? These guides will help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-is-leaking-coolant

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Please run down these guides and report back.

im not sure but its leaking on the passenger side if that helps a bit. the engines gauge is showing the engine is not hot though but after driving a few minutes it heats up and starts leaking antifreeze

it could be many things, will have to take a good look and to see where its coming from in order to repair the correct thing. if its in middle of engine compartment then could be water pump failing or maybe thermostat or hose leak. if its more towards the firewall then could be heater core or heater hose running into the firewall.

the guy is telling me because the car been sitting that there is air and he needs to let it bleed but i dont know what he means

well air pockets in the cooling system would not cause it to leak coolant

Engine Cooling problem
2000 Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

originally i did not have any heat, we thought the heater core was bad because one hose was hot and one hose was not. That did not help so wwe then found the water fins were gone, replaced water pump. The car still overheated, we then replaced thermostat, still overheated, we then removed thermostat, still overheated. Replaced the radiator and all hoses, still overheated, purchased a kit that tests for exhaust in cooling system and passed. Replaced expansion tank and cap also, and both coolant temp sensors. The car will overheat sitting in garage after about 20 minutes. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

OK only thing left is the cooling fan and sensor...is fan coming on at all?

yes both the fan sensor and the gauge sensor have been replaced, and both fans do work properly, i can turn on the heater and the fans kick on and still overheats

Get a pressure test done, and use the gauge in the head gasket leak test mode, or do a block test, these kits are available at the local parts store, and detect hydrocarbons in the coolant...

my car keeps building pressure and throws coolant out my fluid box. i've change the water pump because it went out. but tha didn't fix the prob..help and it not the thermosta

Have a mechanic perform a combustion gas test at the radiator. If the test is positive, suspect a leaking head gasket.

Pressure test the system to see if there are leaks, pay close attention to the bottom side of your coolant resovoir, they are very common to crack on the bottom and leak out when car is warm, if no leaks and jug is not cracked, but car is overheating boiling out overflow, check cooling system for combustion gases in coolant with a chemical test diagnose head/head gasket issue.

Hey Doc, was still typing must be when you posted.

Just don't let it happen again or I'll have to call your ******!

:)

That was "moth er.

10-4, lol

First overheating was in Aug. 2011. Cracked one of the heads(other one was okay). I had the entire cooling system rebuilt: new radiator, hoses, water pump, etc. It ran good for a few months. Then in Dec. it started leaking coolant. The heads seem to be okay but one head gasket was blown indicating overheating again.
Before this happened in august I had taken road trips(from Dallas to Iowa and Colorado), and even around town,with no problems. Just wondering what may have caused it to overheat again.

Thank You for consideration. -Jeremiah

You're leaking somehwere-get it block and pressure tested to find out more what's happening

THE LEAK WAS MAYBE NOT FROM AN OVERHEAT? (UNLESS YOU WITNESSED AN OVERHEAT)

COULD BE THAT THE HEADS WERE NOT PROPERLY PREPPED OR POSSIBLY NOT TORQUED CORRECTLY....EVEN AN "OUT OF NOWHERE CRACK APPEAR"

COULD BE "ONE OF THOSE THINGS" OR "AN ACT OF GOD"

NOT BASHING ANYONE'S ABILITIES----BUT I HAVE SEEN 1ST HAND, THESE TWO SCENARIOS (THERE ARE MORE, JUST AIN'T GOT THE ROOM/ TIME TO WRITE 'EM),

"THE NEW GUY DID IT!"

A CELL PHONE'S ABILITY TO RENDER ONES BRAIN USELESS WHEN THEY SHOULD BE PERFORMING WORK RELATED TASKS

'BOUT ALL YOU CAN DO IS PROVE SOMEONE'S NEGLIGENCE, OR AS RAZMATAZ SAID, GET 'ER CHECKED OUT AND MOVE ON!

THE MEDIC

I suspect there is an engine coolant leak considering that I have bought two bottles of it. It just recently started over heating. I've had the vehicle for a little over a year and a half now. The problem just started about two weeks ago myb less. I've never let it get to the high temp. I usually turn the heater on full blast to cool it down until I get home. But I've seen leaks toward the front end of my car. How much would this cost to fix? Could I fix it myself? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm very poor. So I'm worried. Thanks.

We don't get involved with costs here because there's way too many variables. In this case we don't even have a clue as to what's wrong. The good news is if you see a puddle under the front of the car, it's fairly likely a cylinder head gasket is not the cause. That is the most expensive cause.

You're going to have to look to see where the leak is occurring. With the amount of coolant you've had to add, a wet spot should be pretty easy to find. If you can't tell because the wet area is too big, your mechanic can perform a pressure test. For real slow and elusive leaks, he can add a small bottle of dye, then search a day later with a black light to make the dye show up.

I have actually only used myb less than 3/4 of one of those antifreeze bottles.

Thanks. I read that you could add a little red food dye then check it the next day. Is that true?

No. Antifreeze is already colored. You'd have to add at least a gallon of something of a different color, and even then, what's the point? If you can see the food dye, you can see the coolant. The dye I'm referring to is for when the leak is so small the coolant evaporates too fast to leave a wet spot. The dye comes in a little bottle and is formulated to be used with the fluid that's leaking. It is dark purple, but when searching with a black light, it will show up bright yellow. Even though the coolant has evaporated, the dye will be left behind.

The dye is available at any auto parts store, and those that rent or borrow tools will usually have a black light, but this is an unnecessary expense for your leak if you're seeing wet spots on the ground. The wetness will lead you to the source of the leak just like the dye would.

my car started overheating, we replaced the thermostat and it still was overheating so we took it completely out and tried it and it still is running hot. it also makes this knocking noise like water pulsating threw the hoses maybe not enough circulation. also my heater will not heat up it just blows out cold air.

Hi there,

You may have a blocked radiator, have it cleaned professionally, a back flush wit a hose will not do the job, check the heater hoses, if cool the core could also be blocked or the heater tap stuck closed. If these things don't improve the over heating, you will have to start looking at head gasket problem.

mark (mhpautos)

OK thank you. I really appreciate the help.

First overheating was in Aug. 2011. Cracked one of the heads(other one was okay). I had that one repaired and both machined. Also rebuilt cooling system: new radiator, hoses, thermostat, water pump, recovery tank etc. It ran good for a few months, then in Dec. suddenly with no warning it started leaking coolant again as I was driving home (overheating).This time its only a blown head gasket (heads seem to be okay). Before this all happened in August I drove some long distance road trips(even around town)with no problems. Just wondering what may be causing it to overheat again. The mechanic I took it to doesn't quite seem to know.

Thank You for consideration. -Jeremiah

Typical causes of overheating are insufficient coolant, coolant has lost it's anti-boil characteristics, plugged or restricted radiator, stuck thermostat, clogged water jacket in the engine block, bad radiator cap, lean burn condition uncorrected.

The car has been running fine for the two+ years I have owned it. A couple of days ago while driving in stop and go traffic (0-35mph) it overheated. I was able to get it off the highway and shutdown as soon as I saw the smoke/steem. Popped the hood and found the coolant to be very low in the res. I let the engine cool down as I walked to the nearest gas station and purchased new 50/50 coolant to top it off to try to get her home. After I topped her off, I let her idle for about 10 min. to see if she would over heat again. While idling I noticed the cooling fans (2 on radiator) were not coming on at all so, I turned on the defrost thinking that would make them come on. Instead the A/C pump started squeling and looked like coolant was spraying out of it, after running the defrost for about 1 min. So, I immeadiately turned the defrost off and continued to just let it idle (10 more min.) It stayed within opperating range so I drove it home with no overheating issues. When I got home it had leaked out some more coolant after it was sitting and the cooling fans did not come on at all. The next day I tried to run it with the defrost on again and got the same result as before. So far I have checked is the thrmostat and it seems to be fine but considering the low cost I am going to replace it any way. I have also checked the cooling fan fuses and they are fine. I am hoping this will be an easy fix, from what I have read on this site about over heating I don't really know what I should do next? I know it sounds like the A/C pump is done for but, will you help me if that is not the only problem? As I mentioned, the cooling fans are not coming on at all??? Please help

well the coolant leaking is the prob with the overheating. or atleast one of the probs. the cooling fans not running is also a prob 2 diff probs


this car has a multifunction relay on it this operates the cooling fans a/c but first start the eng unplug the coolant temp sensor located near the bottom of the upper radiator hose does the fans come on when you do this?


if yes sensor is bad replace. now have your cooling system pressure tested this will tell you exactly where it is losing coolant.

My car starts to overheat when it is not moving.

If you have coolant,

If the thermostat is good,

your fans come on,

It could be a water pump failure, it has a plastic impeller that sometimes can shell out.

I have a pic of a bad water pump for a Taurus below.

If yours has done this, and a piece is missing, see if you can find it stuck in the water passage on the engine side.

The Medic

Help!

My 2000 Taurus LX constantly overheats, over the last year I have replaced multiple thermostats, 2 recovery tanks,the water pump,radiator,hoses,and finally new head gaskets . The scenario goes like this , I can drive a day or two around town ,no problem then , bam , a 10 mile trip results in a boil-over when I park . The coolant sprays out from under the recovery tank cap . this goes on for a few minutes, then stops. I thought the head gasket job would have solved this problem! Any ideas ?

Thanks,


Taurusbroke

Wow, you replaced everything. Is most of your driving (10 mile trip) in town driving or are you on the highway? When driving, does the engine run good?

Hi Jakobandnikolas ,

Most of my driving is highway,but plenty of short trips as well , engine runs smooth . One thing has ocurred to me that I did'nt mention before, when the water pump went I found that the impeller had virtually disintegrated, there were hardly any blades left.I am wondering if there are pieces of it floating around in the cooling system? Maybe they are clogging something up?

Thanks,

Taurusbroke

Usually when that happens, the parts are gone (corrosion). The only thing I can think of at this point is a bad head gasket. I realize you had them replaced, but there is a chance they did something wrong, didn't check the heads for warpage... With everything being new, either timing or another bad head gasket. I would return the car to the people who replaced the gaskets and have them recheck their work.

Let me know what you find.
Joe

car overheats in the last year it has new water pump heater hose therostat radiator i have fans on a toggle switch they work no heat at idle and over heats turn fans on seams to do nothin or make it hotter and if i run the a/c it overheats but not if on the highway i am runnin straight water till i figure out the problem

its a 3.0 single cam i just replace the fans and radiator water pump and thermostat about a year ago along with the heater hose i know the fans work it over heats when stuck in traffic or at a drive thru or when the a/c is used. im down to the radiator cap or air in the system i was told tonite that if the cap dont seal right the coolant will not flow correctly. i believe the cap is a good place to start because i have no heat at a idle either. but thank you and please respond if that sound right or if you have any other ideas what it might be. ty again!

when it overheats the coolant comes out the radiator cap