Hello ladies and gents, been a while since ive posted last but this problem has been going since day one of me owning the car (literally) its my DD (yes even in the snow. sadly) and ive been having an overheating issue. thought it would resolve itself cause some days it never goes past normal temp no matter how hard i beat on her. other days i can barely make it down the street without hitting the 5th block. Anyways, ive come down to 3 possible theories,

1- my radiator fans dont like to work. they go on and off despite the relays being fine. so im thinking theres a sensor awry somewhere in the bay.

2- thermostat/ water pump being bad. dont know how to check those to be completely honest but that seems to be the most common reason for over heating and the car is an 02 with just over 70k on her

3- botched radiator and/ or head gasket. these dont seem as likely but i know with constant heating and cooling and. well. overheating i guess. the head gasket can blow. theres no coolant in my oil (at least on the dip. oil change will happen soon though so before january is over ill know for sure)

but im stumped. and i dont want to spend money i dont have to but, shes getting some miles on her and im sure the thermostat and pump need swapped anyways.

also, possibly related to this; i dont have heat in the car. at all. not sure if this can be linked to anything but. if i can kill two birds right?

any help is appreciated

 

I don't know if you're going to run out and drive your car before an experienced member has a chance to comment mechanically on your situation, so I thought I would give you at least what I know which is: I can promise you that they will say if you do not have HOT heat, DO NOT run this car until the issue is resolved...

 

well shit.. i havent had heat since i bought it in may... lol thats not what i wanted to hear but. better than running with nothing.

 

Once the engine is warmed up, feel the upper and lower radiator hoses. If they are different temps its most likely the t-stat. I have not heard of a pump failure though on these cars.

 

ill do that tomorrow after work. cars been off about an hour and a half now. im sure its cooled off considering its a balmy 23 degrees here.

 

Your temps have me worried about some potential damage you may have already done. See this site:

http://www.modifry.c...cts/ect/ap1.htm

On AP1's the 5th temp block is ~246°F. In my opinion this is WAY too hot. I would get this thing figured out ASAP, hopefully nothing has been seriously damaged !

 

More information would be helpful. Does it overheat at high speed on the highway or low speed stop and go? How long do you have to drive it before it overheats? Does it use coolant? Is it low on coolant? Do you hear and see the radiator fans running?

 

When is the last time coolant was changed?

 

Sorry for the delay guys. In order of posts; Kelly I know its dangerous and not good for the car. I just haven't had the money to throw at diagnostics and shit (I lost my job shortly after getting her so all my cash went to gas and payments/ insurance) but. I know. It normally hovers between 3 and 4 bars city. If it hits 5 I pull over and kill it for a while til it cools down. Very annoying and scary. Don't want to kill my girl.

Southdakota; it varies. Normally on the highway its fine. Never goes over normal temp on the highway. Except this weekend when I was pushing her a little too hard I guess. But like I said if I see it even blink in bar 5 I pull over and let it cool off. And. Again. It varies. Depends on how much city driving I'm doing. Not a fan of the stop go traffic. But typically I'm over the 3rd block about an eighth of the time on the way home. Which is a 35 min drive. And its always when I start hitting school zones and traffic lights. I'm not burning losing or draining coolant that I know of. And yes. but only Sometimes. My radiator fans work when they want to. When they're on is when I assume the car is running normal. But Idk how to fix that issue. Cause my relays are fine.

And jts; the coolant was flushed and changed literally the same week I got the car. Cause literally it ran to the red and I boiled out of my overflow. and took it back to the dealer the next day. Where they "checked" my thermostat and stuff and everything was fine, but I later realized my fans don't kick on as often as they should.

 

Sounds to me like you may have air in the system, if you are getting no hot air from the heater then it could well be your problem.