Last evening within 15 miles of the tail-end of a 3 hour drive we made a last stop for gas and were proceeding home. I noticed the temp gauge creep a touch above the always dead-on 12 o clock center position and then it started to take little jumps higher. The temp needle quickly closed in on the redline mark and we pulled over and I shut the car off. We little sit for a bit to cool while I checked for leaks and to make sure the water pump belt was ok. Everything looked good and after a short bit was able to slowly get the coolant cap off, there was coolant in the tank as well. There was some steam coming from the area of the tank though, is there an overflow?
In any event, it was obvious it was in fact hot. I carefully and quickly got it up the road a mile and a half to a station by which time it had already started to peak out again.

I did but anti-freeze and add some to the tank since it had lost a bit of coolant. I let the car set about a half hour and then started the last miles home. The car ran fine and the guage did not go above the 12 o clock position at all. I did notice that the yellow "traction control" light under the fuel gauge was on and when I would touch the traction control switch it would not tell me anything on the display as to being dis- engaged or engaged. Once home I shut the car off, re-started it, and the t/c light was off and the t/c switch then worked.

This morning my wife took the car to work and it again worked fine, no getting hot, the needle stayed at 12 o clock, dead center.

What would cause a sudden over heating like this... then not? Since everything looked ok I was thinking of the thermostat (BTW, where is it located on this engine?) But it is working fine now, for now. Can anyone help out with this issue?

Thank you very much.

 

What were the conditions of the drive at the moment when it overheated and how was that different from the conditions BEFORE it overheated ?

Include speed, terrain conditions, ambient temp. etc ...

And most MOST important, since the car is 10 - 11 yrs old, tell us when was the coolant changed out, new belt installed ?

In the meantime, do read our FAQ on overheating.




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The terrain varied, when I first noticed the needle a touch high we were going downhill, It was steadily getting higher as we were going uphill, speed was about 35-40 in each case. I am confident none of this has a bearing on it. The temp was about 35 degrees.

The coolant was changed late last fall when I replaced the water pump.

The way this happened was quite quickly, this was VERY odd. It was fine on the last stretch (15 miles) last night and also on a round trip to town today, total of about 40 miles with extra errands. The needle didn't budge from the top, 12 o clock, dead center... were it always is.
This whole thing makes no sense whatsoever. Any thoughts?

 

im having the same issue but thats because im loosing coolant at the pulley of the water pump. I also was told if you replaced the water pump there should be a metal plate between the water pump and the engine which acts like a gasket and what usualy happens is that plate will warp and cause you to leak coolant while driving and not leak while parked which makes it harder to tell where the leak is.

if you take the plastic shroud off under the front bumper you can see straight up and look at the water pump from the bottom and see if it looks wet or if coolant is seeping out.

 

all stealth is trying to do is gather information on the situation....... if he is asking, then MOST DEFINITLY it could have a bearing, or ... something to be ruled out..... ........... just trying to help

 

Rick,

i see that u have got my style figured out !



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lol.... ya know sometimes ya just cant figure it out...... bryan22, we are still here for ya.... keep us posted.....
in short, your driving scenario, is crucial and may be in fact related to your problem. again, you came to the forum for help....thats all.
rickyd

 

I was in no way trying to be a smart*** .

Instead I was just trying to cut to the chase in that the terrain/outside temp were not a factor...whatever "happened" could have just as easily as occurred 50 miles south on rolling terrain where it was 15 degrees warmer... something just "happened" and I am at a loss as to what why.

I will be getting a more detailed look at in the engine compartment in the next day or two.
The car is operating just fine and has been since we arrived home with it 3 nights ago...???

 

I expected that once you got home - classic.

The ambient temp is not so much a factor as the PROFILE of the highway, which I would like to get details on as related with the exact variations of engine temp.

 

The area in which the problems started with the temp is traveled by us many times a week. This time it just so happened we were returning from being out of town.