Overheating (Engines)

A number of things. The fan relay or temperature switch may be bad (electrical fans), the fan clutch may be worn out (older vehicles), the radiator could be clogged internally, too much debris in front of radiator (air can't get through to cool collant), blown head gasket, or a cracked head. Also the thermostat could have been installed backwards.

I had a 2000 Taurus with the same problem.It was the blower door motor.Its the little motor that opens and closes the door that directs the heat to the vents.Cost me $330.00 at a dealer because the average person can't get at the motor.Hope this helps.Also have the thermostat looked at,it could be stuck open.

The cooling system is under pressure and opening the cap can spray you (and other things) with very hot coolant.

Probably it has either run out of coolant or the cooling fan is broken.

Some large engine cars in really hot weather need a larger radiator fitted so it doesnt overheat....like driving a v8 around town in the summer in Spain for instance.

It usually means the electric fan is not working, but I would also check the coolant level.

Note that not all cars have electric fans, and the above recommendation to check the coolant should be followed, but there could be other reasons, such as a blockage in the cooling system or damage to a system component. There could also be insufficient airflow through the radiator due to debris blocking it or bent radiator fins. If you find debris on your radiator, use compressed air to clean it, NOT water or anything else which can bend the radiator fins.

inspect the auxilliary radiator fan.

As long as you keep water in it you are fine, but if the leak gets worse and you don't realize it, you could overheat you engine and destroy it. Keep a close eye on the gauge.

Yes, it sure can. Also a blown head gasket can cause overheating. If you are loosing coolant with no apparent leak, suspect either. White smoke, and a sweet smell from the exhaust are sure signs of a problem. Stop driving the car until you have it repaired or you will severely damage the engine.

stop an engine

Check the loose nut behind the steering wheel! Big issue with some Land Rover owners :)

Turning on the heater allows the hot water and coolant to enter the heater core.The heater core is really just another radiator designed to extract the heat in the coolant and pass it on into the air surrounding it,in this situation the driving compartment,thus dropping the temperature of the coolant,thus cooling the over heating engine.

Stuck thermostat, low of coolant, defective water pump, cooling fan not working, radiator exterior clogged with debris, and lastly a blown head gasket or cracked head.

mostlikley your blocked is cracked from excessive overheating I had the overheating problem on a 1986 Honda Civic SI and a mechanic tell me to buy a new radiator cap before we do anything else since it had the original radiator cap. I replace it and it has never overheated again. You probably have a faulty water pump.....With the age of the car, i think its high time to replace it and the timing belt as well...... Ditto on the last two answers. I'd try having the system pressure tested. This is an inexpensive service at most shops. A new cap is cheap insurance. If the water pump is going bad, it may begin to leak and/or make noise. If you're close to needing a timing belt change, go ahead and replace the pump. Try the pressure test and new cap first...MUCH cheaper.

Low coolant, Thermostat, But mostly with these machines operating a lot with dirt and sand. They need to be blown out regularly because of the areas they work in and the pressure the fan puts through the radiator to keep it cool. Air hardly ever get stuck in the radiator fins , But all those little particles of dirt and sand tins to build up through the cores that dissipates the heat. And there is generally another cooler that covers half of the radiator space about an inch and a half in front of the radiator. And if one OR both of the hoses from that oil cooler is not tighten down properly it could leak just enough that you may not see it until you have to tear them apart for cleaning and see that you have and inch and a half greasy dirt cake between them both and the other half of the radiator may be clogged up with dirt. which takes a few hrs alone to clean completely after you can get to them. with air hose then pressure wash.

Your motor oil going bad would cause that. That is in the crankcase, not the transmission.

Best case scenarios: 1) The overheating could have caused your spark plugs or a spark plug to go out. Replace blown out spark plug(s). 2) The overheating could haves caused a sensor to go out or a wire that could have been a little too close to the engine. Replace wire(s) or sensor(s).

Worse case scenario: Your heads have cracked in your engine. That is what usually happens when the engine overheats that much. The engine gets such a high temperature, that the heads (which are made out of aluminum) start to crack a d let water into your engine. You will see thick white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Replace the heads, or buy a new engine. Depending on the mileage of the car, you should consider doing one or the other. If your car has anywhere between 0-100,000 miles, you can easily replace the heads. If your vehicle is more than 100,000 miles, you might want to get a new engine as the new heads will probably be too much for the old engine.

12 degrees BTDC sounds about right, and is probably not the cause of an overheating problem. Could be the cooling system has weak components such as a partially clogged radiator or worn water pump. Could be the cooling system is too small for the application, or the fan shroud is inadequate. Also could be an unusually lean condition in the carburetor.

the head may need to be skimmed or a new head to be fitted

Possible misalignment of items on the belt path, causing wear to the sides of the belt, which would cause it to break. If the water pump was installed using excessive tourqe on one side, this could cause the pump to drag, and cause wear to the belt and overheating.

check fuse for cooling fan, or possibly temperature sensor at inlet.

if the engine is smoking and overheating the head gasket is blown or you popped a freeze plug

Did you make sure that you are putting the themostat in correctly? If you put it in backwardthis can sometimes cause this problem.

Vapor Lock

i have a 2001 celica and that happened to mine. there was an air block in the heating pipes and i took it to Toyota and they flushed it out and all is well now. yours mite a different problem but its worth checking it out. jamie

could be bad piston rings,are your spark plugs oily,is your carb.tuned right,your intake manifold could be leaking