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Engine overheating - summer problem?
During last hot days the temperature gauge in my Concorde LXi goes all the way up till the last white line while using AC. It happens in stop and go traffic but I don`t think this is normal. After about 20-25 minutes of heavy traffic I have to turn off the AC and open the windows. I had the same problem when driving with AC turned on with the speed of about 90 miles /hours for about 2-3 hours. The strange thing is that when I stoped and turned the engine off, after about 10 minutes, the engine temperature dropped 3 points on the scale. Anyway, what may be the problem.
The AC, the thermostate or the temperature sensor. Or maybe it is absolutely normal. Anybody with the same problems?
The AC, the thermostate or the temperature sensor. Or maybe it is absolutely normal. Anybody with the same problems?
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I will post you with my findings.
Thanks again.
If you are crawling in traffic in Phoenix AZ in summer with the a/c on, or slowly and laboriously climbing some long hill in brutal hot weather, I suspect just about any car will overheat. There's a point here where heat simply cannot be dissipated fast enough.
Overheating is actually a difficult diagnosis since there are so many causes, many of them internal and not inspectable.
You could also try some "water wetter"--might help a little.
Shifty I never heard of a shop flow testing a radiator. I may be going to the wrong shops, none of them ever offered to flow test it, they just said "You need a new one" I wish I could find a shop that would do more than leak test the things.
Otherwise what have I got? Potentially, a brand new core and the car still overheating.
Things change, "progress" marches on, nothing you can do about it except act silly and wave your arms around like a lunatic demanding that your radiator core be flow-tested rodded and repaired.
the engine didn`t overheat, so his conclusion was that everything is OK. The next thing I plan to do is to flush the radiator. Do you know what cost I should expect. Unfortunately I can`t do it myself. The car has 69k and was used in TX, though I don`t know the owner and I don`t know how he maintained the car. Do you think this is my last resort before changing the radiator?
$12.30 I believe this is a fair price.
no leaks? the job is done. leaks? go back and undo the short cut
Another thing I do is boil the t-stat with a thermometer in the water before installation to make sure the thing opens at the right temp., I have had them not open at all brand new from the box.
Fleetwoodsimca, I have also heard of some vehicles that if the thermostat was removed or was stuck open, would actually OVERHEAT because the water did not stay in radiator long enough..(older vehicles had bigger radiators and would cool enough (or too much actually like you described) but newer vehicles could overheat, weird huh?.
I have noticed an odd behavior with the thermostat on my Blazer. My Blazer is a 95 with the 4.3 motor.
Motor has been replaced, and the original replacement was also replaced under warranty (bad reman job).
I have noticed ever since it was new, and this behavior has been consistent with all 3 motors and all 6 thermostats (I have replaced them a couple times just checking them)...that the first time the thermostat opens it is slightly hotter than the normal operating temp. After the initial opening the temp stays at normal temp (except on VERY hot days where it operates slightly hotter especially on uphill grades). I have a 99 truck, same engine, does NOT show anything like this.
I think there is an air bubble at the thermostat that delays the first opening, and then the bubble goes through the system and the thermostat is properly submerged and works normal after that point, but I'm only theorizing here. Anybody got any other suggestions?
I think that year model is just marginal on cooling capacity actually.
Rando
I've never experienced overheating since.
It could be a relatively simple job. Or it could be a mess. On my 4L Ranger truck, the 3 bolts holding the housing on took 2 different size wrenchs. And one of the bolts was tough to get out and back in. I've done a fair amount of mechanic work, and I once broke a housing putting it back on.
I just would not recommend this as a first attempt at mechanicing.....
But this bothered me so much, I could just see the thing staying closed and overheating, I pulled it, made NAPA refund my money, and put a Delco in the GM vehicle. It worked fine.
While driving in those mountain terrain my Conc`98 overheated again even without the AC on. I believe it must be a thermostat problem. I suspect that it doesn`t open completely but I want to flush the radiator also. What should I do first, change the thermostat or flush the radiator. I want to find out what caused the overheating problem an that is why I don`t want to do it at the same time.
How many miles on that car?
Is "Conc" a Chrysler Concorde?
2. 70,000
3. "Conc" is Chrysler Concorde (LXi, `98)
My car is Concorde LXi `98.
Is it that difficult to find a thermostat in a
fairly popular car like Concorde?
I used to do some easy job on my previous cars
but it was in `70s when the guts were pretty straightforward. Now with all this electronics under the hood I have to rely on others who are supposed to know their damn job
Thermostat &/or Outlet, R&R
1993-2000
Concorde, LHS, 300M
2.7L engine.......... 2.0
3.3L engine.......... .7
3.2L, 3.5L engines... 1.3
Time depends on the engine, which you didn't post.
Thanks a lot.
(my engine is 3.2)
R&R = remove and replace (or re-install).
What does this sound like? I'm thinking/hoping thermostat, since the gauge was reading normal, which would likely have prevented the fan from engaging, and obviously there's a leak somewhere. Oh yeah, this car doesn't even have a/c, so that wasn't a contributor.
Any help or educated guesses would be most appreciated.
Being as the radiator is new, the work to put it in would be suspect.
Thermostat, replace:
(88-96)
302 (5.0L), 351 (5.8L)
1.1 hours
My last radiator I called for prices on ranged from 149 to 499 dollars. I picked the 149. Worked just fine till I sold it. The cheapest and most expensive were both made by the same company. Moen or something similar. I run rear wheel drive, not popular in New England, But that's what I learned on in the trades. I've driven front wheel drive, and they are much better in the snow, but I think I'll stick with the rear wheel drive.
I worked on them since I was a kid. I like the sound of a V8 anyway. I know they have a few front wheel drive V8's, but they really looked crammed in. I don't mean to be disrespectful of anyone, but if you need a manual to change a thermostat, you might be better using the time to find out who's the better mechanics in the area, and do some price shopping. The bolts on the thermostat usually use a half inch wrench, and they're very easy to break off. That's true tightening as well as loosening. Sorry to run on, good luck to anyone giving it a try themselves.
if not, the radiator should be flow tested and rodded or replaced if indicated. hoses should be checked to make sure they are not going flat on you. I had a bad radiator cap that never allowed pulling water back in from the overflow, and that sucked my hoses flat, so if you see that, you now know what to do (your cap has been replaced, but doesn't mean they didn't get a bad one in the parts box.)
if that doesn't do it, the water pump is a likely villain, and should be considered.
how's the serpentine belt? if that or the pulleys are glazed, loose, cruddy, or beat up, you can't turn the water pump with the belt, and that causes the same issues. if you're fully instrumented on the dash, the battery charge indicator would not indicate charging with the a/c on and the lights on.
it's a little outlandish to have dumped over $500 on the work done so far. if you've got an independent radiator shop in town, have them look it over next, the dealer has been missing something pretty obvious to this point.
I'll bet somebody else's money it's either a gooped up radiator or the pump/and/or/belt issue at this point. the way ford makes those crimped aluminum radiators, if there are issues indicated there I'd just replace the darned thing.
oh, yes... I am assuming you don't have a six-inch layer of bugs all over the front of the radiator, or anything else blocking airflow between the fins. doesn't matter if everything else works, no airflow, no cooling.