Car Problem

Serendipity
Serendipity Posts: 6,975
edited November 2007 in The Clubhouse
So - I'm on my way to Lasareath's halloween party and right before we get to the Holland Tunnel to NJ the car overheats.

We pull over and when my dad opens the hood, the engine compartment is hot. Same with the vents inside the car - blowing hot air.

Wait 30 minutes with the hood open and slowly it's cooling off. Then once we decide to go again and while stuck in traffic the same thing happens.

Decided that I'm not going to make it to the party so we head back to Queens slowly with the fan turned to HI to cool the engine off. Finally I make it back home safely.

What could be wrong?
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  • Shannon W.
    Shannon W. Posts: 568
    edited October 2007
    Stuck thermostat or the water pump went out. no biggie those are easy fix's/

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  • Polkersince85
    Polkersince85 Posts: 2,883
    edited October 2007
    Not knowing the car, it sounds like the thermostat stuck.
    >
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited October 2007
    Fan clutch if it has a manual fan, or electric fan not turning on?
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    How do you determine if the thermostat is bad? I looked at the car and there is coolant in the reservoir, and also the electric fan is spinning.

    Aside from that, I don't know much about cars.
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited October 2007
    What kind of car is it?
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    How many fans does it have? I'm assuming only one, so if it's turning, that's good.

    And you have coolant in the reservoir, that's good. Once it's cooled off...MAKE SURE IT'S NOT HOT...take the cap off the radiator and make sure you can see coolant in there.

    I'm not sure how you could tell if the thermostat is stuck...

    ...nor how to tell if the water pump's not working...
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  • Shannon W.
    Shannon W. Posts: 568
    edited October 2007
    Squeeze the top radiator hose when the car is hot if the hose feels like there is pressure on it then its not stuck but if you can collapse it and it feels empty then its stuck! also while the car is cooled off take the radiator cap and let the car run and shine a flashlight inside the radiator to see if you can see water circulating inside it. If you cant see any movement after the car warms up rule out the thermostat then you can almost bet its the water pump! Good luck if you need to I could pm you my Phone number to try and walk you though diagnosing this. Also I'm glad to try and help but doing it over the phone or just not being there is Tough..

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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    I would say the radiator could also be plugged up.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
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    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    Frank Z wrote: »
    What kind of car is it?

    2000 Nissan Maxima.
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited October 2007
    The least expensive thing to try first is the T-stat. Pick up a new one and a service amnual at your favorite parts store and get busy learnin'. Don't forget to grab some Right Stuff RTV, a new gasket, and some fresh anti-freeze.

    Don't drive it till ya fix it, you may warp the aluminum head.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    Frank Z wrote: »
    Don't drive it till ya fix it, you may warp the aluminum head.

    Thanks, I wanted to go to Lasareath's party but I didn't think it would be good to drive until it's fixed.

    P.S. to Lasareath - I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to your party.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    How many fans does it have? I'm assuming only one, so if it's turning, that's good.

    And you have coolant in the reservoir, that's good. Once it's cooled off...MAKE SURE IT'S NOT HOT...take the cap off the radiator and make sure you can see coolant in there.

    I'm not sure how you could tell if the thermostat is stuck...

    ...nor how to tell if the water pump's not working...

    I really don't know how many fans, but I do know that ONE of them works.

    I have coolant in the reservoir but it's over MAX. It's a little higher than before, but not by much. I don't ever recall it being so high though.

    Car is still cooling down.
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    Well, if the coolant gets really hot, it expands, and it'll flow into the reservoir tank, so that's why it's so full.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
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    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    Well, if the coolant gets really hot, it expands, and it'll flow into the reservoir tank, so that's why it's so full.

    I can understand that. I remember the level used to rise after running the car, but it was never THIS high before.
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  • opus
    opus Posts: 1,252
    edited October 2007
    How come I wasn't invited to Lasareath's party?
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    Attached is a picture of the coolant level. It's much higher than I have ever seen before, and over the MAX mark.

    Does this tell you what's wrong?
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    Yes. That your car overheated. Funny that. We already knew that.

    The coolant level has increased because it overheated. I don't think you can say anything else from that. It's just what happens.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    The coolant level has increased because it overheated. I don't think you can say anything else from that. It's just what happens.

    I was hoping that it would indicate/point to whatever was causing the problem.

    The only thing I know is that low coolant indicates a leak somewhere...
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    Also, this is the fan that I said was working. Am I supposed to look for another fan?
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    No, if there were another fan, it'd be right there right beside that one and very visible. If you only see one, there's only one. Some cars have one, some two, and some three. My Jeep has two.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    No, if there were another fan, it'd be right there right beside that one and very visible. If you only see one, there's only one. Some cars have one, some two, and some three. My Jeep has two.

    Nothing beside that one.

    So - from what I hear it could be a thermostat, water pump, or radiator hose?

    Just trying to narrow things down.

    Thanks for all your help so far!
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,600
    edited October 2007
    I'm going with the thermostat too. My personal car expert is not here at the moment(son #1). He knows this stuff like nobody's business.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    From what I can see, it could be:

    thermostat
    water pump
    stopped up radiator

    I don't think a radiator hose would be the problem. Shannon was saying check the pressure in a radiator hose to check to see if the thermostat is working or not. The radiator hose is good if it's not leaking.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    I don't think a radiator hose would be the problem. Shannon was saying check the pressure in a radiator hose to check to see if the thermostat is working or not. The radiator hose is good if it's not leaking.

    I misunderstood what she said. Will check the pressure once the engine compartment has cooled down a bit.

    AFAIK, the radiator hose is not leaking.
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    Yeah, probably not. If it were leaking, then you wouldn't have as much coolant, which means it would still have overheated, but I don't know if there would be enough coolant left to fill up the overflow reservoir like that. If no coolant's dripping, then you probably don't have a leak.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited October 2007
    Sounds like your car has a problem. My suggestion is to fix it.
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    Yeah, and you're sober?
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
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    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
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    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    Yeah, probably not. If it were leaking, then you wouldn't have as much coolant, which means it would still have overheated, but I don't know if there would be enough coolant left to fill up the overflow reservoir like that. If no coolant's dripping, then you probably don't have a leak.

    That's a good thing, that there's no coolant leaking then.

    Rant: On a side note, first it's PC problems and then this. Everything's been going belly up around here and it's really frustrating.
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited October 2007
    Just don't try listening to music. Next you'll blow those beautiful speakers Trey sweat so much over! :eek:
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
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    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
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    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited October 2007
    BaggedLancer wrote: »
    Sounds like your car has a problem. My suggestion is to fix it.

    I think we've established that already...
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