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overheating?????
- Thread starter ozy3330
- Start date
Conti94
Dedicated LVC Member
Check you're oil, see if the oil is a milky white color. Or a brownish sludge color. If it is. Thats bad news. Usually means the Head gasket is about to go. Check it and post what you find. And welcome to the site.
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
classic symptoms of air in cooling system.
couple examples of how it can happen (both happened to me)
91 conti.. 3.8v6.. heater core has a pin hole... coolant drops over course of a week or 3 to a level where I get no heat, and temp starts to fluctuate. I add coolant (it was low, checked it in radiator, not overflow bottle, do it when engine is cold), typically less than 2 quarts of coolant low... usually didn't take a full 2 liter bottle of mixed antifreeze. there was a VERY faint antifreeze odor in car... barely noticable!
92 cougar, 3.8 v6.... head gasket starts to go... (note, these are essentially same engine, just one setup for fwd, other rwd, and if you have a 3.8 in your 94, its the same deal).. it would leak a tiny bit of coolant into one cylinder while engine was cold, once warmed up it would seal. Gasket finally failed 2 days before I was going to change it. When I would check coolant (again, in rad, not bottle, and cold) it would be low, but the system would be under pressure!!!! blowby and leakage thru gasket from combustion... it also had no heat and fluctuating temp gauge...
Find out for certain if your low on coolant. I don't trust the owners manual's statements that checking in the overflow bottle is all you need to do on our cars (note: some have a pressurized bottle, those you need to check there), but ours is not under pressure, its just a catch can. I have seen so many radiator caps allow antifreeze out when they get hot and pressurized, but not allow it to suck any back in when it cools down again.
The absolute last thing you want to do is overheat a 3.8.... all sorts of bad things can happen after that.
Again, verify that its full of antifreeze... I keep my 91 filled to bottom of filler neck on rad. The cougar is different, the top of rad is below the high point on engine, its sometimes a bitch to get the air out of the system on it!
couple examples of how it can happen (both happened to me)
91 conti.. 3.8v6.. heater core has a pin hole... coolant drops over course of a week or 3 to a level where I get no heat, and temp starts to fluctuate. I add coolant (it was low, checked it in radiator, not overflow bottle, do it when engine is cold), typically less than 2 quarts of coolant low... usually didn't take a full 2 liter bottle of mixed antifreeze. there was a VERY faint antifreeze odor in car... barely noticable!
92 cougar, 3.8 v6.... head gasket starts to go... (note, these are essentially same engine, just one setup for fwd, other rwd, and if you have a 3.8 in your 94, its the same deal).. it would leak a tiny bit of coolant into one cylinder while engine was cold, once warmed up it would seal. Gasket finally failed 2 days before I was going to change it. When I would check coolant (again, in rad, not bottle, and cold) it would be low, but the system would be under pressure!!!! blowby and leakage thru gasket from combustion... it also had no heat and fluctuating temp gauge...
Find out for certain if your low on coolant. I don't trust the owners manual's statements that checking in the overflow bottle is all you need to do on our cars (note: some have a pressurized bottle, those you need to check there), but ours is not under pressure, its just a catch can. I have seen so many radiator caps allow antifreeze out when they get hot and pressurized, but not allow it to suck any back in when it cools down again.
The absolute last thing you want to do is overheat a 3.8.... all sorts of bad things can happen after that.
Again, verify that its full of antifreeze... I keep my 91 filled to bottom of filler neck on rad. The cougar is different, the top of rad is below the high point on engine, its sometimes a bitch to get the air out of the system on it!
oil is fine normal looking. But it is low on coolant and I checked the overflow bucket and there is a little bit of antifeeze in there but it has this black tint to it not green and looks to be somewhat thick but the radiator it self is normal green color??? I was going to bring it in for a flush tomorrow and hopefully that will cure it. The only thing that confuses me is why am I not getting any heat inside the car??? Please anymore advice would help tons..
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
if your low on coolant, heat will be comprimised. I guess the air bubble tends to form there, or without the proper amount of coolant in engine, the waterpump can't deliver coolant to the heater core in the proper amounts to provide heat.
I have seen coolant in the bottle look dark, almost black even. remember, the coolant in the bottle does not circulate with the coolant in the engine, so it can 'stagnate' and collect dust and such. The thickness might be because some of the water in the mix has evap'ed off, and that may also account for the color. Most older vehicles I have seen, have had bottles that looked very similar.. dark, gooey, gunky... (thats a technical term).
Get it flushed if you want to, it probably won't hurt anything. and when they refill it, it will should be filled to the proper level to provide heat. If you choose to flush, see if they will 'reverse flush' it. that will help remove any crud in the heater core and radiator.
If you choose not to flush, fill it with proper mix of antifreeze/water, and see if you get heat and the temp gauge settles down. That may be all you need to do.
I have seen coolant in the bottle look dark, almost black even. remember, the coolant in the bottle does not circulate with the coolant in the engine, so it can 'stagnate' and collect dust and such. The thickness might be because some of the water in the mix has evap'ed off, and that may also account for the color. Most older vehicles I have seen, have had bottles that looked very similar.. dark, gooey, gunky... (thats a technical term).
Get it flushed if you want to, it probably won't hurt anything. and when they refill it, it will should be filled to the proper level to provide heat. If you choose to flush, see if they will 'reverse flush' it. that will help remove any crud in the heater core and radiator.
If you choose not to flush, fill it with proper mix of antifreeze/water, and see if you get heat and the temp gauge settles down. That may be all you need to do.
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
it wont hurt to drain it and refill it to the proper line with fresh antifreeze.
if your cooling system is working 100% properly, when the engine cools, and the coolant contracts slightly, it should pull some in from the overflow.
if your cooling system is working 100% properly, when the engine cools, and the coolant contracts slightly, it should pull some in from the overflow.
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
sorry to hear that.. not an impossible do it yourself job. Just make sure to use quality gasket set.
When I did the cougars, I used felpro I think it was, and they seem ok. there valve cover gaskets where great too. Molded silicone rubber, with brass inserts where the bolts go to prevent overtightening! put same valve cover gaskets on my conti (they leaked like crazy), and leak gone instantly
When I did the cougars, I used felpro I think it was, and they seem ok. there valve cover gaskets where great too. Molded silicone rubber, with brass inserts where the bolts go to prevent overtightening! put same valve cover gaskets on my conti (they leaked like crazy), and leak gone instantly