It isn't normal. Can you tell us more about what happens? Does your front fan turn on at about 235F? If you have A/C, does the front fan turn on when you turn on the A/C?
It could be something simple, like a radiator cap, or maybe your fan is bad, or the sensor, or....
I wa wondering what everyone is doing to keep the fiero from overheating.
If it's overheating, something is wrong.
Could be a simple fix like a radiator cap, could be worse like crushed cooling pipe under the car, or water pump not circulating coolant properly.
Does it overheat in traffic sitting at a light, then cool off when you get moving? Or does it overheat on the highway? There's different causes and why we need to know more specifics. "It's overheating" ain't enough.
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The only time I had an overheating issue was when I was stuck in traffic and my fan motor had died. I didn't know about the fan motor, because when I started moving the temp gauge went back to normal. If the car is over heating, as others have suggested water pump, crushed coolant tube, air in cooling system, thermostat stuck closed or "clogged" radiator.
Easy to find out..do you have A/C? Turn it on and go look at the fan.
And if you don't have A/C, just find the fan relay, and short it to turn the fan on. If it comes on while shorted, then the motor is probably good. You can also test the relay to make sure it's working correctly.
From what I remember,the origional 4 cylinder had a 3 quart oil pan insted of 4 and ran hotter.If thats your situation you could upgrade the oil pan to 4 quarts. Yes, I agree,something could be wrong (check for oil in the water). Other things to check are a bad fan relay or a bad fan motor.Hard water could cause your radiator to calisify internally (got rust in your coolant?).Maybe your thirmistat is stuck (you could allso run a slightly cooler thirmistat). Sometimes you need to add fresh coolant, to weaker older coolant.Installing a manual fan switch will allow you to manually turn on the fan when ever you want and still function normally when installed correctly.
I turned the ac on and the Fan in the front did turn on. Any other ideas what I could do? The radiator hoses and clamps were checked and are not leaking
When the car is cool, remove the coolant cap at the engine, remove the thermostat and start the car. You should see coolant flowing, if its not flowing, your waterpump is bad. one other thing you can check is your thermostat. Take it out of the car and boil it, if it opens up just before boiling temp, its good. If not replace it. You might just need to burp the system as well. Look in Ogres cave for the correct procedure under cooling.
It "overheats" usually only at traffic lights and in lines of trafic. When Im driving it seems to be fine.
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Originally posted by hiwil88formula:
When the car is cool, remove the coolant cap at the engine, remove the thermostat and start the car. You should see coolant flowing, if its not flowing, your waterpump is bad.
I'm thinking a water pump problem as well. Probably one with a plastic impeller that is loose (had one). When you replace it, be sure to use one with a METAL impeller.
But before pulling that, is the fan running when the car is overheating? It may be the fan switch is not kicking on when engine is hot. So once you get moving, the movement of the car pushes air through the radiator.
[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 08-15-2013).]
I turned the ac on and the Fan in the front did turn on. Any other ideas what I could do? The radiator hoses and clamps were checked and are not leaking
Maybe the fan turns on with the AC but not by itself when the temperature goes up. Next time it starts to overheat, open the hood and see if the fan is on before you shut the engine off.
Maybe the fan turns on with the AC but not by itself when the temperature goes up. Next time it starts to overheat, open the hood and see if the fan is on before you shut the engine off.
I have this same issue right now. Basically once it reaches temp I just switch the AC on to force the fan on. As soon as I turn it off within 5 minutes the temp begins to rise again, so I just cycle on and off.
I don't drive it too often, so it works for now, but I am curious what the next steps should be. 88 gt. I swapped out the coolant temp sensor with a new one, same issue, but I think maybe something in the wiring. I believe I can ground the wire that goes to it and the fan should turn on?
Have you done any work where a considerable amount of coolant was removed, and you had to refill it? You might have a bubble in the line somewhere. Our cars are notorious for not being easily burped.
The coolant tank should not need to be refilled frequently. There is a leak somewhere, either externally or internally. External leaks are easy to find, a careful inspection will locate it. Internal leakage will cause chocolate milk shake looking oil or steam out of the exhaust, caused by a gasket problem or a cracked casting.
The coolant tank should not need to be refilled frequently. There is a leak somewhere, either externally or internally. External leaks are easy to find, a careful inspection will locate it. Internal leakage will cause chocolate milk shake looking oil or steam out of the exhaust, caused by a gasket problem or a cracked casting.
Yup, you have other problems that need to be addressed. If you don't see any leaks/wetness, then look to the intake or head gasket as an issue.
From what I remember,the origional 4 cylinder had a 3 quart oil pan insted of 4 and ran hotter.If thats your situation you could upgrade the oil pan to 4 quarts.
Hopefully all of them were recalled, but I guess some of them could be out there. I didn't think the pan was changed, just that more oil was called for through the larger filter and new dipstick. GM also replaced engines.
Does it boil over? If not, does it still lose coolant? If you're losing coolant, you need to figure out where it's going first. You might try a compression check to see if there's a blown head gasket letting coolant intot he cylinders. If it's minor enough, it could blow it out the exhaust while you're driving.
When you turn the AC on and the fan comes on, does that keep it from overheating? The fan should pull the temp down pretty quickly if everything else is ok.
After that, when it overheats is the idiot light coming on and gauge going into the red? The fan doesn't normally come on until 235ºF and people usually get nervous before it gets that high. Let it run up to 240º on the temp gauge and see if the fan is on and look for leaks.
[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 08-16-2013).]
If you aren't the person who put the coolant into your car, in my opinion, you need to start from the beginning. If you know the procedure for fill/replacement of coolant you need to follow the procedure exactly. You can't troubleshoot without knowing what is in your system. It should not be water alone and antifreeze products have differences that can help or harm your car. your car has fluid capacities find out what amount it should be and when you replace it put that amount into it. If you follow the instructions for the procedure without deviating - you will have eliminated your cooling system or found your problem.