Why did my car overheat?

[notfred]

<< Head gaskets are cheap (mine was like $10). If you know what you are doing, you can replace it in like 30 minutes.

Heads are expensive and difficult to replace. I think a head gasket would just leak oil, but I'm not 100%. >>



Jesus, at least let him know that you have no idea what you're taknig about if you're gonig to say stuff like that.

To replace a head gasket, you have to remove the head. This is an all day job, you've got to pull the intakes, fuel rails, injectors, and the heads. Then you have to clean off the old gasket material, and if you're doing it properly, you take the head to the machine shop and have it machined flat. Then you put the new gasket on, and but the whole upper engine back together.

Also - on the V6 there are two head gaskets, so you should pull both heads and do them both while you're in there.

My guess is that the previous owner cheaped out on the replacement and either used cheap gaskets, or skipped the machine work on the heads (or both), and the job didn't last.

 

[notfred]

<< I'm not convinced it is a blown head gasket. It seems to me that if the coolant was lost through a leaking gasket, the engine would have just kept getting hotter, as Zenmervolt pointed out. Also you would have noticed white smoke and possibly even liquid antifreeze coming out of the tailpipe. If the head gasket is leaking, coolant will be missing and it won't be in a puddle under the car. >>




A small leak in a head gasket can cause coolant to burn off in the motor. You wont see it coming out the tailpipes cause it's evaporated by the time it gets there. I had a blown gasket on a 1995 V6 mustang and the symptoms were exactly like the car we're talknig about.

Once air gets into a coolant line, water will stop flowing, and the car will overheat cause water is jsut sitting in the radiatior, not flowing through the motor correctly. Once you get the air out of the cooling sytem (which will usually happen by itself when the car overheats) the car will work ok again, with a small amount of coolant leaking into the motor, and air building up in the cooling sytem again. It's only a matter of time before the car overheats again.

Also - check the coolant level in the radiatior - if you haven't filled it up, then it's probably really low.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Just take it to a garage and say, i think i need a new thermostat or possibly fan motor. If that doesn't work, they can check your head gasket (there will be oil in the water and water in the oil). Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it until a mechanic can show you the blown seal.

 

[Chaotic42]

<<

<< Head gaskets are cheap (mine was like $10). If you know what you are doing, you can replace it in like 30 minutes.

Heads are expensive and difficult to replace. I think a head gasket would just leak oil, but I'm not 100%. >>



Jesus, at least let him know that you have no idea what you're taknig about if you're gonig to say stuff like that.

To replace a head gasket, you have to remove the head. This is an all day job, you've got to pull the intakes, fuel rails, injectors, and the heads. Then you have to clean off the old gasket material, and if you're doing it properly, you take the head to the machine shop and have it machined flat. Then you put the new gasket on, and but the whole upper engine back together.
>>



lmao

I'm an f-ing moron.

I was thinking about the valve-cover gasket.

lol

Ahhh..... I must go stick my finger in a light socket.