OT - Question for all you mechanics

[Joe Shmoe]

SO when your vehicle starts to overheat, does it help to turn on the heater?

And What do you think would make it overheat anyway if it was filled with fluid? Could it be that the oilchange place put the wrong type of fluid in?

[sunburnwilly]

Yes it does help to turn on the heater , "it's kinda like an extra radiator" . Chances are your thermostat needs replacing , or your water pump has kicked the bucket . There are other things that could be the problem , but those 2 are the most likely .

[BobbyT]

Willy covered it all,+1 on his advice.

[Joe Shmoe]

Ah...Thanks for the info!

[Jay481985]

basically the heat draws some heat from the engine to warm up the cabin, hence it takes a few minutes to get warm air from a cold day start. It will on full blast actually cool your engine down some.

[Speedball]

I heard it will help in an emergency to draw heat away from the motor.

Last Friday I had a new radiator put in my pickup with 217,000 miles. The man said it would pass air but not much fluid so $500.00+ later it runs cool as a cucumber.

[dtel]

Thermostat could be sticking also,son in laws jeep overheated and boiled over,put water in it and it don't leak a drop. But when he drives it temp guage goes up to almost hot then drops and repeats that cycle. But if it sticks just a little to long it will boil over.

[DizRotus]

You bet it does. In approximately 1990 I towed a small trailer that held the bare frame and components that went into making the car in my avatar behind a Chevy Cavalier from Hagerstown, MD to Birmingham, MI. While climbing the hills on the PA Turnpike we would watch the temperature gauge climb, whereupon we would turn off the AC, roll down the windows (It was July) and crank the heater to full. With the vents aimed to blow the hot air out the windows, we watched the temp gauge drop immediately. Without that trick I would have cooked that tiny 4 banger.

[WMcD]

In the old days there was a belt driven fan behind the radiator. A slipping belt or broken belt could cause loss of airflow through the radiator.

Now many / most have fans driven by electric motors. The motor turns on via a thermostatic switch which senses coolant temperature. There is still a mechanically operated thermostat which regulates flow of coolant through the radiator.

I believe the electic fan is necessary on cars which have the engines turned sideways. It is tough to rig up a belt. It may also be good for fuel consumption. Even with some clever mechnanism to allow slip of the fan, it was always taking a few horsepower.

The bottom line is that the fan motor or the fan thermostat can cause problems.

BTW, the electric fan typically does not have to run when the car is moving at road speeds. There is sufficient airflow through the radiator without it. Yo may hear it turn on when you stop at a light.

Gil

[oldtimer]

All good advice. Another thing to do is have the radiator flushed when you replace the thermostat. Make sure the cap is in good shape. Use distilled water, not tap water in the fluid mix to prolong radiator life.

[Hardhead]

Before you start replacing things, check the belt that turns the water pump to make sure that its tension is within spec: tight enough, but not too tight (the voice of experience).

[oldbuckster]

When in doubt take it to a mechanic. You could easily spend 50 to 100 dollars and not fix the problem. When does it overheat? Ever change a head gasket? Many things it could be,Tubes or Solid State oopppps.