Troubleshooting overheated engine.

[smkngmarauder]

:help:My engine over heated last night, woke up this morning and its still over heating. How can I troubleshoot so that I can pin point my problem??

[justbob]

Start with this:

1. What have you done to it lately?
2. Was it in town driving or highway?
3. Is there any leaks?
4. Is the system full?

When overheating is mostly at highway speeds then your radiator needs to be "debugged", while cruizing, is the fan working? Thermostat? Air in the system? Too many variables.

[smkngmarauder]

Start with this:

1. What have you done to it lately?
2. Was it in town driving or highway?
3. Is there any leaks?
4. Is the system full?

When overheating is mostly at highway speeds then your radiator needs to be "debugged", while cruizing, is the fan working? Thermostat? Air in the system? Too many variables.

Haven't done anything, just having her idle she over heats. No visible leakes and she is full. I noticed the upper radiator hose had no pressure 'till about normal running temp. The fan is working, turned her on and turned on the A/C full blast the fan started working. After seeing that I turned of the A/C, waited for the fan to go off and after normal running temp fan came back on. So that eliminates any sensor faults right?

[sd8683]

First thing that comes to my mind would be the thermostat or the water pump.

[smkngmarauder]

Is there anyway I can troubleshoot the thermostat and water pump myself?

[UncleLar]

Just pull the thermostat and replace it.You might want to put one of those failsafe ones in it's place.

[Glenn]

Take a garden hose and clean your AC condenser and radiator on the outside. Remove the radiator cover and put the hose down between the two and clean them. That would be my first step.

Glenn :burnout:

[babbage]

I just did a full service on my cooling system. It's not hard to put in a new water pump - the link (and mini writeup) is in my signature. EMP Pump

When is the last time you had the cooling system serviced?

[Rockettman]

The thermostat gets my vote.
As the engine gets hot, feel to find out if the upper rad hose is hot. If no coolant is passing through, it won't get very hot. This means the thermostat is staying closed. For the price of a new one, just change it - to eliminate it from the equation - you my not have to go any further.
Just do it soon, as you don't want to warp a head because of a $4 thermostat!

[smkngmarauder]

Went ahead and just replaced the thermostat and she was good again. No more overheating, thanks guys for the help.