Ugh - car showing temperatures extremely hot

[Juddog]

Well I bought a new car a few weeks ago, so the wife has been driving the old one.

So we decide to switch today so I can check the old one for problems, as she didn't notice one of the headlights was out and doesn't pay any attention to what the car is doing. First thing I notice is that the car when warming up after a minute, still has the temperature needle buried in the cold section. It continues to be there for about 5 blocks after driving it, which seemed a bit unusual.

So I start driving, the temperature needle climbs to slightly less than the middle where it should be, then a few blocks later I notice it climbing even higher. I get about a mile down the road, and now the temperature shows as being about a few millimeters from the red zone!

Fortunately I had a dentists visit, so leave the car parked there while I get my teeth cleaned. Once I get out, I check the fluid level on the radiator overflow tank and it's bone dry! I drive very slowly to the nearest grocery store, and buy some distilled water. I pour the water in the radiator itself and then the overflow tank to get it to where it should be, then start driving again to work. On the way to work, I notice every stoplight I get to, the car starts sputtering.

So I park at work, open up the hood, and notice that every few seconds when the idle gets low all of a sudden the car sputters and the engine shakes.

After filling the radiator back up and driving to work, I got on the ground and didn't see any sign of any leaks, nothing dripping at all. I just had the radiator flushed about a month ago.

What should I do?

 

[boomerang]

What make and model may be helpful. Mileage too.

Without knowing the particulars, I would suspect either a head gasket or manifold gasket leak. You should pull the dipstick immediately to make sure the coolant is not getting into the crankcase.

Antifreeze is death on bearings. If it's leaking into the crankcase, think long and hard before putting any money into it.

It's too soon to expect the worst. Give more info and check the dipstick.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: boomerang
What make and model may be helpful. Mileage too.

Without knowing the particulars, I would suspect either a head gasket or manifold gasket leak. You should pull the dipstick immediately to make sure the coolant is not getting into the crankcase.

Antifreeze is death on bearings. If it's leaking into the crankcase, think long and hard before putting any money into it.

It's too soon to expect the worst. Give more info and check the dipstick.

What am I looking for on the dipstick?

-- edit --

Vehicle is a 1996 Mazda 626. Mileage is about 125,000 miles.

 

[franksta]

Originally posted by: Juddog


What am I looking for on the dipstick?

-- edit --

Vehicle is a 1996 Mazda 626. Mileage is about 125,000 miles.

It should be clear and clean.
If it looks like a chocolate milkshake. That would be bad.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Juddog

Originally posted by: boomerang
What make and model may be helpful. Mileage too.

Without knowing the particulars, I would suspect either a head gasket or manifold gasket leak. You should pull the dipstick immediately to make sure the coolant is not getting into the crankcase.

Antifreeze is death on bearings. If it's leaking into the crankcase, think long and hard before putting any money into it.

It's too soon to expect the worst. Give more info and check the dipstick.

What am I looking for on the dipstick?

-- edit --

Vehicle is a 1996 Mazda 626. Mileage is about 125,000 miles.

You are looking for just oil, dark brown if it hasn't been changed recently. You are hoping NOT to see a chocolate milky sustance.

It would look like this: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bm...ad-Gasket/Pic01-01.jpg

 

[exdeath]

Make sure you burp the cooling system. Air pockets will cause overheating, water pump cavitation, and erratic temperature sensor signals even after you've replaced the missing coolant.

If the computer is getting an unreliable signal from the sensor either due to a malfunctioning sensor or air pockets the mixture will be wrong causing it to run rough.

There should be a bleed valve or crossover tube higher up than the tank cap. Open the cap on the tank, but fill through that tube while the engine is running (open the system first when it's cold, then start it and fill it). When it stops sputtering and only flows steady coolant, shut it off and top it off after it settles.

Check it periodically for a few days and top off as needed. Sometimes it can take a few days.

If you continue losing coolant and have no visible leaks or stains on the ground, you have a bigger problem.

 

[Juddog]

Ugh.... called up the mechanic nearby where I lived, mentioned the symptoms, and he said the same thing as you guys - probably a blown head gasket. This would also go along with why the car has been leaking oil for the past 3 months at a very slow pace. Argh, cost to fix was stated at $700.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Juddog
Ugh.... called up the mechanic nearby where I lived, mentioned the symptoms, and he said the same thing as you guys - probably a blown head gasket. This would also go along with why the car has been leaking oil for the past 3 months at a very slow pace. Argh, cost to fix was stated at $700.

If it is a 4cyl then its not to hard if you do any of your own work. Either that or shop around. Get prices of parts from rockauto.com if you can wait for them to be shipped. I buy a lot from them for non-warranty parts like gaskets, brakes, etc...

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Juddog
Ugh.... called up the mechanic nearby where I lived, mentioned the symptoms, and he said the same thing as you guys - probably a blown head gasket. This would also go along with why the car has been leaking oil for the past 3 months at a very slow pace. Argh, cost to fix was stated at $700.

If it is a 4cyl then its not to hard if you do any of your own work. Either that or shop around. Get prices of parts from rockauto.com if you can wait for them to be shipped. I buy a lot from them for non-warranty parts like gaskets, brakes, etc...

Is replacing a head gasket for a 4cyl something that a complete car noobie would be able to do? I looked at the manual for replacing it, and it seemed like a bit of work, I wouldn't mind doing it myself but I'm afraid I'll f*ck it up.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Juddog

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Juddog
Ugh.... called up the mechanic nearby where I lived, mentioned the symptoms, and he said the same thing as you guys - probably a blown head gasket. This would also go along with why the car has been leaking oil for the past 3 months at a very slow pace. Argh, cost to fix was stated at $700.

If it is a 4cyl then its not to hard if you do any of your own work. Either that or shop around. Get prices of parts from rockauto.com if you can wait for them to be shipped. I buy a lot from them for non-warranty parts like gaskets, brakes, etc...

Is replacing a head gasket for a 4cyl something that a complete car noobie would be able to do? I looked at the manual for replacing it, and it seemed like a bit of work, I wouldn't mind doing it myself but I'm afraid I'll f*ck it up.

If you have replaced brakes, Starters, water pumps, etc... then you should be able to do it. If not then don;t chance it.

Also check out Craigslist service section as a lot of tech do side work when they are not are the shop. I did that for a while till I started my own shop.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Juddog

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Juddog
Ugh.... called up the mechanic nearby where I lived, mentioned the symptoms, and he said the same thing as you guys - probably a blown head gasket. This would also go along with why the car has been leaking oil for the past 3 months at a very slow pace. Argh, cost to fix was stated at $700.

If it is a 4cyl then its not to hard if you do any of your own work. Either that or shop around. Get prices of parts from rockauto.com if you can wait for them to be shipped. I buy a lot from them for non-warranty parts like gaskets, brakes, etc...

Is replacing a head gasket for a 4cyl something that a complete car noobie would be able to do? I looked at the manual for replacing it, and it seemed like a bit of work, I wouldn't mind doing it myself but I'm afraid I'll f*ck it up.

If you have replaced brakes, Starters, water pumps, etc... then you should be able to do it. If not then don;t chance it.

Also check out Craigslist service section as a lot of tech do side work when they are not are the shop. I did that for a while till I started my own shop.

Well I called up my brother who is an ok mechanic (not professional, just fixes his own stuff and is a professional wielder) and he's going to help me take a look at it this weekend. I've never replaced my own brakes, starters, etc., so this will be a learning experience for me.

 

[Juddog]

Update: Spoke to a mechanic who does work during his downtime from working in a shop. He took out the sparkplugs and looked at them one at a time; he showed me that the one sparkplug had dried / cooked antifreeze all over it, where the others didn't. He stated that it wouldn't be a simple head gasket repair, and that the head was warped on one of the cylinders and would have to be machined. He said the good news is that the engine block isn't cracked and none of the other heads were affected. The cost he's giving me is a thousand dollars, which includes machining the warped head along with replacing the gasket. Ouch.

 

[iamwiz82]

That is super cheap for machining the head too.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: Juddog
Update: Spoke to a mechanic who does work during his downtime from working in a shop. He took out the sparkplugs and looked at them one at a time; he showed me that the one sparkplug had dried / cooked antifreeze all over it, where the others didn't. He stated that it wouldn't be a simple head gasket repair, and that the head was warped on one of the cylinders and would have to be machined. He said the good news is that the engine block isn't cracked and none of the other heads were affected. The cost he's giving me is a thousand dollars, which includes machining the warped head along with replacing the gasket. Ouch.

I hate to muddy the waters, but how does he know the head is warped without taking it off and checking? Now, if your vehicle/engine is known to have warped head problems, then OK.

Also, have him check if there are rebuilt cylinder heads available. The labor charges should be reduced going with a rebuilt head versus machining the one you have.

If the alleged damage was done due to overheating (sounds as if this is the case), doing just one head would be doing you a disservice. I would suggest replacing both heads with rebuilt heads.

Edit: More thoughts.

You are not going to truly know what the problems are until the head or heads are off. I had a car over here one time that had overheated to the extent that I had to replace a piston.

 

[crosshairs]

Originally posted by: Juddog
Update: Spoke to a mechanic who does work during his downtime from working in a shop. He took out the sparkplugs and looked at them one at a time; he showed me that the one sparkplug had dried / cooked antifreeze all over it, where the others didn't. He stated that it wouldn't be a simple head gasket repair, and that the head was warped on one of the cylinders and would have to be machined. He said the good news is that the engine block isn't cracked and none of the other heads were affected. The cost he's giving me is a thousand dollars, which includes machining the warped head along with replacing the gasket. Ouch.

Find another mechanic....anti freeze on a plug only means that there is anti freeze in that cylinder....which confirms a blown headgasket...nothing else.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: crosshairs

Originally posted by: Juddog
Update: Spoke to a mechanic who does work during his downtime from working in a shop. He took out the sparkplugs and looked at them one at a time; he showed me that the one sparkplug had dried / cooked antifreeze all over it, where the others didn't. He stated that it wouldn't be a simple head gasket repair, and that the head was warped on one of the cylinders and would have to be machined. He said the good news is that the engine block isn't cracked and none of the other heads were affected. The cost he's giving me is a thousand dollars, which includes machining the warped head along with replacing the gasket. Ouch.

Find another mechanic....anti freeze on a plug only means that there is anti freeze in that cylinder....which confirms a blown headgasket...nothing else.

Well, it might need the the machining but it's not a given. Any decent mechanic would check your head for it being warped.