Need help! Overheated!!

[i8urSS]

i just made a relatively short trip to pick up a friend. it was only like 6 miles round trip. just long enough for my car to even get all the way warmed up. well like a mile from my house i heard my belt whine and i could smell coolant. so i got out of the throttle and then babied it the rest of the way keeping a close eye on the temp gauge. the temp gauge did go up a little but not enough to pull over or anything.

so i got home and poppped the hood and there was fluid all around the cap on the expansion tank. it wasnt like spraying out (not that i saw atleast) but it def wasnt holding the pressure like it should.

so i let it cool off and i baby it up to the dealership (about 5 miles) to get another cap and on the way it starts to really overheat. so i pull over and shut it down immediately.

so my first instinct is to replace that cap. but does that sound like that could be the problem? i know it should be able to hold the pressure but could it cause the car to over heat that fast, or am i looking at bigger issues like the thermostat or something?

i'm hopin its the $10 cap because they said its gonna be like $150 if its the thermo stat. anybody have any insight?

thanks

 

[Parts-is-Parts]

Have you done any cooling system work recently?
Is your fan working?

 

[01cobravortech]

Welcome to the "Overheatin club." It happens to every Cobra at some point, whether you've done any work to the cooling system or not. I blame those weak Forc clamps that allow air to slowly seep into the system. Make sure to refill properly if you're troubleshooting starts with it possibly being a bad cap. And keep in mind, that its fairly common that when you overheat, the lip on the stock radiator tank can deform, thus no new cap is going to help it seal properly. You may need a new radiator expansion tank. Had this happen on two Cobras.

 

[unforgiven]

Just went through this.

Are you sure it is overheating or is coolant just puking out from under the cap?

 

[i8urSS]

no i havent done any cooling system work and my fan is working fine. i just replaced the cap and its holding the pressure in now but its still overheating. i guess the only thing left is the thermostat. i felt the hose that runs to the block from the radiator and it was scalding hot and really pressurized. i dont know if that helps narrow it down any.

is the thermostat on the bottom of the engine or is it up by the blower?

 

[i8urSS]

and its def overheating. before the temp gauge even reaches the halfway mark its already so hot that my blower is heat soaked and wont hit any boost.

 

[unforgiven]

The thermostat housing is located at the bottom of the system (under car).

Very easy to find and change.

 

[unforgiven]

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/terminator-talk-229/609910-allright-where-thermostat.html

 

[i8urSS]

thanks for the link. from everything i'm reading it seems that its either the t-stat or air in the system. i havent ever messed with the coolant so i dont know how it could have all of a sudden gotten air in the system. i'm gonna try to burp it first since thats the cheapest and apparently has to be ruled out anyways. then if not i'll try the t-stat.

 

[Killer04]

Make sure there's not a crack in your coolant reservoir. As one poster already said that is also fairly common, which I have seen as the cause for sudden over heating issues and temps rapidly climbing even on short distance trips.

Replacing that and properly clearing out any air in the system should fix it.



GL

 

[i8urSS]

i figured since i'm gonna try to burp it i might as well replace the t-stat while i'm at it so i dont have to burp it twice. one place i called said the oe t-stat is 195* is that true. it just seems really high. i would get the reische but i dont have time to wait for it if i order it. maybe next summer or something.

 

[unforgiven]

i figured since i'm gonna try to burp it i might as well replace the t-stat while i'm at it so i dont have to burp it twice. one place i called said the oe t-stat is 195* is that true. it just seems really high. i would get the reische but i dont have time to wait for it if i order it. maybe next summer or something.

Stock is 180