OK So here's the deal. I've been working on my car the past week straight, messing with bull****, basically following my dad's advice, some makes sense, some doesn't. I got a '97 Eclipse RS non turbo. Bought it in april. its always had an over heating problem. It had a radiator leak, so I've replaced that. It hasn't overheated since, but the temp. still gets pretty high....only when its idleing...about 3/4 of the way on the temp. gauge. Over the past week i've replaced the head cover gasket on my engine, flushed out the coolant system, replaced my radio and a bunch of other **** all in 100+ degree heat (i live in texas). and i'm starting to enjoy ****in with my car. but thats beside the point. I'm just trying to make my car reliable so i can drive it further than 10-15 miles without getting all worried.

When I shut off my car after it gets hot, the overflow tank starts bubbling and the water inside is boiling or something, occasionally it squirts out water, sometimes a lot, sometimes not much. I've checked all of my hoses. Im guessing im gonna have to replace the water pump or something.

The other problem that I first noticed today was that I drove it home from school and it did fine the temp. stayed at halfway, and it started up fine. 10 minutes after i got home, I got in it to take it to subway, and it wouldnt start. My dad said it did that to him the other day. It only does it when its hot. im guessing i need to replace the spark plugs or check out the air filter or somethin.

Anybody got any advice to help make my car more reliable???

 

WTF Too wordy or something???

 

coolant boiling in your overflow tank 95% chance you need to replace your radiator cap. Pull it off when your cars cold and check the gaskets on the inside of the cap for cracks. If it cant seal your coolant system wont holdpressure and the coolant will boil. Theyre only $5 to replace, but if that doesnt do it you may want to do a compression test and make sure its not the head gasket. You could also check the oil cap to see if it looks like there is coolant mixing with your oil thats usually a good sign of a head gasket failure.

 

hell yea thx man. im prayin i dont have to replace the head gasket. ill probably have to anyways though. once it cools down a little outside im gonna check for oil in the coolant. and replace the cap.

god wouldnt it be nice if car parts were free?!?!?

 

If you have a overheating problem something thats a little bit of a cheat is using motoice or something like that. ITs made for dirtbikes, it can lower the temp of you motor 50 degres at operating temp.... only bad thing is that it can freeze.... and it dosent mix with anti-freeze. You live in texas thou so I think you may be alright. Just go to any online dirtbike store and you should be able to find it.

 

my suggestion would be to go to an auto parts stor and buy the lowest temp thermostat possable.

 

Hey slow420a that motoice stuff is it safe for cars? Also how much does it cost, bc right now I have wetter water in my 99 gst and it works good too. The temp guage dosen't even go up half way. I live In FL so I don't relly have to worry about freezing so let me know. AS for this orignal problem Have you flushed and cleaned the radiator?

 

Ya the company Cyclelogic makes it for race cars n such. The only part where its not safe is the freezing point. Many Coolents say that their good for 50 below. Truth is that the coolent actually becomes solid at 50 below. There for it starts to get a little slushy at -20 and nearly hard at -40. Where the "Engine Ice" becomes solid at -27. So Its really only good up to -15 or so. For southern states its just right, me on the other hand up here in NJ its... not so good.


http://www.engineice.cc/products.html
For more info go here

 

Going to a lower t'stat won't help an overheating problem. The only thing it does is open sooner. Fix the problem. The suggestion about he radiator cap is valid. Make sure the system can properly pressurize. For every lb of pressure, the boiling temp of water is increased. Most rad caps go from 12 to 15 psi. Also, be certain there is no air trapped in the cooling system. You have to "burp" it. Check your service manual or Chiltons manual, they show you how to do this. It's normal for your engine to run hotter when the car is sitting or in stop and go traffic, not enough cool air flowing through the radiator to transfer heat. It's also normal for the temp to shoot up when you cut the engine off, the water stops flowing. I've never found any of the aftermarket additives to do much (if any good) except for the guys that make them. If you're concerned about a blown head gasket, you can test for this by pressurizing the cooling system - you need a special tool for this, most shops have them. You can also look for bubbling in the coolant as it flows through the radiator. This is caused by compression entering the cooling system. You also may have steam or water coming out the exhaust and the car will run pretty rough. Some water on start up out the exhaust is normal condensation and no cause to be alarmed.

Get the cap first, it's a lot more important than people give it credit for. If you t'stat is good, I wouldn't replace it. You can test it in a pan of hot water on the kitchen stove. Get a therometer (the super markets sell inexpensive ones for candy which go up to 400 deg F).
turn on the stove, and see if it starts opening on spec (ie 180 or 190 or whatever it's rated at). Lastly, factory gauges are not real good. They serve only as a point of reference. Your engine should probably operate in the 195 to 220 range depending on conditions.
Use a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water.

 

Wont getting a lower temp thermostat reduce the temp of the water in the block becuase of the fact that it will open at a lower temp to allow colder water/antifreeze to enter the block.