Know anything about overheating cars?

[tmfranlk]

I have a 1996 Volvo 960 (177,000 miles) that was overheating today.

Admittedly, it was low (too low apparently!) on antifreeze. With my childcare job I don't have enough seats to get out of the house during the day so I don't drive the car near as much as I usually do. Since I ususally handle upkeep on the fluid issues we have, I'm sure DH didn't even think about it. I know we have a antifreeze leak, but because I don't drive very often sometimes I didn't know the light had been on so long.

This morning I was driving to an appointment on a 45mph road when I saw the smoke/steam so I pulled over immediately. I filled the antifreeze and didn't even THINK about the overheating part. I started up again after about 8 minutes and went another mile or so (still 45mph road) when I noticed the gauge was up. Pulled over again, sat at the side of the road until the fan went off, filled the anitfreeze again, making sure it had had time to "settle" and was fully topped off.

When I checked the temp guage it was lower again so I started back up and got off of the exit ramp and started in the direction of home through a 30mph neighborhood area. I got a couple of miles before the guage started edging close to the red zone again at which point I pulled over again. Called DSis to come get me filled antifreeze again plus made sure the oil was topped off (burns oil too - yeah prize car, I know ) and left it where it was for approx 5 hours.

Just a little bit ago, DSis took me back to the car. I checked all fluid levels and everything was where it should be. Temp guage was at "zero" so we started home slowly. The trip was 3.5 miles, avg 30mph travel, one stop at a stoplight for approx 2 min, it's about 52 degress out (if any of that makes a difference). About halfway home the temp guage hit the halfway mark, about where it usually is. It stayed there for most of the rest of the way. As I was about 1/3 mile from home it started edging up a little, but stayed away from the red zone all together. When I got home, I noticed that the fan was on and also looked under the hood and some antifreeze was seeping out from under the coolant tank's cap so I'm guessing it was on the way to overheating (when it did start to overheat, it was spraying out from under that cap).

Any thoughts on what the cause could be? Will giving it time to fully cool do anything? I can't really afford an expensive repair (all my serious repairs seem to approach the 1000 mark very quickly), so I'm trying to figure out if it's worth getting to the repair shop or if it's just time to cut bait. Of course, I also can't afford a new car right now either. Luckily, DH can walk to work and we have family nearby who can help us with other stuff if we needed until we could do something after tax return time.

Thanks for any help or advice you might be able to offer!

 

[We_Love_Disney]

Sounds like a slow leak in your radiator.

 

[wdwmom2]

Possibly a stuck thermostat. I am no Mrs Goodwrench, but after making sure your coolent if full and not leaking, this would be the next thing I would check.

ETA: I know just enough to get me in trouble

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I have a 1996 Volvo 960 (177,000 miles) that was overheating today. Any thoughts on what the cause could be?
Thanks for any help or advice you might be able to offer!

You will not want to hear this. You need to take it to your local radiator repair shop. The radiator probably has never been serviced. It needs to be professionally "rodded out/acid bath" cleaned or replaced. The radiator service shop will tell you by pressure testing the cooling system what the problem is and where the leak is.

You may need to put new hoses in, a themostat, and whatever it needs to keep it from overheating. Otherwise, you lose the engine.

 

[msmayor]

Its an expensive repair because its a Volvo...I owned one for 14 years and it was always tough to get through a service without dropping at least $500.

The thing is, you can't afford NOT to get this checked out. Driving a vehicle with a compromised cooling system is going to suck the life from your engine much faster than it should. By waiting, you could end up doing even more $$ damage to the car, giving you no choice but to replace it.

Worst case scenario is you're in a position I found myself a couple of weeks ago, with a catastrophic loss of coolant (in my case an engine mount had broken, causing the coolant hose to separate and drained ALL my coolant in a matter of seconds) on an interstate highway 50 miles from home.

Do yourself a favor and get it checked out.

 

[gator75]

It sounds like a radiator problem , It also could be a leaking head gasket. Is there antifreeze in your oil? Do you notice antifreeze comming out of the tail pipe? It could also be a thermostat or a fan. If you drove it while it was hot that can cause a blown head gasket

 

[JDX4]

I had a similar problem with my 96 Buick just this week. My DH changed the thermostat and all is well now (knock on wood.)

 

[LuvOrlando]

Ahhh, I have fond memories of when DH and I were in college and he'd have to carry a bottle of water at all times to fill the radiator when we would get stuck in traffic in NYC. I remember it well

Did you remember to mix the antifreeze with the right amount of water? There are different ratios depending on whether you are doing summer or winter driving and it's important you get it right. If you just poured antifreeze in there straight you might need to siphon it out and start over unless you got the 50/50, if you can't manage it get it to an oil place and have them do it. Be careful with this, you don't want to do permanent damage.

www.prestone.com/learn_more/antifreeze_coolant?product=378

Good luck

 

[manning]

Could be anything. How many miles on the car. It could be the water pump. Look where the fan shaft enters the engine. If it is wet there or leaking when the engine is running that would be it and needs to be replaced. If so put in a rebuilt one.

 

[goofyernmost]

Everything that has been mentioned is a real possibility but there are others and believe me you want to hope for the stuff that has already been mentioned.

Two other possibilities are the water pump and the (cringe when I type it) blown head gasket. A car with that many miles on it can be open to any of these things...the head gasket being the most expensive, but sometimes it is what it is. Good Luck!

 

[Shmily1]

I would definitely say thermostat.... this from experience since I have a dead car in my back yard that now needs a new motor due to a thermostat sticking. Instead of the $18 thermostat, I now get a $2500 motor--used!!

 

[eh24fan]

I was going to say most of what has already been said. In the meantime, if it is absolutely imperative that you drive that car somewhere, turn the heat on full blast while driving. It will help keep it from overheating too much. You do NOT want to take the chance of warping the head. If the idea of a blown headgasket scares you, the thought of a warped head is devastating.

Good luck!!

 

[tmfranlk]

Thanks everyone!! That all kind of fits with my ideas/expectations. Guess I'll take it in on Monday and see what they have to say and we'll make a decision from there. I know it's not drivable as is it's just whether we're fixing or doing without until tax time. Blech!

 

[tvguy]

Could be anything. How many miles on the car. It could be the water pump. Look where the fan shaft enters the engine. If it is wet there or leaking when the engine is running that would be it and needs to be replaced. If so put in a rebuilt one.

You need a reliable mechanic to check it out. Could be simple, could be major, but you won't know until you have a mechanic give you an estimate.
Given the mileage, I suspect the car has been paid for for a while. I just plan on $1,000 a year in repairs on my 1987 Chevy....but that's only about what 2 months car payment would be on a new car...and mine has been paid off for over 20 years.