Overheating in neutral

[dtag13]

Ok so this one has me worried. One day i was sitting in the driveway with the car idling fine in neutral. i hopped in the driver seat to see my temp gauge almost at the very top. i panicked and shut the car off and let it cool down for about 30 min. then i fired it back up and went for a short drive, no problems. then a few days later im sitting in a parking lot and the same thing starts to happen, i watch my temp gauge slowly but consistantly rise up towards the top and if i hit the gas ohh boy then it really goes up quickly. So for some reason i decide to put it in gear and drive a little bit. well by the time i hit 10mph it starts to go back down to normal. idk if it cooled because of the wind coming into the car, but i was wondering if anyone had any ideas. im not leaking anti-freeze either. it will start to happen if the car sits in neutral for about 5 min, but once i start driving it will cool back down. thanks for your help

 

[Vnuk1]

Time for a new Thermostat maybe?

http://www.shoforum.com/search.php?searchid=1305195

 

[shocrates]

Is the radiator fan coming on when the temp goes up?

 

[yamahaSHO]

Is the radiator fan coming on when the temp goes up?

What he said.

 

[dtag13]

YEP! thats why i got so confused. i will be sitting there fine, and to tell u the truth it seems that just as the rad fan starts to click on is right when it starts to climb, but the fan doest cool it off

 

[rubydist]

I've seen water pumps get worn impellers (on other applications) where they wouldn't pump enough water at idle to keep it cool. So, if the fan comes on when idling, the next test would be to let it get up toward the hot side of the gauge and then rev it up to 1500-2000 for a minute to see if that drops the temp back down.

 

[SHO#7]

I agree with the above post. The other thing I am thinking is if you are SURE your fans are turning on, check for crud behind the condensor and in front of the radiator. Making the fans not effective.

Mike

 

[yamahaSHO]

The temp sensor could be at fault as well.

 

[jpSHO]

Make sure that both fans are coming on. If only one is working the car will run pretty hot.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Judging by his sig, he only has one fan.

 

[SHOZ123]

I remember some one saying once with the old SHOs that the high speed fan will not come on because of the ECT feedback.

Perhaps the low speed fan is not working?

 

[1995SHO9]

Why don't you try aiming a temp gun right at the neck where the thermastat is and see what it is reading when the gauge is going way up and see if the gauge is actually reading correctly. Also, what is it hitting when you are just sitting, I know my 95 would go all the way up to the top of the N before it would go down. Is yours actually going outside of the normal range if you let it keep going?

Even though that is in the normal, I replaced it with a cooler thermastate because that bothered me.

~Johnathon~

 

[SHOZ123]

If the needle was still in the normal range than that is normal. The fans won't come on until 216F in stock form. This is near the top of the NORMAL range.

 

[dtag13]

no it doesnt leave the N, but i have never given it a chance to. usually by the time it is about to get near the N i get worried about breaking or hurting something and i will shut the car off or put it in gear and drive

 

[Vnuk1]

So how did you discover that it does this in Neutral?

 

[SHOZ123]

The upper range or NORMAL is 220F IIRC. And not that dangerous. You should get a TwEECer or an after market fan controller to accommodate your fears.

 

[dtag13]

So how did you discover that it does this in Neutral?

i just had it running in the driveway one time, then another time in a parking lot, and again going thru a car wash. as i came out of the car wash i pulled onto the highway and WOT and the temp went down haha?? so idk i have never had a trouble while driving no matter how hard i run the car. only neutral, so i guess i could be in a way worse situation, just figured i would ask

 

[bigblock]

have you checked your coolant level? not the over flow but the radiator it self.

 

[frosho]

have you checked your coolant level? not the over flow but the radiator it self.

DISCLAIMER: Don't do this while it's hot!!

 

[Vnuk1]

DISCLAIMER: Don't do this while it's hot!!

Yeah what he said!