my 02' lancer keepas overheating, i've changed the thermostat all hoses look good and its a fairly new radiator. it keeps throwing coolant into the overflow tank, WHY????? it still runs too good for a head gasket still has power and it takes a few days to start overheating. i think its something im not seeing so i leave it to yall to help PLEASE.thanx , jeff.

 

Easy way of telling if its a head gasket is while running with the rad cap off you would see bubbles coming up from the coolant indicating cylinder pressure leaking into the cooling system along with white smoke out your tailpipe indicating coolant leaking into the combustion process. I would do a complete cooling system flush if you didnt when doing the t-stat. Can I assume you were overheating before the change hence the need to change it?

 

Can you verify that the radiator fan is turning on correctly? If not, the fan controller may have gone bad. Also, you may or may not also need to bleed some air bubbles out of the coolant system.

 

i was overheating before. didnt do a complete flush. all its doin is throwin coolant in the overflow tank. just dont understand.

 

fans are turning right, i even put a new fan switch on and no change. i keep hearing about these air bubbles how do u get rid of that. not used to small cars. i own a truck and a mustang. any help.

 

waterpump?

 

well i thought so too but its not leaking from that side and the water going into the overflow tank aint even hot so im just not sure whats going on. i hate to pay to have it checked but im all out of options!!!!

 

You need a head agsket-- its pushing water into the over flow because the gasket is gone and its pressurizing your cooling system. Once it over heats you almost always need a headgasket--if you have gone multiple times, well I'd say thats a for sure on the head gasket

 

yea iwas hoping it was something i was not seeing or doing. that was my first guess and my last option. thanx for all the replys and if anyone has more info on this please share i wont be doin this for a couple weeks so if anymore ideas please stop me before i tear this thing apart.

 

Sure the thermostat is working? Sounds like the thermostat isnt functioning properly.

 

im pullin the thermostat today and hoses jujst checkin that small stuff .this car drives way too good for a h-gasket. 28 mpg no smoke and still has power.

 

When I changed the thermostat, it didn't fix the problem, but when I had jiffy lube flush the coolant and refill it, the problem did go away. I'm not sure if it was the flush, or if it was the evacuation of air bubbles....but try squeezing that top radiator hose once the thermostat opens and see if you can't squish them air bubbles out. Do it with the car on jack stands, seems to be easier to get all the bubbles out.

As far as checking for bubbles in the radiator, like 03lances suggested, you ought to be able to see them with the radiator cap off....but if it's not, then there is a tool that will help you determine if the headgasket is leaking. I don't remember the name, but it's these 2 cups, one inside the other, and you press it into the radiator cap spot, and if it's leaking the little tool has an indicator that lets you know. Seemed somewhat "gimmicky" but it worked on a bad headgasket, and we tested on a good one, and it showed the good one was okay.

 

thanx for the info ill try anything right now to keep from tearing my car apart.

 

Well, before I tear the engine apart if I have a similar thought (ie bad headgasket), I sure as heck am going to do a compression test first. If there are 2 neighboring cylinders with bad compression....then maybe it's the headgasket, but if I see them all looking good, I'm much less apt to pull the engine apart.

 

yea guess im just gonna take it to dealer to test the whole car. this is why i like older cars lol i like this one its real nice but just alot of headache in three weeks .