Red hot summer, red hot engine temp. Options

[tomazws]

I was driving on local street (grandpa chillin' style, shifts at around 2K~2.5K) when I noticed my temp gauge went rocket high. Immediately, I stopped the car on the side, popped the hood and let it chill for a bit. Then, I poured in about half a gallon of 50/50 (I have a gallon left over in the trunk from I forgot when), and tried starting the car. Everything seemed normal. I started driving the rest of the way to work and everything seemed normal...

Q's:

I poured the 50/50 into the tube until spill, it's about half a gallon I poured in. Does half a gallon of coolant really make an engine overheat?

Or

Would it be a faulty sensor?



This is the first time ever the temp gauge wasn't in the middle.
It should be about 86 ~ 90 degree outside.

[Valo666]

if i were u, i would maybe test the sensor, or check the specific gravity of your coolant. coolant does break down over time and it could be that the precentage of coolant in your system has broken down enough to raise the boiling point up closer to where the boiling point of water is. You ever had it fully flushed?? Also, since it is summer and its hot out, use a coolant addative like water wetter, purple ice, or the NOS brand coolant addative. Its around 90 degrees out here pretty much 3 weeks of the month every day, and my engine runs stupid hot as is and with new coolant, my cooling pannel and some of the NOS coolant addative and i run wayy below the middel line on the temp gauge.

[SlowCelica94]

if i were u, i would maybe test the sensor, or check the specific gravity of your coolant. coolant does break down over time and it could be that the precentage of coolant in your system has broken down enough to raise the boiling point up closer to where the boiling point of water is. You ever had it fully flushed?? Also, since it is summer and its hot out, use a coolant addative like water wetter, purple ice, or the NOS brand coolant addative. Its around 90 degrees out here pretty much 3 weeks of the month every day, and my engine runs stupid hot as is and with new coolant, my cooling pannel and some of the NOS coolant addative and i run wayy below the middel line on the temp gauge.

Altho you certainly right, this is lightly not his problem. The first and BEST thing to do in this situation is to take the car to shop and ask to have the cooling system pressure tested. What this does is put the cooling sym under the same psi it would be if you were driving. If something leaking, it'll be sure to do it under pressure. Once you find the compent, you can just replace it.

That's the way I've been trained to do it and I've been in the feild for about 3 years with an assoc degree in autotech. I'm not saying I'm smarter then anyone on this site, I'm just telling you what a trained-to-be-a-dealership-tech would do. And it's in my expirence, this is the best method.

Happy hunting