About my car and radiator?

Question

my car is heating up to fast it never has heated up this fast. my question is the radiator is suppose to be pressured im pretty sure and there a little hole in the plastic container. correct me if i am wrong but i dont know if this would be a problem or not

Answer 1

It is probably your thermostat stuck closed.  the water can not move threw the engine to cool down.   take the thermostat out completely and see if that fixes the problem.  if so go buy a new one to put back in it.  bad thermostats can blow out the radiator.

Answer 2

the over flow container is just that. when the car is running, heat causes the pressure in the radiator to rise and pushes coolent out of it and into the overflow container. when the car cools down, suction is created in the radiator and the coolent flows back into the radiator.

having a hole in the overflow would only be a problem if coolent is leaking out of it. that would cause the radiator to have low coolent and the car would run hot. if the hole in the overflow is not in an area where coolent would leak out, then the overflow is not the problem.

possible causes of an overheating car...

1) low coolent: this is caused by a leak or simple evaporation.

1a) check your car when it is hot. the overflow tank should have coolent in it up to the "full hot" line. if this is not the case, just add coolent to the overflow and it will get siphoned back into the radiator.

1b) low coolent might also be caused by a leak in the radiator itself, or one of the hoses that connect the motor to the radiator. look for drips and wetness in these areas.

2) the thermostat is stuck. the thermostat is a little metal disk with a spring activated plunger in the middle. it is located on the motor where the top radiator hose meets the engine. it is inside the junction. when the car is cool, the plunger seals the thermostat keeping coolent from circulating through the radiator. this helps the car reach optimal running temperature faster. as the coolent heats up due to the engine running, the spring compresses and openes up the plunger so coolent can flow through the radiator and get cooled off. the idiot who invented this thing made it so that when the spring fails, it fails in the closed position so no matter how hot it gets, the plunger stays blocking the coolent from the radiator. some aftermarket companies sell thermostats which fail in the "open" position. SUMMITracing.com might be able to help there.

3) the radiator fan is bad. most newer cars have an electric fan that kicks on when the built in thermostat (different from the one mentioned above) reaches a certain temperature. if the fan motor or fan thermostat goes bad, the fan will not kick on and pull cool air through the radiator to cool the coolent. with the car running, pop the hood and watch for the fan to kick on when the car is starting to overheat. if it doesn't.... then there's your problem.

Answer 3

the radiator is supposed to be pressureized with about 12-18 psi.your thermostat could be bad.your fans may not be moving.