Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Steve Litt
The cooling system has one and only one purpose -- to remove excess heat from your engine. As your engine burns
gasoline, a little less than a third of the released energy goes into mechanical energy to run your car. The rest is
converted to heat. Some of that heat is blown straight out the tailpipe, while the rest heats the engine itself. Without
a cooling system, the engine would be destroyed by heat within 3 to 30 minutes of startup.
The cooling system works by moving coolant (water plus antifreeze) through the engine, and moving that heated
coolant through the radiator, where its heat is transferred to the surrounding air. The cooling system must have
enough cooling capacity to cool a car ascending a long, steep mountain road, where the driver might have the gas
pedal 2/3 of the way to the floor.
But it must be regulated in such a way that at a steady 40 MPH on a flat road in subzero weather, the engine’s
temperature is allowed to quickly rise to the manufacturer’s recommended temperature (usually about 200 Farenheit,
give or take 20 degrees). That recommended temperature should also be maintained when the car goes up a 10 mile
7% grade in 100 degree weather. Such regulation is accomplished by the car’s thermostat -- a heat sensitive valve
that allows coolant to flow through the radiator at high temperatures, but cuts off that flow at low temperatures.
The water pump sucks cooled coolant from the radiator and pushes it into the engine. The coolant flows through the
engine, absorbing the engine’s heat. If the thermostat is open, that coolant then flows into the radiator for cooling. As
it flows through the radiator, it heats the tubes and fins on the radiator, and that heat is transferred to the air flowing
through the radiator. At low speeds that air flow is maintained by the fan, and at high speeds it’s maintained by the
relative velocity of the vehicle in relation to the outside air.
Meanwhile, a parallel path brings hot coolant from the engine through the heater in the passenger compartment, and
back into the water pump. That path is controlled by the heater valve, which in turn is controled by the lever or
electronic climate control on the dashboard. The parallel path is not restricted by the thermostat, so passengers get
heat even when the thermostat is closed. However, some cars have a mechanism which shuts off coolant through the
heater during an overheat, I guess on the theory that you want to maximize flow through the radiator by shutting off
the heater. While such a theory might be credible when the cause of overheating is low coolant, it prevents the alert
driver from turning on the heater full blast and thereby letting the heater act as a second radiator. Perhaps such a
shutoff is a safety feature so there’s no way overly pressurized coolant can rupture the heater and spray on the
passengers. So if you’ve had symptom where "the car overheats and then the heater blows cold air", the heater
probably has been shut off due to overheat.
The entire system is sealed with one exception. The radiator cap contains a spring which maintains a constant
pressure by venting coolant (to the reservoir tank) when pressure rises above its specified value -- typically around
15 PSI. It’s normal for some coolant to vent in this way, which is why the reservoir is more full when the car is hot
than when it’s cold. The radiator cap also allows the vacuum created when the system cools to "suck back" coolant
from the reservoir. But in the case of an extreme overheat, vented coolant overflows the reservoir, thereby creating a
low-coolant situation and making the overheat even worse.
Looking at the diagram, you see that oil, gasoline, combustion gasses and coolant all flow inside the engine. These
materials are kept separate by the head gasket(s). A breached or broken head gasket, or a bent head, allows any or
several of these materials to mix. Coolant into the cylinders produces huge clouds of white exhaust (steam) out the
tailpipe. Coolant into the oil produces a yellow/white foam or gunk on the oil cap, as well as degrading the oil,
possibly past the point of lubricating usefulness. Combustion gasses leaking from the cylinder to the coolant might
produce no obvious symptom, but it’s an extremely dangerous condition, because it can cause an overheat by any
one or more of four different mechanisms:
1. By forcing excessive coolant out the reservoir, thereby creating a low-coolant situation
2. By forming a gas bubble around the thermostat’s sensor, thereby preventing the thermostat from opening
3. By heating the coolant to such a degree that the radiator cannot dispense all the heat
4. By breaking down the coolant’s corrosion protection, thereby damaging the water pump or radiator,
ultimately causing overheating
It’s possible for a broken head gasket to allow combustion gasses into the coolant, without allowing coolant into the
cylinders or coolant into the oil or oil into the coolant. In such a situation, the broken head gasket could silently
cause overheats. The definitive test for this type of head gasket problem is to test for combustion gasses at both the
radiator fill pipe and at the reservoir.
Excess Cooling Capacity
Automotive cooling systems must have HUGE levels of excess cooling capacity. Next time you drive 60 mph on a
flat deserted road, notice how far you push on the gas pedal. Probably a millimeter to a centimeter. Now see how
much you need to push the gas pedal to ascend a 6% grade at 45mph. Probably an inch or two. Go up to 65 and on
some cars you’ll be near flooring it. 1/3 of all that gasoline is consumed heating the engine.
Your cooling system must be able to get rid of all that heat. Difficult enough, it becomes even more of a challenge if
the air temperature is warm (less heat transfer from radiator to air), and brutal if your car is heavily loaded or towing
something. If the heat generated by combustion significantly exceeds the cooling capacity, you’ll severely overheat
quickly (typically after a mile or two of climbing).
A well functioning cooling system has the capacity to maintain the engine at under 100 degrees temperature during
continuous 50mph level drives on cool days. But of course the temperature needs to be 160-230 Fahrenheit,
depending on the car (consult your owners manual). That means in most driving situations the cooling capacity must
be partially defeated. This is accomplished by the thermostat, which acts as a deliberate bottleneck, regulating the
amount of cooling to keep the temperature at a proper level. A somewhat typical thermostat would be closed until
180 Fahrenheit, after which it would open further as the temperature increases, until at 195 it’s completely open.
This means that in the 15 degrees between 180 and 195, the cooling capacity would go from 0 to the full capacity of
the system (enough to scoot up a long 6% grade at 65 mph carrying 5 people in a well designed and maintained
machine). Below is a graph showing how temperature increases with increased engine heat production (i.e., more
gas):
The portion in blue represents a level of heat production so small that it can be disbursed by the direct contact of the
engine with ambient air. In practice this might be achieved in the case of a 40mph wind blowing into the open hood
of a car idling in the deep of a northern Minnesota winter’s night, but otherwise this condition is never seen in real
life. An idling engine, and certainly driving, at anything resembling normal conditions requires radiator cooling.
NOTE: Don’t make the mistake of thinking the preceding diagram represents temperature versus time.
While that graph would look similar at the leftmost part of the graph, that’s not what’s being represented.
You can think of the preceding diagram as a graph of various driving conditions, each maintained for 10
minutes or more.
The violet portion represents heat production levels within the regulated cooling capacity of the cooling system. The
slight temperature gain across this range is due to the fact that the thermostat opens slowly and steadily over a range
of about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the normal operating range of the vehicle. Once the engine is warmed up, all
driving should be done in this range.
The red portion represents a heat production level beyond the cooling capacity of the cooling system. The
temperature goes sky high. On a well maintained vehicle, you would expect the red portion only when the car is
used beyond its design capabilities, like using a compact car to pull a trailer up a long 6% grade.
The bottom line is that on a well maintained vehicle, the bottleneck, by a huge margin, is the thermostat. Contrast
that with a vehicle with a compromised cooling system not capable of cooling a hard worked engine, or in extreme
cases even a lightly worked engine:
Here there’s no regulation. The entire graph is basically a straight line. Moderate hard usage sends the car into the
red. The operating temperature of a vehicle in this state of repair would vary widely with ambient temperature and
length of time driving. Typically no "normal operating temperature" can be identified for a vehicle in this condition.
Such a vehicle will almost certainly experience a catastrophic overheat the first time the driver takes a lengthy drive,
or drives in hot weather, or drives up a moderate hill.
The controlling bottleneck of this vehicle is not the thermostat -- it’s something else in the cooling system. The
automotive technician’s task is to find that bottleneck.
Steve Litt is the author of "Troubleshooting Techniques of the Successful Technologist". Steve can be
reached at slitt@troubleshooters.com.
Cost of an Overheat
By Steve Litt
This article is written primarily for the car owner. Professional Auto Techs know this information all too well, and
most do it yourself mechanics know it also. Anyone not knowing this information leaves himself vulnerable to
making some very bad decisions that will cost a great deal of time and money.
Sometimes you get lucky and an overheat can be corrected by fixing its root cause. But all to often, overheating --
even a single 3 minute incident -- can cause consequential damage that costs thousands to fix. An overheat is a very
bad thing.
The most common consequential damage is a broken head gasket. This happens when the head and block expand
differently than the head gasket, or even worse, when an aluminum head and a cast iron block expand at radically
different rates, breaking the head gasket. Bimetal engines, whether they be aluminum heads on a cast iron block, or
cast iron heads on an aluminum block, are likely to break head gaskets with the slightest overheat. Unfortunately,
replacing head gaskets is a big job requiring hours for even an experienced mechanic with all the right tools. For a
do it yourselfer, it could be prohibitively time consuming or even impossible. As a result, the cost of replacing a
head gasket ranges from $500.00 to $2500.00, depending on the make and model, and whether the heads must be
machined.
Broken head gaskets result from a moderate overheat, or even a mild overheat on a bimetalic engine. A more serious
overheat can bend or break the heads. Now you have a large parts cost to add to the huge labor charge for replacing
the head gasket(s). New heads cost hundreds, and machining heads is also costly.
Some folks consider continuing to drive the car with a broken head gasket. That’s a very bad idea if you want to
keep the car more than a year. Combustion gas in the coolant can easily cause even more severe overheats, plus it
can quickly cancel the anti-corrosion properties of your antifreeze, leaving you open to corrosion, leaks, and
blockages, all of which result in further overheating. If coolant gets into the oil, the oil’s lubricating ability is
compromised, leading to engine seizes, bearing freezes, and all sorts of other problems. If coolant gets into the
cylinders it can cause a broken starter, solenoid, or flywheel. Broken head gaskets often make the car run poorly,
and often make it a gross polluter, which can be costly indeed in states that enforce smog regulations.
Your engine was designed to operate at a certain temperature. When it operates colder than that, emissions go up,
efficiency goes down, and engine wear increases. This is why cars don’t drive as well cold as they do when they’re
"warmed up". On the opposite end, cars operating hotter than designed, even at temperatures lower than what it
would take to break a head gasket on a cast iron block/head combination, risk pre-ignition/detonation caused by too-
high engine temperature. Such pre-ignition/detonation can damage various components in your engine. If you’ve
ever driven a seriously overheated car you know it sounds much different, and it doesn’t sound good.
But what if you’re one of these wild and crazy guys who doesn’t shut down the car even when the temperature gauge
is pinned, there are huge clouds of steam coming out the hood, and the car has started running funny. You, my
friend, will most likely need a new engine. Extremely overheated engines seize, freeze, warp, and who knows what
else. Engines aren’t too expensive, but the labor is prohibitive, and all too often the new engine lasts 10,000 miles
and then blows up.
Added to those costs is the cost of having an unreliable vehicle. Cars that overheat once tend to overheat often;
unless an unusually competent and comprehensive repair job is done. Overheats results in a tow charges, missed
work, and even hazards to personal safety. It’s doubtful anyone’s personnel record lists "broken head gasket" as a
cause for job termination, but it just might list "excessive absence" and "unreliability".
I hope I’ve gotten your attention. A single overheat can cost you thousands. You need to know that, because during
the rest of this magazine I’ll be recommending preventive maintenance that costs nearly $100.00 per year, and
diagnostic procedures which cost almost $100.00 not counting the actual fix. When evaluating the cost of my
suggestions you must realize the cost of the alternatives -- $1500.00 to fix a head gasket, $300.00 for a new radiator
installed, and if you go to an incompetant Automotive Technician who practices diagnosis by serial replacement,
you’ll spend even more.
When viewed alongside the alternatives, $100.00/year to keep your cooling system healthy starts sounding
downright cheap.
Steve Litt is the author of Rapid Learning: Secret Weapon of the Successful Technologist. He can be reached
at slitt@troubleshooters.com.
Anatomy of an Overheat
By Steve Litt
In the simplest possible terms, any overheat must be caused by one of these five causes:
1. Grossly malfunctioning engine
2. Using the vehicle beyond its capabilities
3. Inadequate cooling system
4. Low coolant level
5. Inability to adequately transfer heat
SAFETY WARNING: When feeling hoses or in any way reaching into the engine compartment, wear eye
protection and take reasonable precautions to prevent getting burned. Never allow your fingers, hands, hair,
clothing, or other body part to come near the fan or belts. Remember that electric fans can suddenly turn on even if
the car is not running and the key is not in the ignition.
Although a collapsed bottom hose would cause an overheat, it’s possible that a massive radiator blockage caused the
collapsed hose. If you see a collapsed hose and it appears to have been the correct hose (i.e. it has a spring but the
spring failed), look very carefully for blockages in the radiator. Whatever the cause of the collapse, replace any
bottom radiator hose that has ever collapsed, and be sure to fix whatever caused the collapse.
NOTE: Running without a thermostat is a diagnostic test, not a solution. To reduce the risk of engine damage,
"thermostatless" operation should occur for the minimum time necessary to reproduce an overheat, or confirm that
the overheat does not occur in the absence of a thermostat.
Many people have successfully cured gas bubble problems by drilling a 1/8" hole in the thermostat. This hole lets
the gas rise past the thermostat, allowing the thermostat’s wax temperature sensor to once again contact coolant.
However, it’s possible that such a hole could cause some problems, so you might want to weigh that possibility.
Here are the instructions one Troubleshooters.Com visitor, A.S.E. certified master truck and auto mechanic Dennis
Buler, gave me for drilling the 1/8" hole:
Top view of thermostat. The violet dot at the 12 o’clock position of the rim is where
Dennis recommends drilling the 1/8" hole.
Side view of thermostat
Bottom view of thermostat
Dennis’ exact words were "i drill the hole in the flat disk part like half way between where the gasket would seal and
the center opening mechanism".
One more thing. Remember that a gas bubble can be caused by combustion gasses passed through a head gasket
breach. In such a case it’s likely you’ll need to replace your head gasket.
Corrosion
Corrosion can cause the following overheating mechanisms:
• Radiator leaks
• Radiator deposits and blockages
• Heater core leaks
• Heater blockages
• Hose deterioration (through electrolysis, in conjunction with heat, age and vibration)
• Head gasket breaches
• Water pump failures
• Thermostat failures
• Engine "hot spots"
As you can see, preventing corrosion goes a long way toward preventing overheats.
Corrosion happens when the coolant loses its anticorrosive properties. With standard antifreeze in a 50/50 mixture
this happens in about 2 years or 24,000 to 30,000 miles. Same with 50/50 propylene glycol or 100% propylene
glycol. There are several "extended life" antifreezes. Some, such as the GM "Dex-Cool" complient antifreezes
(Texaco/Havoline Dex-Cool and Prestone Extended Life 5/150), are designed to go 5 years or 150,000 miles
between changes. Many new GM cars come from the factory with this type of coolant. However, "long life"
coolants often revert to 2 years when mixed with other types of coolants, or when used in a system with trapped air
or rust/corrosion. Mixing antifreezes is generally a bad idea, and certain combinations can actually promote
corrosion.
Furthermore, encroachment of combustion gasses into the coolant via a head gasket breach can neutralize any
coolant’s corrosion inhibition long before the specified life.
Most antifreeze is extremely cheap. My local Discount Auto Center sells Prestone brand Ethylene Glycol standard
antifreeze for $6.99 a gallon, and Havoline Dex-Cool for the same price. You can get 3 gallons of high quality
ethylene glycol antifreeze for $21.00. Propylene glycol is less likely to poison animals and is a little more costly, as
are the various more exotic antifreezes. In my opinion, it’s time flush and change your antifreeze when:
• You see any rust in your antifreeze, and it’s been over 4 months since your last coolant replacement
• Corrosion or deposits are detected in your radiator, and it’s been over 6 months since your last coolant
replacement
• Different types of antifreezes have been mixed
• The cooling system needs service or diagnosis and the exact type and mixture of the coolant is unknown
• Your cooling system needs service requiring a major draining of coolant
• Somebody has used a "leak seal" type of product in the cooling system (these are usually temporary
stopgap measures, and often clog passages and components leading to further problems).
I personally believe that unless you know for certain that your cooling system is in perfect shape and always has
been, you should flush and change your coolant yearly. It’s such a low price for preventing corrosion. I personally
believe that if you’re using a 5 year/150,000 mile coolant, it’s best to change it every 3 years or 90,000 miles once
the car is out of warranty. If you have reason to believe there’s air, gasses, impurities, deposits or rust in the coolant,
2 year or 1 year intervals might be even better.
While we’re on the subject of economics of corrosion protection, distilled water is just too cheap not to use,
assuming you’re a car owner doing your own work. Distilled water costs about $0.70 per gallon, so for about $2.00
per year you can give the anticorrosives in your antifreeze a fighting chance by not introducing calcium, lime or who
knows what into your cooling system. This is especially important if your antifreeze uses phosphates as a corrosion
inhibiter, because phosphates react with calcium to produce radiator-clogging scale. Naturally, if you find yourself
low on coolant and need to get home, use tapwater. Never use softened water, as it contains salts that can quickly
corrode your cooling system.
If you can conquer the corrosion monster, you’re most of the way to making sure your car never has a single incident
of overheating.
Radiator Damage
Radiator damage retards proper air flow through the radiator, thereby causing or contributing to overheating. Also,
radiator damage can cause leaks, either immediately following the damage, or months or years later. Here are some
ways to lessen the chance of radiator damage:
• When doing your own work, handle the radiator like the fragile piece it is
• Use only competant automotive technicians
• Don’t crash your car, and if you do, replace a damaged radiator before it can cause overheating
• Check motor mounts frequently, and replace them when they break
A broken motor mount can allow the fan to rip through the radiator. Typical causes of premature failure of motor
mounts are aggressive driving and bad shocks.
Coolants 101
By Steve Litt
One could write a PHD thesis on coolants. This article simply strives to give a layman’s overview of the subject.
Automotive coolant is a mixture of two liquids:
• Water (ideally distilled)
• Antifreeze
The antifreeze consists of two types of components:
• Freeze inhibitors
• Corrosion inhibitors
Current antifreeze products inhibit freezing with either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. The former is a better
freeze inhibitor, boils at a higher temperature, and in a 50/50 to 70/30 mixture with water is a better absorber of heat.
The advantage of propylene glycol is it doesn’t smell or taste as sweet, so animals and small children aren’t as
tempted to drink it. This is important, because both ethylene glycol or propylene glycol are lethally poisonous in
small quantities. The other advantage of propylene glycol is that in a pure form it absorbs enough heat to be useful
as a coolant, whereas pure ethylene glycol is not useful as a coolant in its pure form.
Propylene glycol/water mixtures have the disadvantage of not being measurable with a traditional specific gravity
measurement tool. Instead these mixtures must be measured by the much more expensive refractometers. And, as
previously mentioned, at all but the most concentrated mixtures, ethylene glycol solutions are more efficient
coolants.
"Ordinary" antifreezes use ethylene glycol as their freeze inhibitor. "Environmental" antifreezes use propylene
glycol. Most of the new "long life" antifreezes use ethylene glycol. They derive their long life from their corrosion
inhibitors, not from a special freeze inhibitor.
Corrosion Inhibitors
As freeze inhibitors react with air and other chemicals over time, they become acidic. This causes corrosion to the
metal parts of the cooling system, and in fact can turn the whole system into a battery whose anodes (typically the
aluminum parts) are consumed. Within a very short number of years, the radiator, water pump, and even the hoses
are corroded and clogged. Once that happens, the overheating begins, leading to a broken head gasket or worse if the
compromised parts are not replaced. Corrosion protection is THE biggest factor in keeping a cooling system healthy.
Which is why antifreeze comes with corrosion inhibitors.
Ordinary "2 year" antifreezes use borates, phosphates and/or silicates as corrosion inhibitors. Most North American
standard antifreezes contain phosphates, which are great at corrosion protection, but can react with calcium in tap
water to produce radiator-clogging sentiment and scale. The harder the water, the more of a problem this becomes. If
you change your own coolant, you can avoid this by using only distilled water. At less than a dollar a gallon, it’s a
bargain.
Never use softened water in a cooling system. Softened water contains salt (NaCl), which becomes conductive in
water and turns your entire cooling system into a battery, destroying first your aluminum parts, and then going to
work on even the cast iron.
The new "extended life" antifreezes are the same as conventional antifreezes except for their corrosion inhibitors.
Most "extended life" antifreezes use organic acids instead of inorganic salts (borates, phosphates and silicates) for
corrosion protection. When used correctly, these organic acids are said to protect against corrosion for up to 5 years
and 150,000 miles. There have been a few reports of problems with corrosion on lead-soldered copper/brass
radiators protected with organic acids, and also a few reports of sludging with organic acids. These are discussed in
more detail in some of automotive author Larry Carley’s writings (URL in this magazine’s URL’s section). The two
organic acid technology antifreezes approved by GM are Texaco/Havoline Dex-Cool and Prestone Long Life 5/100.
From the car company’s point of view, organic acid corrosion inhibitors are great way to protect against warranty
problems caused by customer neglect. Most warranties are over by 5 years or 150,000 miles. Once your car is out of
warranty and you are responsible for its upkeep, even if your car came with extended life antifreeze there’s no reason
you can’t change the antifreeze more often. That way, if conditions are less than perfect, you’re improving your
cooling system’s chances. Texaco/Havoline Dex-Cool was selling for $6.99 a gallon at my local Discount Auto Parts
store -- the same price as conventional Prestone antifreeze.
Pre-Drain procedures
There exist various cooling system cleaners and flushers. The idea is that you add this liquid for 10 minutes and idle
with the heater on full blast, or with some cleaners run the car for 6 hours and then drain and flush. I cannot
comment on possible harmful side effects of these cleaners and flushers. I wouldn’t use them on a car that has had
annual coolant changes. They might be indicated on a car whose coolant is rusty, or a car whose radiator is partially
clogged. If you use these cleaners or flushers, try to research any possible side effects.
Single half-dilution
Some recommend simply draining the radiator once, refilling it with water, and then starting the flush procedure.
Thus only the radiator’s contents are brought to the licensed disposal facility. The antifreeze remaining in the engine
is diluted during flush and spilled onto the driveway and down the street gutters to the storm drain. Although the
flushing process greatly dilutes this antifreeze, it can still pose a grave danger for animals, it’s not environmentally
sound, and it’s probably illegal in most locations.
Single Half Dilution
PRO CON
• Safe for the engine • Illegal in most places
• Only the radiator petcock is • Spills dangerous amounts of antifreeze during later flush
touched • Spilled antifreeze runs down the street and into the storm drain
• Very quick • Any animal can drink it all along the way
• Very little material to dispose of • Risk of injury if done wrong
Flush
One flushing method is running a garden hose into the radiator fill pipe of a running car with the radiator petcock
open. This method isn’t particularly efficient.
The other way is to use a flush kit. The preceding section discussed its installation. To flush using a flush kit, do the
following on a car with a cold engine:
1. Screw a garden hose onto the back flow prevention coupler whose other end is connected to the flushing T
2. Make sure the radiator petcock is closed
3. Remove the radiator cap
4. Insert the deflector into the radiator fill pipe **
5. Turn the heater control onto the high position
6. Turn on the water to the garden hose
7. Start the car
** The deflector is made of a tough plastic. It snaps into the fill pipe with a tight pressure fit.
I believe that with an old corroded metal radiator, or a radiator with a plastic fill pipe, it’s
conceivable that such a press fit could damage the fill pipe. The only function of the
deflector is to move the spillage away from the car. You might decide it’s better to let the
water spill right out of the fill pipe.
Also, the deflector is too short to move the spilled water away from the car. If you use the deflector, you might want
to tape a short length of hose to it in order to move the spillage entirely away from the engine compartment and car.
Do not let the hose get anywhere near the fan, fanbelts, or other moving parts, or the result could be severe damage
or injury.
WARNING!
If you connect the back flow connector in the wrong direction, or
if the back flow connector malfunctions, or if you forget to
remove the radiator cap, it is possible for the car’s coolant to
"back up" into the hose and into the water supply. This is an
extreme sanitary breach, and if there are significant toxins in the
cooling system (flushing solutions and antifreeze are both very
toxic), people could be poisoned. Be VERY careful!
Run the car until the fluid coming out the radiator has been clear for five minutes. At that point your cooling system
can be considered flushed and clean.
2nd Drain
Shut down the engine and wait for it to cool. It shouldn’t be very hot because you’ve been moving cold water
through and out of it. If you’re using a flush kit, remove the back flow prevention coupler from the flushing T. Turn
the heater on full hot. Remove the radiator cap and open the radiator petcock. let drain. Because you have all clean
water in the system, there’s no need to drain the engine.
Add Coolant
Close the petcock. If you’re using the flush kit, leave the flush T open. Turn the heater to the full heat position. Open
any bleeder valves that are reasonably easy to open.
Look up in your owners manual the amount of antifreeze (not coolant, but the amount of antifreeze necessary to fill
the cooling system with 50/50 coolant (or whatever mixture you need to give freeze protection for your coldest
days). If your owners manual lists only the cooling system’s fluid capacity, divide that amount by 2 for the amount
of antifreeze to make a 50/50 mixture. If, in order to protect against freezing in extremely cold weather, you need a
60/40 mixture (60% antifreeze), multiply the cooling system fluid capacity by 0.6.
Put that amount of pure antifreeze in your radiator. Then top off with distilled water. Make sure you add enough to
bleed all air from the system. You should see some coolant come out the bleeder valves and/or flush T.
The reason you don’t simply add 50/50 is that the engine contains 100% water, so you could never reach 50/50 by
adding 50/50. Similar logic applies for any mixture percentage.
Close system
Close the bleeder valves. Put the cap on the flushing T. Install the radiator cap
Test
The big reason for testing is that air can get trapped in the system. Trapped air can cause overheats in two ways:
1. By creating a low coolant situation
2. By creating a bubble around the thermostat’s heat sensor, so that the thermostat "thinks" the engine is cool
and does not open
Most of the trapped air comes out within minutes after running the car. Some comes out for a few days after. As the
air comes out, it must be replaced by the desired mixture of coolant.
Run the car for several minutes, revving the motor every once in a while. Shut down instantly if the temperature
starts heading for redline. Otherwise, let it run for 15 minutes and then shut down. Open the hood, and fill the
reservoir to the "full, hot" mark with the proper mixture of coolant. Let the engine cool. Then open the radiator cap,
and if the coolant isn’t up to the top, top it off with the proper coolant mixture. Repeat until the cool engine doesn’t
require a top off.
Then, for the next few mornings, remove the radiator cap and verify that the coolant is up to the top, and if it isn’t,
top it off with the proper coolant mixture. Likewise, if the reservoir coolant level is below the "full, cold" level, top
off the reservoir with the proper mixture.
The water pump pushes cool coolant from the radiator into the engine, where heat from the engine is transferred into
the coolant, thereby cooling the engine. Assuming the thermostat is open or partially open, the hot coolant leaves the
engine through the thermostat and is transported to the radiator, where its heat is transferred to the air blowing
through the radiator, thereby cooling the coolant. The cooled water is then ready to once again go to the water pump.
Note that the areas in the engine through which the coolant flows are called the "water jacket". Note that some of
these areas include intentional holes in the head gasket. Those holes do not constitute a head gasket breach, because
there’s coolant on both sides. It’s only when a part of the head gasket separating coolant from combustion gasses
from oil that the head gasket is considered breached.
Note that a parallel coolant flow path goes through the passenger compartment heater. This is why it’s advised to
turn on your heater full blast in the case of an overheat (but remember never to jeopardize personal safety doing this,
and remember this is a last ditch workaround and the car should not continue to be driven under these
circumstances).
The airflow through the radiator depends on the fan at low driving speeds, but at high speeds most cars force air
through from the grille. Note also that the air conditioning coil assembly is in front of the radiator, so if the air
conditioning is on, the air flowing through the radiator will have been warmed by the air conditioner, thereby
reducing cooling efficiency. That’s why huge inclines like the Grapevine usually post signs to turn off your air
conditioner before beginning ascent.
In summary, the engine passes its heat to the coolant, which flows to the radiator and then passes its heat to the
radiator, which passes its heat to the air being blown through it. Any interference with this heat flow dangerously
reduces cooling capacity. If cooling capacity falls below the amount of heat generated by the engine, overheating
results. The answers to the following questions help determine the cooling capacity of the cooling system:
• Is the water jacket full of coolant?
• Are deposits in the water jacket reducing heat flow away from the engine? (hard to determine)
• Is coolant flowing swiftly and continuously while the thermostat is open?
• Is the radiator free of deposits that reduce coolant flow and heat transfer?
• Is the radiator filled to the top with coolant so that its entire surface transfers heat to the air?
• Is the radiator designed to transfer the amount of heat being generated, in the weather encountered?
• Does sufficient cool air flow through the radiator at driving speed ( >30mph)?
• Does the fan supply sufficient cool air flow through the radiator at low speeds and stops?
• Is the coolant free of combustion gasses and other gasses and contaminants?
Later in this Troubleshooting Professional issue these simple heat transfer questions will be transformed into
troubleshooting tactics.
The portion in blue represents a level of heat production so small that it can be disbursed by the direct contact of the
engine with ambient air. In practice this might be achieved in the case of a 40mph wind blowing into the open hood
of a car idling in the deep of a northern Minnesota winter’s night, but otherwise this condition is never seen in real
life. An idling engine, and certainly driving, at anything resembling normal conditions requires radiator cooling.
NOTE: Don’t make the mistake of thinking the preceding diagram represents temperature versus time.
While that graph would look similar at the leftmost part of the graph, that’s not what’s being represented.
You can think of the preceding diagram as a graph of various driving conditions, each maintained for 10
minutes or more.
The violet portion represents heat production levels within the regulated cooling capacity of the cooling system. The
slight temperature gain across this range is due to the fact that the thermostat opens slowly and steadily over a range
of about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the normal operating range of the vehicle. All driving should be done in this
range.
The red portion represents a heat production level beyond the cooling capacity of the cooling system. The
temperature goes sky high. On a well maintained vehicle, you would expect the red portion only when the car is
used beyond its design capabilities, like using a compact car to pull a trailer up the Grapevine.
The bottom line is that on a well maintained vehicle, the bottleneck, by a huge margin, is the thermostat. Contrast
that with a vehicle with a compromised cooling system not capable of cooling a hard worked engine, or in extreme
cases even a lightly worked engine:
Here there’s no regulation. The entire graph is basically a straight line. Moderate hard usage sends the car into the
red. The operating temperature of a vehicle in this state of repair would vary widely with ambient temperature and
length of time driving. Typically no "typical operating temperature" can be identified for a vehicle in this state. Such
a vehicle will almost certainly experience a catastrophic overheat the first time the driver takes a lengthy drive, or
drives in hot weather, or drives up a moderate hill.
The controlling bottleneck of this vehicle is not the thermostat -- it’s something else in the cooling system. The
automotive technician’s task is to find that bottleneck.
Steve Litt is the author of the Universal Troubleshooting Process course. He can be reached at
slitt@troubleshooters.com.
Did the overheat cause the busted head gasket, or did the
busted head gasket cause the overheat?
Overheated engines often break their head gaskets (and sometimes even bend or break the heads themselves). This is
especially likely on a bimetal engine, where the heads are aluminum and the block is iron, or vice versa. Two metals
expanding at different rates are an excellent way to stress both the metals and the gasket between them.
But did you know that a broken head gasket can CAUSE an overheat? Many mechanics don’t know this, but an
otherwise symptomless broken head gasket (no yellow gunk on the oil cap, no steam out the exhaust) can allow
combustion gasses from the cylinders to leak into the water jacket. Such leakage has several possible effects, all of
which make overheating more likely:
• These incredibly hot gasses are retained in the system instead of being blown out the exhaust, thereby
increasing heat production.
• The gas bubbles reduce heat conduction from block to coolant, and from coolant to radiator. Bubbles can
create destructive "hot spots" even in an engine whose overall temperature is within limits.
• A gas bubble can settle at the thermostat, insulating it from the engine’s heat and preventing the thermostat
from opening.
• Depending on the volume of gas poured into the coolant, and the geometry and configuration of the cooling
system, the gas can create huge pressures which continuously push excessive coolant out to the reservoir,
thereby overflowing the reservoir and creating a low coolant condition.
Sometimes the pressure created by the combustion gasses do not force coolant out, but instead build up until the
combustion gasses are "burped" out the radiator cap and into the reservoir. Such a situation can create "cyclic
overheating", in which the temperature raises and lowers at regular intervals (20 minutes has been often reported to
Troubleshooters.Com). Another possible mechanism for cyclic overheating is where the elevated temperature
"seals" the hole in the head gasket, which then opens again when the temperature returns to normal.
Occasionally "incidental overheating" is reported to Troubleshooters.Com. This means that after the engine warms
up, it overheats, and then continued driving brings it back to normal temperature for the remainder of the drive. I
would suspect this is a combustion gas caused overheat which happens only while warming up. Another explanation
for "incidental overheating" is the gas bubble that settles on the thermostat, insulating it from the engine’s heat and
preventing it from opening. When something finally happens to dislodge the bubble (a bump, a burp, whatever), the
thermostat opens and all gas is blown out into the radiator, eliminating the cause of the problem (until the next time
the car stands cool long enough to develop a gas bubble).
NOTE: Theoretically there can be many sources of gas in the coolant. The bubble surrounding thermostat
hypothesis can be tested by temporarily removing the thermostat. If the symptom disappears, it’s either a bad
thermostat or a bubble surrounding the thermostat. Then install a known good replacement thermostat. If
the problem reappears, the problem was a bubble surrounding the thermostat.
Incidental overheats that happen early in every drive, and then return to normal temperature, should be
investigated for an air bubble surrounding the thermostat.
Never run a car without a thermostat for an extended period of time. Modern cars must be run within tight
parameters to prevent abnormal wear and tear.
The common thread in all these head-gasket caused symptom is that they’re caused by gasses in the coolant (usually
itself caused by head gasket failure). Replacing the radiator or water pump won’t fix the head gasket. At best,
installing a higher capacity radiator may reduce the severity of such an overheat. The mechanic and customer need
to know if a head gasket breach is allowing combustion gasses into the coolant. Fortunately there are two quick and
easy tests:
• Block tester test
• Smog sniffer test
A block tester is a device that can be bought from a NAPA store. It has dye which changes color in the presence of
exhaust gasses. From what I understand, you can get about 6 tests from one block tester, and the block tester costs
around $45.00. The quote I got from my local NAPA dealer was $45.99. He didn’t have it in stock, but said he could
have it the next day. The relevant NAPA catalog is called "The PSA 2000 catalog" or the "Balkamp Catalog". The
catalog calls the Block Tester a "combustion leak tester kit", so that’s probably what you should ask for. From what I
understand, it comes with a ball, tubes, test fluid, aspirator bulb and engine adapter (cone shaped device you place in
your radiator filler cap). If there’s exhaust in your coolant the test fluid changes color.
From what I understand, a smog sniffer is an even better method. The smog sniffer is placed above the radiator filler
cap, and the HydroCarbon (HC) level is measured. Use extreme care to prevent any contact between the coolant and
sniffer probe, as contact with the coolant will ruin the probe. I understand that the car should be warmed up (but not
overheated) before performing this test.
Did the overheat cause coolant loss, or did the coolant loss
cause the overheat?
An overheated engine will always spew water out the reservoir, creating a low-coolant situation. Likewise, a low
coolant situation will likely cause an overheat (which of course will result in further coolant loss). Was low coolant
the root cause, or was it just a symptom? Obviously, the problem will remain until the root cause is fixed.
The answer is found using a pressure test, together with head gasket tests. There are four places your coolant can go:
1. Out an external leak from a hose, water pump, radiator, etc.
2. Out the reservoir as a result of excess pressure from an overheat or combustion gas leakage
3. Into the cylinders through a broken head gasket
4. Into the oil through a broken gasket
#4 can be ruled in or out by observing the oil and oil cap. #3 can be pretty well deduced by observing the exhaust,
especially on startup. #2 can be deduced with a block tester or smog sniffer. And #1 can be deduced by a pressure
test.
In a pressure test, the mechanic removes the radiator cap (after the engine has cooled, obviously), and replaces it
with a cap attached to a pump with a pressure gauge. He pumps it up to a pressure above your system’s rated
pressure, and observes whether it can hold that pressure for 2 minutes or more. If not, there’s a leak. The next step is
visual observation to find the location of the leak. If it can’t be seen, the next step might be to place an ultra-violet
reactive dye in the coolant, pump up the pressure, and look for leaks under an ultraviolet light.
While it’s possible for a pressure test to push coolant through a break in the head gasket into cylinders or oil, often
such leakage requires a greater pressure than that developed by the pressure test. This is why a successful pressure
test does not rule out a broken head gasket.
Obviously, any leaks must be fixed. Once it’s confirmed that there are no leaks, other causes can be confidently
investigated.
Steve Litt is the main author of Samba Unleashed. He can be reached at slitt@troubleshooters.com.
Narrow it Down
If the General Maintenance was done properly, there’s probably little you need to do in narrowing it down. Resolve
any uncertainties with tests designed to narrow the scope of the problem, always keeping in mind that overheats
often have multiple causes, especially in the case of head gasket problems.
Does it overheat more in stop and go traffic, or cruising at 65mph? The former implicates the fan or shroud, the
latter tends to rule out the fan and shroud.
Test
Owner Testing
The mechanic himself should have driven the car long enough to see it stabilize at a running temperature. If it
doesn’t stabilize, the repair is not complete.
Mechanic Testing
First, drive under normal conditions to verify that the temperature stabilizes at a reasonable figure. If it does, this
takes guts, but I recommend a trip over a peak like the Grapevine (but no air conditioning please, cars aren’t
designed to take that kind of abuse). If the temperature doesn’t stabilize, shut it down long before the temperature
gauge redlines. When it cools, fill the coolant, turn around and limp home. Consult the mechanic.
Take Pride
The car no longer overheats. You can drive it over the Grapevine (or whatever passes for the Grapevine in your
area). Take a moment to reflect on the fact that there was no voodoo or magic, just a root cause (possibly with
consequential damage) that the mechanic and customer found and vanquished. Rejoice in the fact that you’ll now
pay regular attention to your temperature gauge, discover your car’s baseline behavior, and take quick corrective
steps when your car deviates from that baseline behavior. No more destructive overheats for you.