Over heating question

[DA92CB7]

Yesterday I thought I might have blown my head gasket but after driving it again today I am still a little skeptical. My question is what other possibilities are there when your car starts to over heat at idle only and when at speed the temp gauge goes down substantially?

[_-91accord-_]

Might be a dumb question but have you checked the coolant level, mabey its low

[foamypirate]

As stated, check your coolant level. Also, make sure your fans are turning on.

[Djmoua]

Possibilities would be...
-white smoke comin out of the front of your car.
-you having to shut off engine.
-Let engine cool off..about an hour...or 30 minutes.
-Add clean water to your Radiator.
I pretty much told ya what to do if it so happens.
...but yeah...depends on your coolant lvl too.

BTW!..check your radiator hoses/lines...check for build ups or puffy parts on those hoes! haha..if any...you gotta replace em.

[DA92CB7]

its not the coolant levels and after I shut the motor off the fan runs for a while too so its not the fan or the coolant.

[12gage]

Check the thermostat. You never know.

[bmxfelon420]

odd, when mine did that the reservoir was bone dry. Filling it to the fill line corrected that problem.

[91whitecb7]

fan switch, your fans arent kicking on

[chrischhorn]

fan switch, your fans arent kicking on

he just said his fans are runnin by the time he turns off the car and gets out.....im gonna guess thermostat though. Do you have any issues with running cold or anything else that we need to know about? Is there coolant in the oil or vice versa?(does it look creamy in either oil or coolant?)

[mozzandherb]

It's either a h/g, or your rad isent working, or your thermostat, or a warped head, and double check when the fans go on and double check your coolant levels

[xfactortype1]

guys maybe the temp guage is just bad

they tend to read false high when they start to go.

[xfactortype1]

it could be a fan switch still!

he just said his fans are runnin by the time he turns off the car and gets out

that conctroled by the fan timer unit under the dash, and not the fan switches in the inlet and outlet housings.

start your car and let it warm up until the guage is about half way. pop your hood to see if you fans kick on. if it starts to get read hot and fans dont come then check the hoses. if the upper hose is hot and the lower is cooler or cold then the thermostat isnt opening and needs to be replaced. it they are both hot then look at fan switches. but when it starts to read hot does it idle funny or smoke. it could be just faulty guage.

you can also check your coolant level, and how old is the radiator cap? it might not be holding pressure and itll affect the cooling capacity of the coolant itself.

as far as the fan switches go the passenger side fan is controlled by the switch in the thermostat housing. and the other a/c fan (dirver side) is controlled by the switch in the outlet housing.

passnger side should come on first as coolant heat up then a/c fan second as it gets hotter.

goodluck x

[Losiracer2]

also, check for any cracks in your radiator. I remember my temp gauge used to fluctuate when I came to a stop at a light, I found out that I had a crack along the upper part of the rad. tank causing the car to get hot, but not exactly overheat....it would go near the H on the gauge (got close to overheating though).