over heating effects on engine

[garfa]

hi,
how can i tell if my car is damaged from over heating due to having no coolant. eg head warped, siezed...... is the temp guage in the oil or the coolant lines? because if its in the cooant lines then if theres no coolant then theres no reading on the guage.
thanks any help would be great.

 

[hako]

The temp gauge sensor is in the coolant passage and will still register temperature without coolant being present but it will then be registering the temperature of the surrounding metal and not the coolant. The only way to safely monitor whether coolant is present is to install a coolant sensor - these are available from Auto places.
If you cook your motor you will not know whether it is buggered till you allow it to cool down properly and refill with water, then start - if it seems OK then keep those fingers crossed as lady luck may have been on your side. If the motor is running rough throw your rabbits foot away as it ain't working and you've likely got a warped head or worse. More heads are cracked by people adding cold water to a overheated motor - if they'd waited till it cooled to almost cold they may have been OK. Good Luck.

 

[kas699]

can anyone help me out.my vs is going crazy the temp gauge is up and down like a yo yo how can i tel if my car is really getting hot or if its just the senor that needs replacing.i put a new thermosat in it bit that wasnt the problem.its as if the fan doesnt kick in ealier enough and cuts out to soon.

 

[holden#1]

i have been told by a mechanic that a VS Ecotec should sit around half way on the temp. gauge. any less and engine is not operating as efficiently as it could. i find my gauge fluctuates between 1/4 & 3/4, all over the place. i spose thermo fan setups are just like that, (or is this not right?). my VS has operated in this fashion for the past three years and does not seem to have any bad effects. when i first purchased car, it worried me as i was used to cars that reached operating temp, then sat there rain, hail or shine. Then again, on highway runs seems to sit steady at 1/4 around town is when it really fluctuates which makes sense i spose. any experiences to share fellas....

 

[feistl]

Hey guys, What do you mean all over the place? Are we talking it will go from 1/4 to 3/4 in 2 minutes in traffic, or the gauge going up and down in 3 seconds. If your in peak hour it should be going up and down, the thermofans come on at 3/4 and will turn off when the engine gets below 1/2 (i think). This is completly normal. If its rapidly going up and down it will be the sensor. There is no way to change an engine temp that rapidly.

 

[holden#1]

yeah i believe i am experiencing normal thrmo fan operation, but does not sound like kas699's is very normal.

 

[kas699]

yea my car temp goes up to 3/4 of the way in like 1 minute.i turn the air con on to get the fan to kick in.im only worried because it never use to go that high it only use to get about 1/4 of the way up and it would stay there.im going to order a new senor tomorrow and c how we go with that

 

[feistl]

First replace the thermostat, It will cost ya less than $10, all though it may not be the problem it cannt hurt to change.

 

[kas699]

yea i spent $20 today on a new one but it didnt help at all.

 

[Konker]

temp sender unit aint very much either.