Overheating after not even 3 mins running....

[EmRaH87]

Okay guys, my partners car (2007 VE Sedan) is being a defective horrible thing that it is...... We drove it about 250m down the road and it overheated, that was after it sat all night in the garage, it did the same thing yesterday afternoon (that was when the issue began). It has plenty of water, its not leaking or hissing but it was boiling (the same sound an electric jug makes just before it turns off), the fans were going nuts and it smelled really hot. Help, I have about 4 different ideas about what it might be, Water Pump, Thermostat, Cracked hose or possibly a cracked head (will check the oil when I go back out to where we left it.

 

[B-Man]

doubt it could even get to operating temperature after 3 mins.

have you taken the rad cap off and started it?
have you looked in the radiator? is there oil/weird substance,bubbles, a water fountain, (when running)

 

[EmRaH87]

So I just checked the oil and there is none..... Pretty sure I've figured out the problem....

 

[mpower]

So I just checked the oil and there is none..... Pretty sure I've figured out the problem....

one wonders why the car wasn't screaming at you about oil?

 

[XUV]

So I just checked the oil and there is none..... Pretty sure I've figured out the problem....

how, did you lose a sump plug ???

 

[commodore665]

So I just checked the oil and there is none..... Pretty sure I've figured out the problem....

How did this happen , and how often do you check the oil ?

 

[EmRaH87]

Okay guys, it's not my car to begin with, therefore oil and stuff isn't my responsibility, I only checked it out cos my boyfriend asked me to see if I could figure out what was going on, so I don't know when he last checked it or changed it, I was just looking for some "helpful" opinions. I made him check the sump plug and there looks to be a leak but not from the plug itself and its been leaking for a while by the looks of it. Anyway so it's been filled with oil and we took it for a run, it took a bit longer (about 8mins) but it still overheated and made the same boiling noise. Any helpful ideas?

 

[SweetWagon]

It's sounds like the system is either not pressurising or not circulating the coolant. I would get a pressure test done, if ok then replace pressure cap and bleed it correctly. if the overheating persists, you may need to look at thermostat or waterpump as next options.

 

[ChRiDDa]

My money would be on the thermostat - Probably 'sticking' in the closed position by the sounds of it - May open a little further on occasions, which allows the extra time before it overheats, others, may not open at all, causing the vehicle to overheat quite quickly

Make no mistake, a sticking thermostat will cause a car to overheat in a matter of minutes - Doesn't take long for the coolant inside the motor to boil

Swine of a job to do on a VE V6, as the thermostat is located at the rear, near the firewall