Running without a thermostat valve

[jaguarpw]

The plastic top cracked bec the plastic is like a fuse for your radiator. Its designed to give incase of overheat to protect your head gasket.

Upon reading this thread I can't help but reply because last Sunday, this is exactly wht happened to my car . I was navigating a winding uphill climb on a mountainous municipality - a route that i have never tried before. I could feel the strain on the engine as I sometimes downshift to 1st gear when i need all the torque i can get. I also shutoff the aircon. All the while, the temp gauge in the dash indicated normal, so there was no worry whatsoever on my mind.

Then i heard an explosion and steam was coming out of the hood. Upon opening the hood, i found the radiator plastic cover was broken; I picked up the broken piece few meters away. It was a classic example of overheat. Thank God my engine was okay.

So yesterday, I replaced my radiator. I also charged 2L coolant.

Now my question is: Why did my temperature gauge fail to indicate the hotness? Is my thermostat ok? So far, during cold start, the pointer is at "C" (cold), then after a while of driving, the pointer goes to around 25% to 40% mark but never from my experience did it exceed 40%. That's why nagulat nalang ako nang biglang sumabog.

My plan is to verify if my radiator fan does work. Am i right that it should start automatically once it senses the prescribed temperature?

Another concern is: once you experience an overheat, what should you be on lookout for? I was told that the cylinder head might have been damaged nd that one sign of this is bubbles in the radiator. So far naman, I couldn't see any bubbles when i cahrged water and let the engine run at idle. So does this mean, wla problema cylinder head and gaskets ko?

Thanks in advance for your ideas....

[eyshmechanic]

Another concern is: once you experience an overheat, what should you be on lookout for? I was told that the cylinder head might have been damaged nd that one sign of this is bubbles in the radiator. So far naman, I couldn't see any bubbles when i cahrged water and let the engine run at idle. So does this mean, wla problema cylinder head and gaskets ko?

Thanks in advance for your ideas....

yes check the cylinder head. it warps when overheated kaya nagkakaroon ng space with the engineblock. it is possible na umandar sya pero check mo kung may langis ang radiator or may lubig ang langis. kung wala naman baka ok nga

[mbeige]

My guess is that the increase in temperature already crossed the limit at which the radiator can sustain, so it just blew and you didn't see any rise in coolant temperature. However, if the radiator was still good, you would have seen the temperature rise above normal during that climb, and then subside back to its normal reading once you're back on level ground.

Uphill drives usually strain the engine more. Another thing is if the engine is not used to the climb, or not used to being pushed and then it was your first time to do so after years of normal city driving, then binigla mo yung makina and its cooling system. Cars love to be driven.

It's actually not a classic example of overheat, but a classic example of radiator failure. It happens, it's happened to me when I took our 1.3L Corolla '95 model year on a spirited drive back home. The car is not used to being pushed and it's very hard to get some decent power out of it, so when I tried, the radiator blew, minutes away from our house luckily. Parked in the garage and shut her off just in time.

Pretty sure when the radiator top blew, only then did the engine temp gauge read that it's overheating. ;)

[DonT]

Pretty sure when the radiator top blew, only then did the engine temp gauge read that it's overheating. ;)

Yes, as we all know, change in pressure in any system can be felt almost instantenously, while Temperature change in any system is slow.

Hence, the idea of installing a self acting Temperature valve which only opens when the system temperature is reached.

[jaguarpw]

Thanks for ur ideas guys. Tonight when i get home, I'll check if my radiator has oil or vice versa - engine oil has coolant water. Either way, a sign of damaged head gasket.

I guess I'm partly to blame because naabuso ko na ang makina. I had the confidence because I have driven twice to Bukidnon already kaso lang, hindi ganun kalayo ang distance ng uphill. Upon the incident, itinabi ko car at pinahinga muna ang makina, all the while watching the vehicles passing us by. And ni isa wala akong nakitang sedan. Mostly were cargo trucks, pickups, and passenger jeepneys w/ overflowing passengers. So I said to myself, my car has gone where no car had gone before hehe.

At least now I know kung hanggang saan lang kaya ng car ko. Pero I think ang driving style ko din ang culprit kasi nagconvoy kami nun and ang sinusundan ko is diesel pickup. I didn't want to lag too far behind kaya ayun, todo downshift and todo-rev. Kung sana cool lang ako kahit medyo mabagal, di siguro bibigay ang radiator.

Pero I won't drive my car there anymore. Pang-trucks and SUV's lang talaga dun.

to mbeige: yup radiator failure pala

[youngrider]

Palagay ko okey pa yang temperature sender mo. Yang radiator mo was bound to crack na talaga, lumulutong yung plastic parts (stress points) nyan habang tumatagal. Nagyari na sa akin yan with a 13y.o. factory installed radiator. Yung vitara ng cousin ko nayari din nyan.

Luckily, di naman na-damage cylinder heads namin nag palit lang kami ng radiator. Syempre hinto kami agad, luwa lahat mata ng mga taong dumadan pero ok lang, kantyawan na lang kami.

Well, while you are still looking if your head has been damaged, at kailangang gamitin mo talaga yang car mo, I think wag mo munang ilagay yung thermostat, at least tuloy tuloy flow or supply ng coolant mo sa engine.

Una di kaagad tataas temp mo ikalawa, mas magandang i-test kung me tama head pag malamig pa makina. Ganito gawin mo, while the engine is dead cold, fill the radiator up to its neck, leave the radiatir cap out, start the engine.

Pag me tama head mo bubulwak agad coolant kahit cold pa engine lalo na pag medyo tinaas mo idle. Ibalik mo cap, me bula kanamang makikita sa reservoir which if you continue running you engine at higher rev mapupuno yang reservoir at tatapon na tubig sa vent nya.

Pag okey ang head mo, balik mo na thermostat valve mo. Pa-tune up mo narin engine mo di naman ata normal na gumapang ka uphill unless napakatarik yung inaakyat mo at lahat halos ng sasakyang dumadaan dyan ay parang pagong ang usad.

Pero ingat ka sa mga SIRANIKO, pwede i-post mo muna details ng problema engine mo dto kung meron man.

Cheers po.

[youngrider]

Double posting.

[youngrider]

Yung thermostat valve mo pala, palagay ko okey pa din yan, at least hindi stucked close na mas delikado. Kung nasa yo pa to, at di nakakabit dapat naka close yan. Ngayon, ilaga mo thermostat, makikita mo unti-unti itong bubuka until fully open na sya habang umiinit ang tubig unless busted na.

Yung bagong plasticized radiators di dapat nagka-crack o sumasabog kahit tumaas pa temperature ng engine mo o kahit mag build up pa-pressure sa cooling sytem mo kahit paakyat kapa sa bundok (given the other parts of the cooling sytem within specs), pero habang tumatagal bumibigay yung mga stress points nya.

[youngrider]

Sori double post again. Browser error na naman.

[jaguarpw]

thanks youngrider. I appreciate ur reply.

By the way last night, I wanted to check if my fans (there are 2 of them) work properly. Upon starting the engine from cold standby, neither fan started. THis is normal since the engine is stil warming up. I turned on the A/C and one fan started rotating. I let the engine idle for several minutes with the A/C on because i wanted to see that the 2nd fan will operate. The temp gauge reached 35%. I drove around the block, but still only one fan was running.

So my questions are: when is the time when both fans will be running? How does each fan function, or how do you call each fan? Aux fan ba ang tawag sa 2nd fan? Because I'm suspecting na isa lang fan ang umandar at that time na nagfail ang radiator ko, or worse, nung pinatay ko ang A/C, patay din ang fan... so all the while, baka nga walang fan talaga kya nag overheat