How I Cooled an Overheating Car Engine

1. Recently, my car engine overheated while I was driving alone uphill on a dark and lonely country road. I first realized something was wrong because of a hissing sound. Ideally, I should have realized first from the temperature gauge. However, since I had not experienced an overheating car in just over 12 years with this (or any other) car, I had dropped the habit of and did not immediately consider checking the temperature gauge.
-- --
(In case you are wondering, I drive a Mitsubishi Lancer 2001 and first changed the radiator in 2004, shortly after buying the car. Everyone with whom I have discussed this matter was impressed that the radiator lasted as long as it had. Without technical expertise, I attribute the longevity of the radiator to the relatively low mileage, now at 140 km. In fact, it would have been considerably less had it not been for the fact that someone else accumulated more mileage on the car over 2 months than I ever did over a period of one year).

.

2. So back to that fateful night! I even stopped once at a roundabout but doubted myself regarding the hissing sound and its urgency before driving off again, this time up an even steeper hill. When the hissing continued, I stopped again just before leaving a community area. What was that hissing sound? My heart sank violently when I finally caught glimpse of the heat gauge. The needle was nearly at the top of the gauge. I turned off the engine, put on the hazard lights, grabbed my bag and jumped onto the curb with fearful thoughts of an engine fire. To exacerbate my anxiety, my mechanic would be unavailable for just over a week. After a few minutes of deciding that the car was not going to burst into flames, I locked myself in the car to decide on my next move.

3. Still overcome by fears of an engine fire, I allowed the car engine to cool.

--

--

4. Fortunately, I had parked just uphill of a community center. In fact, the community center was in eye sight to the extent that I could see a few people who had not yet left for the night. Whew! When the engine was cold again, I nervously started the engine and drove the very short drive towards the community center. If you feel sufficiently safe and are able, walking the distance is worthwhile for keeping the engine cool.

The men at the community center assured me in a matter-of-fact way that the situation was not as dangerous as I had thought and that, after pouring water into the radiator, I could even make it home safely, some 10 minutes away via a few more lonely areas. I found this slightly irritating since they had not actually been able to look inside the engine. However, they felt confident on the basis of my account of the events. They even spoke of situations in which people drive as I have without risk to my health or damage to the car. In my mind, the moral of their stories was that, when alone in a situation like that, it was probably a blessing in disguise that I had driven out of the completely desolate area and to safety when I first heard the hissing. Safety first! In other words, an otherwise good working car is likely to be capable of carrying you to a safe place shortly after it begins to overheat.

5. What they did next was what I had to repeat for roughly a week before I could get a mechanic to tend to the problem. Only when the engine was certainly cool again, we removed the radiator cap. Beware! Removing the cap when the engine is still hot can cause scalding. Consequently, determine the temperature of the car engine by the temperature gauge only.

6. We refilled the radiator with water until it was possible to see the surface of the water when looking into the radiator. In reality, coolant is the ideal liquid for the radiator. It runs through the radiator and engine to keep the engine cool. However, since any liquid may leak out during overheating episodes, you can save money by using water. (Beware; consider your climate. Using water in the radiator works well in my tropical environment but may be unsuitable in winter conditions). In other words, buy coolant only when a leak-related overheating episode is resolved. There is an overflow reservoir that allows exchange of water (or coolant) with the radiator. Do not fill this to the rim since the radiator may need to channel excess liquid into it. I simply covered the bottom of the reservoir and, when pouring water into the radiator, I allowed the water level to exceed the tiny overfill hole that exists just below the rim of the radiator. That hole allows the water exchange with the reservoir.

.

7. I observed whether a water leak occurs and its severity. This will help in determining the frequency with which water replenishment is necessary. During the week, I still had not had anyone look under or deep inside the engine to verify the cause of the overheating. However, we observed that water dripped from the radiator when we refilled it. This dripping is not normal. After the week, the drip rate hastened and therefore required me to check the water level before each trip.

8. Consider possible root causes for the leak (or other observations) in stages that involve observation followed by graded remedial action that increases in scope (and cost). When the mechanic took a preliminary look, he was uncertain whether the problem was truly the radiator given 2 key observations: 1) the hissing sound I had heard on the first night of my ordeal and 2) he saw dripping occurring from the base of the bottom hose which connects with the car engine thermostat. Since the bottom hose can crack over time, he replaced the bottom hose and clamps as an initial approach as a means of saving money if the problem can be resolved less expensively without changing the radiator. However in my case, the drip rate accelerated after this point, consequently, he then changed the radiator and used coolant the following day. It turns out that the radiator had cracked at the point that a pipe connects the hose with the bottom hose.

9. Since the whole overheating ordeal, the car engine has never overheated despite the fact I no longer pour water or coolant into it. Furthermore, I have resumed the habit of checking the temperature gauge now and endeavour to continue doing so routinely while I drive.