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Car Problems (overheating)
urahonky
Cynical Old ManRegistered User regular
Cynical Old ManRegistered User regular
I've had this Ford Contour for about 3 years now, and every 2-3 months I have to put about a grand into it for repairs. The new thing my car is doing (though, truthfully, it's been like this for about 6-8 months but it's gotten MUCH worse now) is overheating.
Basically I'll put in engine coolant and it'll be fine for.... 2 weeks max now. Then the dial will start indicating that it is overheating. Each time I look at my coolant it's always BONE dry!
I've looked around for a leak but haven't seen any. So do you guys have any ideas what's going on? Is there a radiator fluid or something that is screwing up? Should I be worried about this? Also, when I turn on my heat to hopefully release some of the hot air from the engine (sorta cooling it down) more often than not it's shoots out lukewarm air for 5 minutes, then 1 minutes of blazing hot air. Is that a bad sign?
Alternatively, where would one go to find information to fix cars? I'm tired of being raped by the mechanic. I swear I've put my mechanic's family through college.
Basically I'll put in engine coolant and it'll be fine for.... 2 weeks max now. Then the dial will start indicating that it is overheating. Each time I look at my coolant it's always BONE dry!
I've looked around for a leak but haven't seen any. So do you guys have any ideas what's going on? Is there a radiator fluid or something that is screwing up? Should I be worried about this? Also, when I turn on my heat to hopefully release some of the hot air from the engine (sorta cooling it down) more often than not it's shoots out lukewarm air for 5 minutes, then 1 minutes of blazing hot air. Is that a bad sign?
Alternatively, where would one go to find information to fix cars? I'm tired of being raped by the mechanic. I swear I've put my mechanic's family through college.
urahonky on
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Unless you guys think it's important, then I will.
Honestly, if you've had this car for 3 years and have been putting $1000 into it every 2-3 months why are you even still driving this car? You could buy a cheap used car for a couple thousand that won't require that much money that often.
Yeah if the coolant isn't bubbling, I'd take it in to a shop and have them see if they can find a leak. That will involve spending money on an hour or two of labor, like $100-$200 depending on where you go, which is why I recommend the bubble check first.
Because every time I start to save up I get hit by another repair. I can't take out a loan, because I'm already up to my balls in student loans that I don't want to add MORE debt to myself.
I'll have to wait till the parents come home to see if I notice any bubbling. My dad put the coolant somewhere and I can't seem to find it. I'll report back what I see.
Do you guys have a preference on who you take it to? I'd rather not take it back to the last place (Big O Tires) because every time I do I end up paying out the ass for stuff. Even if the guy was nice.
Are places like Midas or whatever any better than another place? Or does it really matter on who's working there?
I would check sites such as Yelp for independent shops in your area. But yes, it really does boil down to whoever is working there.
He's independent I think.
And I had a blown headgasket in my Nissan Sentra, did exactly the same thing, overheating. I think it cost around $400-500 to get fixed.
And when you ditch the Ford, I recommend an import. Personally, I'm still with Nissan, but my family's also had excellent results from Toyotas and Mazdas. My 92 Sentra went from 169000 to 289000 over 3 years with less than $3000 in costs for regular maintenance and repairs, and so far my 98 Pathfinder has gone from 149000 to 320000 over 5 years with less than $3000 invested.
I was thinking a Nissan or Honda Civic. I want one with good gas mileage (duh, who wants one with bad gas mileage?). Supposedly buying a car from a place like Enterprise is a good idea, but I've not looked into it just yet.
Carmax and Craigslist are your friend though.
Well my friend bought one from there for dirt cheap and it looks flawless, and my fiance bought her for dirt cheap and it's still running after 6 years. But that could just be luck, as I must have killed a Car God in my past life or something.
This is wrong, antifreeze also raises the boiling point by up to 30 degrees, and that can be crucial depending on your car and location.
@OP: I'd take it in to the shop and have them take a look at it, you must have a leak somewhere.
I'll have to talk to my friend Jerry. He may be able to help me out with this. I'm so terrible at cars it's not even funny. I'm thinking I should really take a class at a local uni to learn something about repairs.
Checked, and it's at the normal level.
Monday I'm going to give my old mechanic a call and see about how long his "backlog" is, if I bring it in on Friday that week (the only day I don't have class).
Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.
I.E. My car will start leaking profusely after turning it on 1 minute1, but I narrowed the problem down to the return hose from the heater core and will fix it within a few days.
That's generally a good indicator if it's a hose/clamp leak or if it's going through the engine.
Also, there are other spots that could be leaking, such as the heater core. You'd definitely need to get the system pressure-tested at a shop to find that. (since you're not complaining about funky smells)