coolant temp warning

soma

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2017
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
hello everyone,
I had my radiator changed. I drove it home and kept the car idling for about 10 minutes. When i popped the good to check the work, I noticed that the fan was not connected.

is there any warning light of coolant overheat because i didn't see any, only the gauge reading close to H. No steam from coolant but only burning rubber smell.

should I be worried. What sort of inspection should I perform to ensure no damage was done to engine?

thank you
 

Dino Dino Bambino

I have a red car
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Posts
3,880
Reaction score
1,751
Location
Cyprus
I doubt there's any engine damage but you can put your mind at ease by checking the oil for any emulsification, and by checking the exhaust tailpipes for any steam when the engine's fully warmed up. Either would indicate a leaking head gasket and their absence should reassure you that all is well.
The burning rubber smell was probably the coolant hoses getting very hot.
 

702GT

S197 Fanatic
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Posts
2,060
Reaction score
52
Location
Las Vegas
hello everyone,
I had my radiator changed. I drove it home and kept the car idling for about 10 minutes. When i popped the good to check the work, I noticed that the fan was not connected.

is there any warning light of coolant overheat because i didn't see any, only the gauge reading close to H. No steam from coolant but only burning rubber smell.

should I be worried. What sort of inspection should I perform to ensure no damage was done to engine?

thank you

The stock temp/oil gauges are stupid. So is the fuel and battery gauge for that matter. DDB has you covered on things to check out. Moving forward, if you're really into your mustang hobby, you should do some basic gauges (Coolant Temp, Oil Pressure, Wideband). You can do them all for about $250. The more accurately and actively you can monitor your cars vitals, the faster your response time can be in the event of a situation. Can be diagnostically valuable too.

IMO I think you're fine, but if the stock gauge was close to "H" you were certainly in the danger zone. The stock gauge usually won't budge passed "normal" until like 238 degrees I think (could be wrong, pretty sure I remember some tech references about it though). If your coolant cap wasn't in good shape and blew off, you could have been in deep doo. A lot of people don't test their coolant caps for pressure rating, most run the same OEM cap the car came with. The system is designed to operate around 13-16psi with the OEM cap, if I recall. The hotter it gets though, the more pressure the coolant system is under. As long as the system can contain that pressure, it will increase the coolants boiling point. Water + pressure = higher boiling point. Some performance radiators will support higher pressure rated caps (22-24psi), but the OEM radiators have plastic built around the aluminum cores with a gasket sealing the plastic and core, so its max pressure is much lower than an all-aluminum performance radiator. If you have an OEM cap and the spring gets weak over time, it will release that pressure at a lower rating. In an over-heat condition, if the system's pressure is released, it will cause the coolant to flash to steam. If the coolant boils within the system, that's when you start blowing head gaskets, or less severe but just as catastrophic, you get coolant pushing passed the gasket and into your oil journals, which will definitely damage internals.

Check that cap, get some gauges, be pro-active, love your car.
 

Iceman62

Bullitt 6005
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Posts
1,297
Reaction score
386
Location
NE
Not that is helps now, but I always perform a walk-around before leaving maint shop...guess it's my military trained mentality. I've caught everything from loose nuts/drain bolts, missing parts, minor vehicle damage and grease stained cloth seats...all corrected before driving off. Just a good practice for future work.

As far as your radiator/temp issue, you're probably fine. Even though the cars come w/gauges and "idiot" lights...they do work/indicate a real problem. Definitely keep a close eye/ear and return to this shop and point out their mistake. Might be good to let their mgr know, in case something crops up...IMO.
 

Support us!

Support Us - Become A Supporting Member Today!

Click Here For Details

Sponsor Links

Banner image
Back
Top