engine oil and overheat question

tifosi_1

can old engine oil cause overheating?

pup2

I don't think so. Not unless its consistency's almost like sludge or something -- loss of power, smoke belching, and knocking seems more likely.

beaut?","[email protected]

what can you do when your car overheats? aside from call for help of course

pup2

Well, the ideal solution would be to try to find out the cause. Madami eh -- radiator leaks (including leaks from the radiator cap and reserve), busted/leaking hoses, water pump damage, and broken auxiliary fan are the most common ones, I think.

The first 3 will mean malakas magbawas ng tubig car mo. The last one naman usually means pag hindi traffic, hindi ka nag-ooverheat pero pag traffic na, ayan na, pero hindi naman nagbabawas ng tubig.

In an emergency, I was actually able to reach home before (leaking/damaged radiator cap) because I would let the engine cool down (about half an hour to an hour) then I just kept adding water, then waiting for it to cool down, then adding water -- til I got home. Matagal lang but I got home (you need to make sure cool na talaga or you could get sprayed by the radiator fluid and suffer major injuries!). Water pump leaks could be remedied the same way, I think, so long as the damage isn't major yet (a moderate amount of damage will cause you to find water spots in the MIDDLE of your parked car as opposed to the side caused by the AC).

A tip for those with newer cars though. The mechanic told me to check the water level through the reserve tank (I use a walis tingting strand na clean) -- not the radiator cap -- this way, your radiator cap will last much, much longer.

One time naman, nagli-leak yung radiator bottle, tinapalan muna namin ng epoxy/super glue until we could have a new one installed. Tamang tama lang dahil the glue only lasted a couple of days.

Thankfully, I've never suffered from busted hoses (I ask the service station to check them every time I go in). I think this is an unrecoverable breakdown (unless you're Macgyver) -- but I just find extra hoses too bulky and cumbersome to lug around.

slamm

beaut? wrote: »

what can you do when your car overheats? aside from call for help of course

- Stop at the nearest safe location
- Assess the situation; check first if the engine is cooling down by keeping it idling with the aux fan on and your a/c heater set on the max setting to allow heat to dissipate from the engine/cooling system... or you have to shut down the engine totally if things are really smokin hot and you see a water leak or there's not water in the reservoir bottle. Keeping the engine running on hot may cause expensive damages (i.e. warped/cracked cylinder heads, etc).
- DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR OR THE RESERVOIR

If you have overheated, it is also adviseable to change your oil after since the heat stress on the oil may make it break down and thus it may not protect the engine as well as it should afterwards.

pup2

hey ... that sounds like a driving book. BTW, I have this emergency road repair booklet from rand mcnally. It's really old but helped me through a LOT -- even a busted fuel filter! That's why I've kept it though 4 different cars. I think everyone should have one.

RuckuS

pinakacommon cause of overheating is a busted radiator fan or auxiliary fan. depending on the car model, usualy mura lang surplus nyan(less than 1k) then find a mechanic to replace your busted one. or if pagtitipid is not your thing have it replaced at your nearest casa.

when you find your car overheating assess if you can still make it to the nearest gasoline station. if not just park your car and wait for the heat to subside better if you can put water right away(thats why i keep a 2.5gallon water container in my trunk in cases of emergency) fill the reserve first then open the main radiator cap if you feel that the heat has lowered to safe levels.