Don't know whats wrong, can someone help me?

[GalantLS94]

I have no idea whats wrong with my car but the temp gauge goes in the red when I'm driving. The fans are kicking on fine and theres nothing visibly leaking from the car. I'm completely stumped here. Any one have any ideas what it could be? Thanks

[MidNightRacing]

Is the mixture correct? May be a restriction in your radiator, or faild thermo. gauge

Oh your car looks very familiar maybe because its at my web sit. Check it out click on the button below

[ablythe]

BE VERY CAREFUL! You probably have a failed thermostat causing your car to overheat. Don't drive it anymore until you fix it. I have seen too many cars blow a head gasket or intake gasket because of this small, inexpensive part. The thermostat controls the flow of coolant in your system, allowing your car to warm up fast in cold weather.

Without looking at it, I would bet that its your thermostat.

I know it may be uncomfortable, but you need to turn on your heater and fan on the climate control. This will help cool your car a little until you fix it.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Ashley B
Dallas, TX
96 Galant

[MidNightRacing]

The thermostat cost like $25 and aint to hard to do it your slef

[DSMNUT]

BTW....if it's the thermostat do yourself a favor and get an OEM one, I tried a Stant once and it didn't open up properly.

[GalantLS94]

I'm at school right now, which is like 60 miles away from my home, do you think it would do harm if i baby it back there?

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GalantLS94)</div><div class='quotemain'>I'm at school right now, which is like 60 miles away from my home, do you think it would do harm if i baby it back there?</div>
yes.
chances are you'll destroy it.

if you KNOW its overheating, dont drive it.
would you drive it if you knew it didnt have oil in it?

[TJC]

It could be a number of things... failing thermostat, not enough water, failing water pump, and or clogged radiator core.

I suggest you first check that you have the radiator filled, overflow tank filled. Drive with heater on high and fans blowing full blast; and put down all your windows to cool yourself, lol. You can also take out the thermostat if you know which one of the hose it's at the end of. I suggest you get yourself a replacement thermostat first from the dealer. It's much higher in quality than what they sell at the local autoparts store. And this is the cheapest thing you can do to see if that's the cause of your problem. And actually with the thermostat off, you should be able to determine if that was the source of your problem. If that wasn't it, I'd try to narrow down to one of the possible causes I've listed up top. Good luck

[ablythe]

If you can find a local mechanic, they should be able to replace that thermostat for you. Flush that radiator and replace that thermostat. If it were your waterpump, most likely it would leak. At least thats the way most of them work.

Don't drive it in the red. The temp gauge is probably correct.

[GalantLS94]

well i found a shop by school so I babied it there (its only a couple miles away), I'll keep you guys updated.

[Kalamidad]

aftermarket thermos.. are known for coming defective from the factory, so if the problem persist don't assume it was not the new unit. Good luck.

[TJC]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ablythe)</div><div class='quotemain'>.....If it were your waterpump, most likely it would leak. Â*At least thats the way most of them work.....</div>

Actually, in my experience, it doesn't have to leak. It is possible for the water pump to wear down and not function at it's full capacity or not work at all sometimes. It really depends on the car what symptoms you see. I have and Integra and the dealer recommends changing out the water pump everytime you change your timing belt... Damn, how expensive is that each time. Unfortunately, it's a pretty common problem on certain older cars. But like I said before, try everything else first because the water pump is the hardest to diagnose and most expensive and labor intensive.

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJC)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ablythe)</div><div class='quotemain'>.....If it were your waterpump, most likely it would leak. Â*At least thats the way most of them work.....</div>

Actually, in my experience, it doesn't have to leak. It is possible for the water pump to wear down and not function at it's full capacity or not work at all sometimes. It really depends on the car what symptoms you see. I have and Integra and the dealer recommends changing out the water pump everytime you change your timing belt... Damn, how expensive is that each time. Unfortunately, it's a pretty common problem on certain older cars. But like I said before, try everything else first because the water pump is the hardest to diagnose and most expensive and labor intensive.</div>
no, water pumps seldom (if ever) wear down.
in fact, its virtually impossible for them to. A water pump is NOT a positive displacement pump. it contacts nothing but water and coolant, so there is nothing to cause wear, except the bearing and seal.
the one time in 11 years ive seen a water pump fail that WASNT a bearing or a leak (which usually co-exist, by the way) was when a customers 200,000 mile galant which had NEVER had its coolant serviced came in. After wasting quite a bit of time on it, we found that the cooling system was so corroded internally, the vanes had literally rotted off the pump impeller.

[HiperSilver]

its your thermo, it prolly failed and its in the closed postion, dont drive or else your can is fucked

[GalantLS94]

Well I'm getting my car back tomorrow. There were actually 2 things that were wrong: it was the thermostat and the oil sender line. They also said my car was really loud and needed a new exhaust system. They must not have seen the big shiny tip stickin out of the back with the words Bosal Brospeed etched on it https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif lol. Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

[DSMNUT]

Glad to hear everything turned out ok!! I'll be honest when I first read this thread I thought for sure you'd end up with a blown head gasket and/or warped head. You've gotta be relieved!! https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[TJC]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manybrews)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJC)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ablythe)</div><div class='quotemain'>.....If it were your waterpump, most likely it would leak. Â*At least thats the way most of them work.....</div>

Actually, in my experience, it doesn't have to leak. It is possible for the water pump to wear down and not function at it's full capacity or not work at all sometimes. It really depends on the car what symptoms you see. I have and Integra and the dealer recommends changing out the water pump everytime you change your timing belt... Damn, how expensive is that each time. Unfortunately, it's a pretty common problem on certain older cars. But like I said before, try everything else first because the water pump is the hardest to diagnose and most expensive and labor intensive.</div>
no, water pumps seldom (if ever) wear down.
in fact, its virtually impossible for them to. A water pump is NOT a positive displacement pump. it contacts nothing but water and coolant, so there is nothing to cause wear, except the bearing and seal.
the one time in 11 years ive seen a water pump fail that WASNT a bearing or a leak (which usually co-exist, by the way) was when a customers 200,000 mile galant which had NEVER had its coolant serviced came in. After wasting quite a bit of time on it, we found that the cooling system was so corroded internally, the vanes had literally rotted off the pump impeller.</div>

So if it is the bearing and/or seal, is that possible to replace separately or you'll have to replace the whole water pump anyway? Either way, while your at it, it would seem like you'd just replace the whole pump at that point anyway. So is that a fact for Mitsubishi only, b/c that's what the Honda mechanics at the dealer tell me.

[manybrews]

So if it is the bearing and/or seal, is that possible to replace separately or you'll have to replace the whole water pump anyway? Either way, while your at it, it would seem like you'd just replace the whole pump at that point anyway. So is that a fact for Mitsubishi only, b/c that's what the Honda mechanics at the dealer tell me.
no, you do have to replace the whole thing.

However, perhaps the honda guys just misworded it a little bit.
When they spoke of "wear", they were most likely talking about the bearing and seal.