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2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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Maquiavelito
New User
Jul 5, 2007, 6:16 PM
Post #1 of 6
(13549 views)
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2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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My 2005 Dodge Neon has 43,000 miles on it. After driving for about 30 minutes on the highway, the temperature gague suddenly climbs from the middle of the gague to redline. It starts fluctuating up and down. When I come to a stop I hear a heavy gurgling sound coming from the engine compartment, and I can feel the vibration of the gurgling in my foot on the brake pedal. Sometimes the overheating happens, sometimes it doesn't. I'd like to get a sense of what this might be before I take it in for repairs. Coolant level? Obstruction in the hose or radiator? Any ideas???
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jul 5, 2007, 7:39 PM
Post #2 of 6
(13543 views)
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Re: 2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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You must have the coolant level full at both radiator and recovery tank for further diagnosis. If they are low it could have leaked or boiled it out and we don't know that yet. Don't let it overheat. I know that's hard to do but that can really cause some expensive problems and the gurgle you notice does suggest you are way too hot,
T
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Maquiavelito
New User
Jul 5, 2007, 8:44 PM
Post #3 of 6
(13541 views)
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Re: 2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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After the most recent overheating incident, I checked the reservoir and it was at the "full-hot" level. This would indicate the correct level, no? Once the engine cooled a bit (after about two hours), I checked the level in the reservoir and it appeared that there was nothing in it. Since I'm not car-savvy, I'm not sure where the level should be when the engine has cooled. I'm tempted to add more coolant, but I don't want to overfill it. Suggestions?
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jul 6, 2007, 4:32 AM
Post #4 of 6
(13539 views)
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Re: 2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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It's very low on coolant. I simply don't know the exact was every car made does this but many/most have the pressure cap on the radiator and when the pressure exceeds the pre-set limit of the cap it sends extra coolant to the reservoir which will be drawn in when it cools down. The reservoir/recovery tank should be marked "full hot" and "full cold" which is fine when there are no problems but isn't a good indicator of exactly how full the radiator itself is which should be full all the time.
Some sytems put the pressure cap on that tank and nothing on the radiator itself which may be the way yours is and that makes it tricky to know just how full the radiator is. By your description the engine was hot and put the extra coolant which expands a bit when warm to hot to the tank and takes it back when it contracts and cools - hence the range on the tank. It reading "full" was fine but it drew back more than it should have and probably needed more.
So if you have the pressure cap at tank only fill it to "full hot" even if cold and just let the engine warm up to its normal setting and shut it down and let it cool down again. You then are drawing back coolant and not air. Could take several times to get it full at the radiator and with certain problems with cap or in engine it won't.
When a car overheats for any reason it can overfill the recovery tank and it will discharge the coolant to the ground and the boiling is air in the engine/radiator part and when it cools draws it all back but may not be full. Then filling it up at tank will get air when engine warms but only coolant will return when cooled and that will fill the radiator most of the time but that has to be done without overheating the engine and may take many cycles. It's much easier to just fill the radiator which can still be hiding air and it would be full as normal much quicker. Some systems you would need to bleed off the air or take off a hose high on the engine to fill it first.
This is just diagnosing right now. It shouldn't have overheated and should have stayed stable but we need to know if the system is full because for any reason there is air in the system it will overheat. If the head gasket is adding air it will never stabilize and that has to be determined and clues when filling and checking will leak to what is wrong, like a leak, or cap can't hold pressure or leaks air back when cooling off again instead of the recovered coolant so you need to know radiator/engine is full.
This type system takes longer to know its really full. If it doubt about how to get it there get it done as you risk damage to engine or head/head gasket it allowed to overheat.
If it can't stabilize the problem is going to have to be fixed first. If there are any signs of leaks around engine hoses gaskets, water pump, radiator and anything that holds coolant the sytem will not stabilize as intended.
If any work or service was recently done and cooling system was not know to be refilled completely this could happen even when it appears full it take some time to purge out the air and then should be stable after that. If that has happened and air was left in system it overheats and causes a new problem so it's real important to have it right as a starting point. Then it must be watched thru its cycles and should stay in the normal ranges when all is back to normal.
This could all be sped up by pressure testing the system now and finding any leaks, fixing them and carefully refilled.
Any time you find you need to add coolant periodically is a warning that something is wrong.
To draw a mental picture of what is happening think of a water bottle half full with a pop up cap held under water. It may not just let the air out and water back in so fast. Squeeze that bottle air side up under water and the air goes out, when you release it only water goes back in till it's full of just water now. Now think of that bottle half full held sideways under water. The air isn't at the top where the outlet is. You squeeze it and some air comes out but not all. If you shake it while squeezing and releasing (water pump is doing this in your engine) you get more air out until finally it's all water and always full. I'm I confusing enough? The cooling system uses a thermostat which will when cold not let the air purge out so when it open when warmed up the air can get to the top and cooled again when draws back in just coolant.
This is basic but happening out of your sight which makes it tricky to know it's really full. Again I stress that you do this without letting the temp get above a normal reading. It could take quite a while and many cycles and the risk of damage of overheating is not worth getting this this tended to asap by a shop. Whether you or a shop it takes some time and shops have to be faster so will bleed out the air and perhaps leave the recovery tank a bit too full and if guessed right it would be fine the same day. I like to ask customers to check themselves or bring it by again for me to look at.
Don't open a pressure cap while under pressure. Wait for it to cool when there is no pressure to ook and fill. You can feel for pressure in an upper radiator hose but use a glove as it is too hot to hold.
If you are in an area with the record high temps right now this has to be full and system perfect right now. Some of the temps in the 120F range are already out of the range of what a brand new car is really expected to handle especially when folks are blasing A/C or have the car loaded, pulling a trailer, hilly driving, stop and go traffic etc just overwhelm a cooling system.
Sorry for the long rant but this is important to avoid or minimize any damage that may have occurred,
T
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Maquiavelito
New User
Jul 7, 2007, 10:30 AM
Post #5 of 6
(13538 views)
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Re: 2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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Thanks, Tom, for the very comprehensive response. As I drove to and from work yesterday on the highway, I made sure to keep it at about 55-60 mph (around 2000 rpm). I had no overheating problem, temperature was normal. So, it seems to be a high speed issue. So, I suspected the radiator. However, the radiator seems to be fine (uniformly warm--no cold spots), the hoses are warm (top and bottom), so I don't think its the thermostat. At normal operating temperature, the coolant level in the overflow tank was just below the add mark, so I added coolant. After driving for about 45 minutes at normal operating temperature, the level in the tank reached full hot. I wasn't able to tell how full the radiator itself was, I'll check it again when the engine is cold. I took it to a shop today for a diagnosis and they said they found nothing; everything checked out fine. Maybe it was just a bit low on coolant? I will monitor this over the next few days and see what happens. Thanks again for your thorough response.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jul 7, 2007, 10:37 AM
Post #6 of 6
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Re: 2005 Dodge Neon Overheating
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You may be lucky and it was just low for some reason. If it stays stable and temp stays steady you may be just fine. Lower hose should be notibly cooler than upper which would normally be too hot to touch for more than a second,
T
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