About a year ago I changed the water pump because it seized and it used to cause the car to overheat in cold temperatures.

Since changing the water pump the car has not overheated. Last week I personally did an oil change on the car (5 quarts of 5w30 as recommended of castrol gtx high mileage syn blend). And on Sunday I topped off the overflow tank with antifreeze.

Yesterday in Chicago the temperature dropped into the single digits and the car was running fine on the way to work until about 2 blocks away when I smelled the sweet smell of antifreeze and noticed the car was about to start to overheat. Fortunately I was near and was able to park the car with no problem. The fans did stay on and I disconnected the battery so that it didnt kill it.

I got out of work and went on my way home. After about 10-15mins of driving and getting it to operating temp I heard the fans turn on. I kept driving since the gauge was not moving and hoped that it was normal function of the car. After about 5mins the needle started moving quickly and I pulled over on the highway and again the fans stayed on so I disconnected the battery. I added the rest of the antifreeze and again started my car.

However, this time that I started it the oil warning gauge on my dash started to flash. The warning light did not flash intermittently like the CEL does when it is not solid. Instead the warning light seem like it was coming on and off, very weakly. Again, I pulled over and this time I went to buy more antifreeze and a quart of oil.

I topped off the overflow tank again with antifreeze and added the quart of oil. This time when I turned it on the oil warning light did not flash or anything. I drove it again a short distance, perhaps 2 miles or 5mins and it started to overheat again. Again, I pulled over at a Kmart and bought another quart of oil and a radiator stop leak. Again, I added it to the car and again I went on my way.

Once again, predictably, the car started to overheat a few blocks from my house. I finally parked the car, walked home, and then later went to pick it up.

When I picked it up I drove it again and got it to operating temperature and the fans (like they have been doing all along) turned on again. This time I opened the hood and stood in front of it touching the hoses and the manifold just to pinpoint something I may have overlooked. The hoses felt cold to the touch and so did the manifold. I had to get to my other job and so I stopped messing with it, but I am really concerned. The last time the gauge did not go past the half mark, but I imagined it is because I did not keep driving it.

My question stems from the fact that I recently did an oil change and now all of a sudden my engine burned 5 quarts? And how is that related to the overheating? And, if adding 2 quarts of oil did not aid in the solution, then what could this overheating mystery be?

I'm sorry for such a long post, but my night was 10 times as long trying to get home in the snow and bitter cold and I just don't want to be in that situation ever again. I just want to see if someone can help me. Perhaps this has happened to you. In that case I would like to know what the solution was and what was the cause?

Thank you in advanced to all who answer. I really appreciate your time and knowledge.

 

Sorry to hear of your issues. Always sucks double when it is so cold out.

If you have to keep adding coolant you have a very bad leak somewhere. With the amount you are losing it should be pretty easy to spot. Check the radiator, hoses, water pump and make sure the coolant tank didn't split, especially by the nipple on top.

The temperature gauge isn't linear in that you get a real time look at where the temperature is. As you know will rise to a hair over halfway and then stay there. When the car starts to run hotter than usual, but still not overheat the needle won't move. Once it overheats is when it seems to move and then will peg out and the warning light will come on. Kind of a pass/fail instead of a real time gauge. Anytime you notice your fans come on at a time they typically don't or if they stay on a long time after you turn off the key is a good sign you are running hotter than you should.

Did you verify that in fact you weer low on oil or did you just go by the flickering oil light? If you weren't actually low on oil and you added two quarts that isn't good either.

How was the car running? Did it still seem like it was running ok when you added more coolant? If it was you probably didn't hurt anything.

Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

 

droid, I would do a quick check of your dip stick. Is the oil at the proper level? Too high? Does the oil look like a chocolate milkshake (this would be a sign of water intrusion into the oil which could lead to low oil pressure)? Is your car steaming out the tail pipe a lot more than other cars or even have a "sweet smell" to the exhaust?

Based on what you are posting, it is possible that you have a bad head gasket and you are blowing oil and/or coolant into the cylinder(s) and it is all going out the tail pipe. You can try starting the car and taking it out on the road to get it up to temp and then seeing if you can spot any coolant leaking down on to the ground. The other thing that you can try is to start with the engine cold and remove the overflow bottle cap. At this point you start the engine and let it get up to temp. Add coolant as needed to keep the coolant level in the bottle. You should be seeing coolant leak down on to the ground if the level is dropping. If you are not seeing it fall on the ground, then you have a bad head gasket. This is where the sniff test of the exhaust will confirm. You may also see a blue haze to the exhaust which would also confirm the presence of oil being burned in the exhaust.

Let us know what you find. I would hate to see you really mess up a motor due to not staying on top of a problem like this.

 

same thing happen to my 04 X-Type; the last time it got over heat it won't start any more, I have to toll it home, check the oil, it was thick & browny drain the oil; Water came out first then all muddy, pull the spark plugs they all wet. I guess a major internal engine clean up plus investigate where the water came in the engine.

 

Sounds like you have a blown head gasket or leaking intake manifold gasket at the water jacket let me know thanks Michael Barger

 

Thang, it is sounding like you blew a head gasket. If you are getting water into your oil, then you have major work ahead of you. Simply changing out the oil and putting in new is not going to help. I would start with doing a compression check to see which head gasket is bad. From there, a new head gasket will be required and depending on how badly the engine was overheated, you may end up replacing the head due to warping. I would also do a detailed inspection to make sure that the head is not cracked either.

 

Thanks guy! I'm going to take the head out to clean and replace the whole set of head gaskets, remove oil pan to replace its gasket too, but what should I use to clean and flush inside the engine ?

 

Thang, I would simply get 2 complete oil changes worth of stuff. Drain out everything (going to happen since you are dropping the pan), do the work you need to, add the new oil, run the engine for say 10 minutes and then do another oil change. Anything that is left from the water-oil mix will come out at that point. Granted, the amount left behind is going to be very minimal and the need for a second oil change is not going to be too high.