Have some questions about my car getting hot recently. Some background: a few years back, the car really got hot and found out I had a cracked head gasket. That was fixed but ever since I have been very sensitive to changes in temp for the car. A few months ago, the car started to get hot again, not as hot as before but up to the 75% mark on the gauge. Had it checked out and the radiator cap needed to be replaced. Now am noticing the car getting hot again. Took it in again but now the garage couldn’t make it overheat so they couldn’t tell what was wrong - no coolant leaks, radiator cap is good, no other obvious issues. The temp seems to be fine on the highway, going 65-70mph. It also seems to be fine idling. I notice the heat when I’m traveling for a while in stop and go at about 35-55mph. However I stopped at the light and the heat when back to the usual middle spot. Any thoughts as to what might be causing the heat? Also I have some big trips planned in the next few weeks (about 5h driving each way) - is the car safe to drive that distance? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Is the coolant level in the coolant reservoir going down?
And what exactly was the previous fix? Head gaskets don’t crack, they leak. Was the head itself cracked? If so, was it replaced with a different head? Or only the gasket replaced?
You could have a sticking thermostat that is not opening when it should.
REplace the thermostat and be sure they top off the coolant.
They should also check that the temp sending unit is sending the proper signal .
Yosemite
The head was cracked and replaced. Also the thermometer and radiator were replaced at that time. This last time at the garage they said the coolant level was good, no leaks.
Does it overheat with the A/C on, off, or both?
Are the radiator cooling fans running when the A/C is on?
"This last time at the garage they said the coolant level was good, no leaks. "
I hope YOU are regularly checking your coolant level since you have on overheating issue. I would check it every day.
"A rear bumper on a Suburban has a critical safety job? "
MD rules did not say anything about “critical” – just “safety”. That could apply to a bumper. Gee, I had to replace a 2" x 4" yellow side reflector, and I think the bumper is more safety-important than that. Another time I got flunked for too-cloudy headlight lenses (or whatever they call those accursed plastic aerodynamic covers).
Believe me, I’m not seriously trying to make sense of government regulations. You might want to move your post to the correct thread. ;-]
Fan running when engine warm? Both fans on with ac?