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C5 Overheating badly

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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 10:40 AM
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Default C5 Overheating badly

Well, the car has been running fine up until last night. I was coming back down on 95 and the car began to overheat badly
(First time the car has ever gone over 230 in its life time since I had it). My fans work, all my hoses are warm so I don't think it's an air bubble, and even with cool weather and fans blasting at full, car gets well into the 260 range in no time. I couldn't find any codes either. Any suggestions, or is it time to take it to the dealer?

Thank you.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 10:56 AM
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T- stat stuck closed or water pump not working. That is all I can think of
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by navy99vert
T- stat stuck closed or water pump not working. That is all I can think of
Is there an easy way to check them?

thx
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 11:27 AM
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Raise the front up and look at the front of your AC condensor....remove the plastic bags & grass & other debris and you should be fine again.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 11:53 AM
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Originally Posted by TLewis4095
Raise the front up and look at the front of your AC condensor....remove the plastic bags & grass & other debris and you should be fine again.
I bet you sucked up something on last nights drive.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 12:44 PM
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...raccoon...
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 02:22 PM
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Originally Posted by AU N EGL
I bet you sucked up something on last nights drive.
Well, I looked, nothing caught, its a little dirty in there, cleaned it up a bit and the thing still overheats, even at idle it'll shoot up to 260 in about 5mins.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Peladao
even at idle it'll shoot up to 260 in about 5mins.
I'll guess thermostat if it happens that quickly.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 04:35 PM
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coolant?
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Couture
coolant?
coolant level is fine...
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 09:15 PM
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How many miles on the coolant? It does need to be changed although the book says something like 150,000 miles. I believe that number might be Ok if its driven a lot, but if its rare driving, then it probably needs changing. If the coolant is failing, it can cause blockages in the radiator. My first suspicion is as previously mentioned, the thermostat has failed closed.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 09:20 PM
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I have seen a few water pumps fail, but that usually will put you in reduced power mode real quick

I would speculate the passage on inside the plastic end cap is clogged, it's the small out passage that runs to the expansion tank

1. water pump/tstat
2. clogged rad passage
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 09:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Peladao
Well, the car has been running fine up until last night. I was coming back down on 95 and the car began to overheat badly
(First time the car has ever gone over 230 in its life time since I had it). My fans work, all my hoses are warm so I don't think it's an air bubble, and even with cool weather and fans blasting at full, car gets well into the 260 range in no time. I couldn't find any codes either. Any suggestions, or is it time to take it to the dealer?

Thank you.
I believe that if this occured all at once, with no previous symptoms, and your coolant hoses are hot, you can rule out the t-stat. I agree with England Green that the water pump may not be pumping enough coolant for whatever the reason, or your serp-t belt may be slipping somehow. Also, don't overlook what was posted about garbage bags in front of the radiator/AC condensor. It may not be all that visible, such as a bag, but what about bugs- by the tens of thousands?? They may have been out in force the night it started acting up. Take a GOOD look up in there and see. Just my .02.
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Old Jun 10, 2007 | 11:30 PM
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If it cools down at faster speeds, I'd almost guarantee a blocked radiator. I have had trouble with the same thing, and every time it has been debris on the radiator. You can only see about 2/3 if the radiator from the front of the car, especially if it's lowered. I jack the front up and really stick my head up there. It doesn't take much to run the temp up. Once I found part of a bag (about 8" x 10"), but most of the time it is grass clippings, leaves, little bits of paper, etc. up near the top.
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Old Jun 11, 2007 | 07:47 AM
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I had a problem with my car overheating and puking out coolant everywhere. I had a rad flush done and they replaced the coolant cap as well - problem solved.
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