Heat and overheating issue?

[Chunky White]

My car randomly takes a while to heat up, the heat quits working and the coolant temps will get to around 240 for a few minutes while driving before falling off. I first noticed this while sitting in a drive thru for longer than normal and shut the car off. As soon as I started the car it immediately cooled off to 180's and stayed that way. On my way to work this morning it the heat quit working and the car heated up to around 240 for about 5 minutes and immediately cooled off with no issues the rest of the way to work. It did the same on the way home and I stopped and bought a 180' thermostat thinking it might be the thermostat. Whats your thoughts and are there any tricks to bleeding the coolant system or a need too?

I believe all 3 times I have had an issue the heat has been on

 

[Jimmy N.]

Sounds like it could use a system full of coolant (no air), not a lower temp thermostat.

 

[vortecd]

180 thermostats do fail a lot. I have a milodon I used for years on my Daytona and it has been on my Hellcat this year. The other thing, is the fan working?

 

[Chunky White]

180 thermostats do fail a lot. I have a milodon I used for years on my Daytona and it has been on my Hellcat this year. The other thing, is the fan working?

Yes I have heard the fan running a few times when outside temps were in the 90's and thought nothing of it. I did not hear the fans today and outside temps were in the 40's so the heater was on and i was driving when it heated up then cooled off. I was watching the temps and ready to pull over and call a buddy for help. I have no idea what temp thermostat is in the car now. It came tuned and I took the tune off because I do not trust canned tunes. I asked the previous owner about other mods before removing the tune. I might need to get a different temp thermostat but in a quick read of the forum this morning before I went into work I read where someone mentioned installing a 180* stat as soon as he bought the car so I just bought one on the way home

 

[vortecd]

If you are not tuned for a 180 you will probably get a cel if it doesn't warm up fast enough

 

[Chunky White]

I will go get a oem temp thermostat and some coolant now. I am already working on the car tomorrow morning so I will change the thermostat in case thats the problem and top off the coolant.

Thanks for all of the replies and if there is anymore information you believe I might need let me know.

 

[Chunky White]

I replaced the thermostat and added some coolant which was quite low and bled everything. I will see if that helps in the next day or so I am sure. I have not had any issues today but the issue is usually when the car is first started and not once the car has been up to temp.

 

[BULL]

Do you have a sense as to where/why you lost the coolant?

 

[Chunky White]

Do you have a sense as to where/why you lost the coolant?

No visible leaks so I am not sure. Hopefully its not a blown head gasket. The engine oil looks fine though and was recently changed

 

[Chunky White]

I have no knowledge of how these cars work but wonder if the car wasn't losing coolant through the cap because there was a decent amount of air in the system before I changed the thermostat this morning. The thermostat looked fine but I changed it anyway since the cost wasn't much

 

[Chunky White]

The coolant level dropped once I let the car cool down to about 3 inches below the cold fill line. I cannot see any leaks anywhere can barely smell coolant which could has always been present when the car is warm and the oil still looks good. I refilled the overflow tank and bled the coolant again. I am no expert on bleeding the coolant but did not notice any air bleeding out. Only coolant bled out

any suggestions other than a visit to the local dealership?

 

[vortecd]

I have swapped out the thermostat a few times and just refilled it with no issues

 

[BULL]

The coolant level dropped once I let the car cool down to about 3 inches below the cold fill line. I cannot see any leaks anywhere can barely smell coolant which could has always been present when the car is warm and the oil still looks good. I refilled the overflow tank and bled the coolant again. I am no expert on bleeding the coolant but did not notice any air bleeding out. Only coolant bled out

any suggestions other than a visit to the local dealership?

You said oil "looked" good, are you also paying close attention to the level?

Aside from a horribly aerated coolant system (which obviously doesn't just happen on its own), your coolant level shouldn't continue to drop after filling it.

One top-off is normal, a second small top-off sometimes, anymore than that seems like you've got something going on, especially if it's more than a small amount.

Anybody else agree or disagree?

 

[Chunky White]

You said oil "looked" good, are you also paying close attention to the level?

Aside from a horribly aerated coolant system (which obviously doesn't just happen on its own), your coolant level shouldn't continue to drop after filling it.

One top-off is normal, a second small top-off sometimes, anymore than that seems like you've got something going on, especially if it's more than a small amount.

Anybody else agree or disagree?

Oil level is good also. I agree that I have an issue with coolant levels dropping. I just don't know the reason and I am asking for suggestions. I will keep a good watch on it the next couple of days and if the problem continues I will be taking it to the dealership to get checked out. I cannot visually see any leaks so I have no way of figuring out he issue on my own

 

[Jimmy N.]

I cannot visually see any leaks so I have no way of figuring out he issue on my own

They make simple tools for that purpose. Basically a radiator cap with a pump and a gauge on it.
Pressurize the system, then look for the leak. Hopefully it's external.

 

[Chunky White]

No changes in coolant levels today. I will continue to keep a watch on the levels and hope whatever the issue was is fixed.

Thanks for the replies!!

 

[Chunky White]

No changes in fluid levels in a week and the coolant temp has only reached 200* once in the whole week and that was at a long wait in a traffic jam. The car seems to be good for now

Thank you everybody Hellcatforum.org members for letting me waste your time. Have a good weekend

 

[1971demon]

No changes in fluid levels in a week and the coolant temp has only reached 200* once in the whole week and that was at a long wait in a traffic jam. The car seems to be good for now

Thank you everybody Hellcatforum.org members for letting me waste your time. Have a good weekend

Your avatar bears a striking resemblance to CC...but not sure CC's eyes are set that far apart

 

[BULL]

No changes in fluid levels in a week and the coolant temp has only reached 200* once in the whole week and that was at a long wait in a traffic jam. The car seems to be good for now

Thank you everybody Hellcatforum.org members for letting me waste your time. Have a good weekend

A chance for everyone to learn from the experience...


; )

 

[Chunky White]

Your avatar bears a striking resemblance to CC...but not sure CC's eyes are set that far apart

I am not sure who CC is but I hope they do not look like Chunky. I would change the avatar to my Challenger if I had taken a good photo of it. I haven't been anywhere worth taking a picture when the car was clean and dd it now so it stays dirty. I added a different picture of my dog for now