Car Temp Gauge Maxing out

[mbeylis]

Hyundai i20

Newer engines run at higher compression which is a large part of the reason they generally won't survive a single overheating. Opel, VW, BMW are just a few brands I can name that I've seen overheated and were just terrible after the agents "repaired" the damage.

But it is highly dependant on both the engine and the circumstances.

Which car is it if I may ask?

 

[Ockie]

Newer engines run at higher compression which is a large part of the reason they generally won't survive a single overheating. Opel, VW, BMW are just a few brands I can name that I've seen overheated and were just terrible after the agents "repaired" the damage.

But it is highly dependant on both the engine and the circumstances.

Which car is it if I may ask?

VW Polo Playa

 

[Rouxenator]

Hope all ends well for you. My old Astra had a flaky head gasket and start to overheat a bit. Had it fixed and it cost me R10k but at least there was no damage to the engine head or block. When the temp rises and goes above normal you need to stop and investigate.

 

[Claymore]

From what I've read, overheating always causes damage. Just because it doesn't break down doesn't mean damage wasn't done but I'm not sure why I am trying to convince you... So nvm.

Overheating by 1C? Or 20C? Or 50C? There's variation. I've watched the water temp on my car vary between 93C and 107C in normal running conditions. Would 108C damage the engine?

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Water under pressure, say at 120degC, should not cause any engine damage, as long as there is proper heat dissipation.

Should the water boil away, then you'll get Big Problems.

Aircooled engines ran hotter than watercooled engines, and they didn't have proper heat dissipation in some places, yet you never had any gasket/overheating problem with these - unless the fan is too small and you're trying to tow a lot of stuff in the middle of the Karoo on a boiling hot day

 

[nakedpeanut]

I have the opposite problem my engine temp some times never gets to where it should be when it's cold unless i'm in traffic. Not sure if it's a bad thing. Engine warms up but to say 60C and not the 90 it should be.. :wtf:

 

[Jola]

From what I've read, overheating always causes damage. Just because it doesn't break down doesn't mean damage wasn't done but I'm not sure why I am trying to convince you... So nvm.

I have seen this with a Ford Ka.

Not sure what caused this in the first instance, but after that the car was never the same, even after multiple repairs, and continually overheated.

Recently the engine seized, and was replaced by a new engine - will see what happens now !

 

[Billy]

I had a similar problem on an Elantra. Overheated in Traffic. Problem was one of the electric fans.

 

[Jola]

I had a similar problem on an Elantra. Overheated in Traffic. Problem was one of the electric fans.

I suspect that it was the fan that caused the initial problem in the Ford Ka.

One of the issues was that the car only has a warning light, and no gauge.

The light always went on too late, the engine was stuffed before you could do anything.

That reminds me, someone told me that you get an audible warning device that warns you of overheating, it has a sensor that attaches to the engine block - anyone know more about this ?

 

[Rouxenator]

I have the opposite problem my engine temp some times never gets to where it should be when it's cold unless i'm in traffic. Not sure if it's a bad thing. Engine warms up but to say 60C and not the 90 it should be.. :wtf:

That's a thermostat failure. The car is thus defaulting to having the coolant circulation full open the whole time. My Astra did that some time ago. It would only reach normal temperature when it idled while standing still. As soon as you drove the temp dropped to cold. Naturally this is not good in terms of wear inside your cylinders how ever the labour involved in replacing the thermostat can be more than the part as it sits behind the cambelt in most cars.