TRYGO:
****If you want to test your car's engine ability to withstand overheating, drive it in heavy gridlock, like the ones you have at locations such as Ikeja along, Iyano Ipaja, 3mainland bride. If your car successfully passed the test, your cooling system is failing. Time you take it in for a check.
As a precaution, have some containers of water in the boot, just in case the car breaks down. I use this as a form of stress test to determine its capacity.

You can also determine your car's battery capacity during such a test. Put on all the lights, max the Ac system, turn on the audio system.
If your car has got a Battery gauge meter on the dashboard as some GM and Ford vehicles do, take a before and after voltage readings. Before, that's when the Ac system and lights weren't engaged.
The volts when the engine is fully loaded should be 13-14. But if it doesn't go beyond that this, while charging, and it drops to the nominal voltage of 11-12, the battery definitely has lots it's capacity.******

TRYGO:


INTRODUCTION
In some of the articles I have written so far on this platform about overheating problems, I did point out some of the major causes of over heating to be coolant leaks, or no coolant in the cooling system; faulty water pumps; faulty thermostats; corroded radiator systems, etc.

Today, I would be presenting a cause study of one of the engines we've just worked on.

Here we go NOW!

CASE STUDY
Vehicle type: Honda civic; 2doors
Mileage: 154, 752miles
Transmission type: Manual; front wheel drive.
Engine type: 4cylinder

CUSTOMER'S COMPLAINTS
Customer complains that temperature gauge suddenly reaches the peak level(highest); Steam comes out of the engine compartment; engine begins to misfires.
All these happened while the customer was in traffic around Oshodi Oke express road in Lagos State.

Complaints like these heralds "first degree" overheating. Those if you in the medical field, would know what I mean by first degree "overheating".
I'm just trying to draw a link between first degree burns, and terrible overheating.

Looking for a word that could describe how the owner of the car could have allowed the car to overheat to this stage.
What would have caused the engine to overheat, up to the extend that the engine oil gauge melts and breaks in to two halves?

Those are some the questions we would be trying to answer in this article.

TROUBLESHOOTING
This section would highlight what should be done, by a technically inclined car owner, or better still, the mechanic handling the job.
How was the problem tackled, and solved?

1. Car was wholly inspected; cooling system components were all checked for integrity.

*radiator cooling fan(s) was checked if the rotation was at the right setting. By this I meant, was the fan rotating in the right direction to extract hot air from the engine?
* physically examined the water pump for signs of leaks. There weren't any visible signs of leaks on the water pump housing, etc.
*radiator hoses were also checked for kinks, and signs of failure.

PS: Radiator hoses showing signs of weakness are usually soft like "kpomo", to the touch.
Radiator hoses like that, would fail during extreme temperature rises, because they won't be able to cope with the thermal differences of the engine under varying operating conditions.
So, the next time you go buying a used radiator hose, ensure you get a hose that's little bit harder than " kpomo".

*radiator system was checked, and we discovered that the radiator top, where coolant's being introduced was leaking.
To our greatest surprise, during close inspections, we further discovered that the junction that links the main radiator overflow tank, to the top of the radiator has sometimes ago being sealed using 5minute gum(a hard kind of gum, people claim could hold together pieces of plastics/metals together).

WHAT CAUSED THE OVERHEATING IN THE FIRST PLACE
Some of you might want to know what really cased the engine to overheat in the first place?

Well, from our troubleshooting and analysis, the major cause of the overheating was due to the customer's "manage!!!" attitude.
He had trued to save some "bucks" by mending the radiator filling section, at the top of the radiator.
He had successfully done that, and had never thought such GLUES doesn't last.
He was running away from buying a new, or fairly used radiator system.
Emmmmmm, for your information, he's a car dealer. Please o!, don't tell them I told you that's what SOME of them do, to make "stupendous" profit.

THE FIX. WHAT WE DID!
From looking at the engine oil dipstick, you could see how the extremely high temperatures the engine has gone through, melted the dipstick.
That tells me, the engine block, and cylinder head must have being wapped. I mean, they must have undergone thermal expansions, above the manufacturer's set threshold, or limit.
In such situations, the car is at risk of engine damage.
Using such engine block, could only complicate issues.

ADVICE TO CAR OWNERS
*Keep your eyes on the temperature gauge while driving.
Your car's temperature shouldn't exceed the 1/2 mark. If it does, you've got some issues with the cooling system.

*Don't manage your cooling system components. They're critical to your car's operating efficiency.
From this case study, you can see that this client,
decided to "manage", by applying some sort of adhesive material to seal the broken supply outlet to the overflow tank.
The consequences are just so enormous to handle.
This repair, cost him replacing the top cylinder head completely.

CONCLUSIONS
A car's cooling system is very critical to it's operation.
Any distortion in it's dynamics, would terribly jeopardize it's efficiency.
" Managing" any of a car's cooling system, such has being done by this client, shouldn't be a permanent fix, but a temporal one. For instance, if you're stuck somewhere, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. A temporal fix could be done, with the intention of bringing the car safely to your mechanic.
A stitch in time saves 10(that's my own saying o!).


Please, I need your criticisms o!


Regards,
Joseph
08066643532
oigonojoseph@yahoo.com
www.facebook.com/DW - Dexterwise Nig Ltd

TRYGO:
****If you want to test your car's engine ability to withstand overheating, drive it in heavy gridlock, like the ones you have at locations such as Ikeja along, Iyano Ipaja, 3mainland bride. If your car successfully passes the test, your cooling system is perfect. But if it does not, its time you take it in for a check.
As a precaution, have some containers of water in the boot, just in case the car breaks down. I use this as a form of stress test to determine its capacity.

You can also determine your car's battery capacity during such a test. Put on all the lights, max the Ac system, turn on the audio system.
If your car has got a Battery gauge meter on the dashboard as some GM and Ford vehicles do, take a before and after voltage readings. Before, that's when the Ac system and lights weren't engaged.
The volts when the engine is fully loaded should be 13-14. But if it doesn't go beyond that this, while charging, and it drops to the nominal voltage of 11-12, the battery definitely has lots it's capacity.******





@emassive. Were the fans factory installed that way, or you modified them that way, and would want to know what has being done, ever since you found out the fan was.like that.
What are direct fan connection would do, you can find some of the results on the overheating article.


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PS: Another important cause of overheating I have noticed, after replacing cylinder gaskets, water pump, etc is the presence of hairline cracks.
Hairline cracks are cracks you may not be able to see with the naked eyes. They are internal in nature. That is, it develops within the internal structure of the aluminum composition of the cylinder head. In some instances, these cracks are spread outward on the cylinder head.
This cracks, cause your engine, to loss compression pressure, enough to cause engine misfires, and extreme Overheating.

So, as a precaution to this, whenever your car's cylinder head is opened, or you're getting a replacement one, do your best to check out for such cracks. It would pay off in the long run.

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TRYGO:
@emassive. What I still want to know is, was the fan operating that wat when it came from the USA, or you were the one that modified it like that?

TRYGO:
@emassive. The ones you guys bought were the fans connected directly to the ignition, as your current Camry?

TRYGO:
@emassive. For the Chrysler fan's runtime as explained by you, that's how your cooling fans are supposed to operate. Sometimes, you might get confused, thinking, "omo! what's wrong with the fan, that it isn't coming on as usual? You might get tempted trying to modify it to the direct connection.
This is my stake:
*prepare having a double celled radiator, just in case.
*since its an American made car, I font know the mileage on it though. Most of those cars ate rusty in the engine bay, and underneath the body. So, ensure the thermostat, temperature gauge sensor isn't clogged with corrosion. You can do a cooking system flush, just a preventive maintenance regime.

I have fixed some few if those American machines, too. Especially Chevrolet ventures, etc.
Is yours a 3400L V6 engine?

How's the weekend na?