Car overheated and was steaming at idle

[GlassWolf]

a: your system doesn't draw 900 watts RMS at a drive in movie. not unless it's a drive-in SPL competition.
your power draw is really about 50 watts most likely.

if the car overheated, could be a bad coolant line, or a failed water pump, or a fractured radiator.

[Bwcad1]

a: your system doesn't draw 900 watts RMS at a drive in movie. not unless it's a drive-in SPL competition.

hehehehe you gave me an idea!

[Mithrandir]

a: your system doesn't draw 900 watts RMS at a drive in movie. not unless it's a drive-in SPL competition.
your power draw is really about 50 watts most likely.
if the car overheated, could be a bad coolant line, or a failed water pump, or a fractured radiator.

true true, i wasnt sure if it was safe to run it with the car off or not lol

[brent]

a: your system doesn't draw 900 watts RMS at a drive in movie. not unless it's a drive-in SPL competition.
your power draw is really about 50 watts most likely.
if the car overheated, could be a bad coolant line, or a failed water pump, or a fractured radiator.

^^
Or even a freeze plug. A healthy coolant system will not let a vehicle overheat in a matter of 30 minutes sitting. Granted, it is not good to let a vehicle idle to long, that causes carbon buildups on your valves and piston heads. If you noticed coolant on the outside of your pump that is the likely culprit, although it could be something else.

[Mithrandir]

grrr i bought shit to stop rust and lube up the water pump but added it in the reservour by mistake. Will this ever get into my coolant system or will it sit in there forever?

and will having too much coolant hurt my car cause I really dont feel like pissing with it right now. There is still room at the top of the reservour.

[JeremyC]

The reservour should raise and lower as the temp changes in the car, so it should be ok.

Heck my 90 grand am didn't have a cap on the radiator, just one on the over flow.

[Mithrandir]

so the stuff in there gets circulated around? If not im gonna just go get it flushed even though i dont have the money too.

[MobileAudio219]

If the thermostat was stuck shut then the car would be overheating constantly.

Not necessarily... Its possible that the thermostat just temporarily stuck closed, and then it opened...

Make sure your coolant system is full and let it idle in the your driveway while you check for leaks... Also make sure your fan is kicking on.... A new thermostat is around 5 bucks, it wouldnt be a bad idea to change it if you havent done so in a few years.

[brent]

Not necessarily... Its possible that the thermostat just temporarily stuck closed, and then it opened...
Make sure your coolant system is full and let it idle in the your driveway while you check for leaks... Also make sure your fan is kicking on.... A new thermostat is around 5 bucks, it wouldnt be a bad idea to change it if you havent done so in a few years.

^^
If you end up needing a thermostat, look into a failsafe thermostat. Autozone carries them. Essentially, what they do is garuntee you the thermostat will not stick closed, which is bull because they do, all thermostats do. What makes the failsafe special is when it sticks, it will pop open at around 260, were a normal thermostat would not, thus keeping you from overheating due to a stuck thermostat.

[Mithrandir]

yeah but will my additive get into the system since i put it in the reservour? Since i just have water in it i need somthing to stop it from rusting so i bought some shit.