Technical overheating question

[Jaka Cvajnar]

hello, i started getting abit woried when the car's temperature gauge started going higher the the usual place.

pic:

the usuall temperature is where the original needle is on the picture, but i started getting to the red line i added a few times now, it is usually when going 130km/h on a freeway and uphil.

Now i know why im getting overheating, as my current licence plate position blocks most of my radiator. My question is how much of a problem it is driving at that level for a short period of time, usually like 10mins max than it goes down to normal and back again and so on.And only when i take longer highway drives in hot days.on everyday drive i dont get to the normal temperature only. Is this a serious overheating problem or not to worry? thank you.

 

[judderbar]

hello, i started getting abit woried when the car's temperature gauge started going higher the the usual place.

pic:

the usuall temperature is where the original needle is on the picture, but i started getting to the red line i added a few times now, it is usually when going 130km/h on a freeway and uphil.

Now i know why im getting overheating, as my current licence plate position blocks most of my radiator. My question is how much of a problem it is driving at that level for a short period of time, usually like 10mins max than it goes down to normal and back again and so on.And only when i take longer highway drives in hot days.on everyday drive i dont get to the normal temperature only. Is this a serious overheating problem or not to worry? thank you.

These cars have a reputation for cylinder head problems due to overheating. Once the full heat of summer arrives the problem will be much worse.

 

[Brendan W]

Is the fan coming on when the temperature goes up?

 

[Jaka Cvajnar]

yeah everthing works, the car doesnt doesnt go above the normal temperature when driving in city or abit shorter trips. i only starts to go higher when i drive on highway for like 1hour at 130km/h. But i said i know why im getting higher temperatures because my licence plate is blocking the radiator, i just want to know how dangerous it is driving for 5-10 minutes at the temperature i showed.

 

[Brendan W]

If the car is running normally now you may not have done any lasting damage.
Severe overheating would lead to headgasket failure and melting of the inlet manifold.
Check coolant level and bleed the system to be sure there are no airpockets.
You could have a problem with the thermostat not opening fully or a lot of sludge in the radiator.
I find it hard to see a number plate blocking the radiator and causing overheating with the fan running. Does everyone else put their number plate up there?

 

[Jaka Cvajnar]

Well its not a stock bumper so yeah. The licence plate is mounted on the white mesh. So the licence plate completly covers the lower portion of the radiator and the bumper covers the top one. So it gets no airflow exept from the fan but i doubt thats enough for long trips. Last year i had it mounted differantly and never overheated even a bit. Coolqnt lvls are all fine. Drained 2 months ago. Im hoping the licence plate is making the problem. But i just wanted to know how dengerous it is to drive at that temperature

 

[Brendan W]

Nice job
Think I would be opening it up a bit to get more air in.

 

[Jaka Cvajnar]

Thanks. Nah it gets enough air in if i relocate the licalence plate. But all off topic. Car runs fine without the licence plate so thats not the problem. Just wanted to know if driving at just abit higher temperatures as normal for short periods would be dengerous

 

[Ziggy122]

Sounds like airflow preventing cooling

But note it could be a sign of a failing pump or sticking stat

Monitor that guage alot
If you gi above 1/2
Stick the cabin heater on max and fastest speed and point the vents out the car

The 2nd airflow should help maintain the temperature

Ziggy

 

[BILL33]

yeah everthing works, the car doesnt doesnt go above the normal temperature when driving in city or abit shorter trips. i only starts to go higher when i drive on highway for like 1hour at 130km/h. But i said i know why im getting higher temperatures because my licence plate is blocking the radiator, i just want to know how dangerous it is driving for 5-10 minutes at the temperature i showed.

Why dont you move the licence plate from there?
edit after reading the rest of the thread ; put the licence plate offset like in Alfa Romeo 156 .

 

[dumbledore]

130km/h is quite high speed for punto, so the engine is worked hard, nearly 4k revs. Even unrestricted rad will raise the temperature more than when you cruise at 100km/h. So is dangerous to let it overheat. Only push it if you have too, and then back off to 100km/h to let the engine cool. So don't overheat if you love your car.

 

[Jaka Cvajnar]

thank for all the messages.

ziggy- yeah its overflow problem and i know how to fix (licance plate).i doubt its the other reasons, but i will travel without the licance plate next time to confirm this, if i still get above the normal maxing point than i have a problem. also its summer so heat on max wont work for me, ill move the licance plate, if that wont help, i rather use AC and drive 100km/h and have normal temps than 130km and heater on max haha

Bill- i will but its still in the process of that, at the moment i have it there because i can easly remove it in 1minute when on carshows, and no i wont do the alfa version as i find that totally retarded and it ruins the look of a car.

Dumb-yeah 130km/h is high, that is the speed limit here on highways, so ofc i drive at that, its 3k rpm in 5th gear. but as you said punto not rlly ment for that much hard work so i get that its overheating.


Still the overheating reason is not my question haha as i belive it is the licenceplate/ overflow problem that i know i need to fix.

i just wanted to know if it a huge problem driving at the temperature i showed, my temp usually stops at the same point as on the picture, but the last time i drove it for a long time at fast speeds it got to where i marked, but just a few times when going uphil, it wasnt there constantly, and if i backed down to like 100-110 it went back to normal. i belive i can fix this just by relocatiing my licance plate, but until than i just wanted to know how bad it is if i hit abit higher temps again.

So in the end the conclusion is, its not its not catastrophic if i drove it like that for a few mins at a time, but to be safe i shauld relocate the licance plate and never go above the usuall max temp?right

 

[Scudmonkey]

Knowing that Punt's really don't like running hot (specifically HG don't like it) i wouldn't take any chances with it overheating at all.
10 Mins may be fine once in a while, but i would wonder if the effects could be cumulative if done on a regular basis.....so personally i wouldn't take a chance