Hye i recently purchesed a 240 volvo dl, it only has 130000 miles and its been kept up great, but today i drove down about 60 miles and on the way back the car was in the red line for temp!, then latter in town at a random point it once again was in the red line for temp, when i poped the hood there was a small amount of steam, i cant afford to bring the car into an auto shop does any one have any ideas? of what might be wrong, oh and i did add about a cup of water to the radiator fluid but i doubt thats the problem</P>


I live in california and the heat today was pretty hot, i think that might have somehting to do with it</P>


Thanks all any help would be greatly appreaciated<IMG src=smileys/smiley4.gif border="0"></P><edited><editID>btchblock</editID><editDate>37877.9897569444</editDate></edited>

 

Sorry to hear that, overheating is frustrating. </P>


First of all, if it overheats again, do not let it get as high as into thered. Try not to let it get over 3/4 of the way up the gauge. If you can, pull over to the side of the road, but do not shut the car off right away. Doing that will stop circulating teh coolant, which, although it is still hot, is important. Instead, keep the car idling, and turn the heater on full blast, as hot as it will go, and with fresh air selected instead of recirculating air. The heater basically takes it's heat from engine coolant, so it basically acts as a second radiator, which will cool down your hot engine. If you are on the freeway and can't pull over, turn your heater on and just go as slow as possible until you can get off. </P>


Steam is a good thing. Steam happens when coolant leaks and spills onto the hot engine block. This is a good thing because it helps us know where the leak is coming from, so we can fix it. When you park your car tonight, put newspaper underneath the engine bay. In the morning, look for puddles, and try to figure out where it is leaking from. It is probably just a rubber coolant hose that has gone - these hoses last 15 years max before they all develop holes or tears, leak coolant, and cause your car to overheat. The good news is that you can almost always replace it yourself - just need a new hose from an autoparts store (or the volvo dealer, but it will be more expensive) and some hose clamps. </P>


Good luck, hope it works out!</P>