02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

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Lizard13
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Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 5:52 pm

02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by Lizard13 » Mon May 20, 2013 5:55 pm

My Dodge Intrepid is overheating and I have no idea why.
My radiator was just replaced. Thought that was the issue because there was a hole in the side plastic. Radiator is now 2 weeks old, and I haven't driven the car because it still overheats.
My heater blows hot hot air so I don't think it is the thermostat not opening up. But then again the 02 Intrepid is supposed to have the thermostat on the cool side of the system, so I don't know if that would allow the heater to still work if the thermostat wasn't opening up. But I do believe that on my 02, since some internet aritcles state that the design was changed, that the thermostat is on top. I had to replace the long water tube under the intake a couple years ago and I seem to remember the thermostat under the center housing.
There isn't any water in my oil, so the water pump seal is still good.
The car is running smoothly so I don't doesn't appear that the timing has jumped.
I am not sure if the catalytic converter is plugged, but the car has power.
Not sure if the TPS or wiring is bad.
And I don't know if the Temperature control valve would cause overheating if it was going bad.
Am in need of some serious input as to what could be causing my car to overheat.
I am car literate, so I will understand what you say.

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ProTech
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Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by ProTech » Tue May 21, 2013 6:58 pm

'Overheating' is a relevant term here. How bad is it overheating? What temp does it get up to? Do you ever lose heat from the vents?

You might want to start by making sure you still don't have an air pocket in the cooling system from the previous repairs. Other easy visual checks are looking to see if a constant stream of bubbles is going into the overflow tank or are present at the radiator cap opening. This would mean you've got a bad head gasket or other internal failure.

If everything seems to check out with the cooling system, you'd have to start looking elsewhere for the cause of running hot. This could still be an internal engine issue, or like you mentioned a clogged catalytic converter. Also, check to make sure the cooling fans work normally. If they aren't coming on, that would be a good area to check for your overheat issue.
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Lizard13
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 5:52 pm

Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by Lizard13 » Fri May 24, 2013 11:44 am

Overheating to make the engine stall. If I run the heater full blast, it will get hot, but not stall. And no I do not drive the car, that is what happened on the day I had to get it home after first allowing it to cool off and adding water. I can't tell you what temp as the temperature gauge does not have numbers on it. Normal operation temperature for the car had the temp needle under the half way mark. The Temperature gauge never registered that the car was getting hot. That is why I did not notice any issue until the car stalled at a light.
No, I never lost heat from the heater vent.
No air pocket, all air was release from the system.
The Dodge Intrepid does not have a radiator cap. The only cap is on the overflow tank and the plastic is to thick to see any bubbles. There isn't any steam coming out of the tailpipe and there isn't any water in the crank case.
This car has been well maintained and I only use synthetic oil.
I have taken the car to a mechanic to do a diagnostic on all the sensors etc, check the catalytic converter etc.
The cooling fan is working. That was the first thing I checked.
I would not be on this forum if I had any idea what was going on. I have checked everything that would normally be a factor. Everything that has been suggested to me so far was checked before I posted to this forum.
What other internal issues are you speaking of?

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ProTech
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Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by ProTech » Fri May 24, 2013 2:16 pm

Well, something is making it overheat, and that's all the suggestions I can think of that usually cause a car to overheat. Other internal issues could be burned valves, piston scoring, etc...probably not the cause but just wanted to let you know everything that's possible. By the way, a head gasket could still be bad and NOT put any coolant in the oil or have steam coming out of the tailpipe. You'd really need to do a leakdown test to find out for sure, or at the very least a compression check although that's not 100 percent accurate when looking for head issues. If by turning the heat on full blast remedies the problem where the car won't stall, that's because you're taking away some of the heat from the cooling system. I'd still recommend looking for restrictions in the cooling system, such as build up in the hoses, passages, thermostat, etc. Was it overheating before you had the new radiator put in, or just leaking? If it wasn't overheating until after the radiator job, something went amiss there, maybe the wrong radiator, or just poor installation. If it was overheating prior to the radiator replacement, then still check my suggestions. That's about all I can offer, you've either got something extremely simple staring you in the face that you're missing, or you've got a problem child that's going to be hard to diagnose.
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Ashman8311

Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by Ashman8311 » Sun Sep 18, 2016 12:31 pm

My 02 intrepid is doing the same thing. Except it pushes all of my water out and then runs hot. It will not take any water until it completely cools off which normally takes an hr or so. Any suggestions?

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carriedi
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Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by carriedi » Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:59 pm

you should check you coolant cap to see if it hold the pressure marked on the cap. Most of the cooling systems work at temperatures higher than the boiling temperature of water. The radiator cap keeps the system under pressure to keep the coolant a liquid and now letting it become steam. Steam has a lower ability to transfer heat away from the engine.

If the cap is good and holds the pressure marked on the top of the camp, I would wait until the engine is cold, fill the cooling system and put a pressure tester om the cooling system. Start the engine up and watch the pressure. If the pressure rises too quickly, (Pressure goes up faster that the temperature rises) I would suspect a head gasket leak. Checking for hydrocarbons at the radiator cap opening would verify if the pressure is caused by compressed gasses from the cylinder is entering the cooling system.
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Trell

Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by Trell » Sat May 05, 2018 9:43 pm

Does the thing with the strew on the top to let steam out causes my car to run hot

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carriedi
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Re: 02 Dodge Intrepid is overheating

Unread post by carriedi » Thu May 10, 2018 10:25 am

there should be no steam in your cooling system. You should only have very hot, liquid, coolant in the cooling system.

can you upload a picture of the 'screw' you are talking about?

Your radiator cap has a pressure rating on the cap. when the pressure goes above the rated pressure, when it gets hot, it will allow the excess pressure into the overflow reservoir. When the coolant cools back down the cap will allow the coolant in the overflow to get pulled back into the radiator.

Some cars do have bleeder screws so you can fill coolant and bleed air out so you don't have an air pocket when refilling the system but they are not made for steam. They are made for refilling the system with ambient temperature coolant into a cool engine.
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