Help! Stranded, engine overheAting! Gen 3 cam

[illuzionx]

Ok, firstly sorry if my typing is wierd, I am stranded and using my iPhone .
Well here's the deal, I went to pick my mother up frm the station and now we are stranded at the station.
As I was leaving I noticed he car was idling roughly, and as I arrived I noticed the engine temp almost hitting the red!
Luckily I hAd enough time to safely park, but I don't know what's wrong.

Firstly, how long should I wait till it's safe to check my radiator coolant?
Secondly, what else should I check?

Thanks 4 the help.

[2unknown]

i would check the coolant over flow tank for coolant..empty or not?
give it some time to cool down as it was near red...opening hood would help cooling faster...
on average for me, its about a good +30 minute..to be on the safe side
do you have a cloth or rag to open the radiator cap, just for precaution...

hope this helps a bit..

[Judge2]

Check the coolant level, check the oil level.

[kento16us]

Probably a stuck thermostat in the closed position if everythinig else looks ok. Not hard to change.

[uuuuu]

Can you remember if the radiator fans were working?

[JBlacks]

hate to say it but it could also be a blown head gasket.

[ghettosled]

just before you noticed the temp gauge going up, were you sitting idle in a parking spot, did you just get off a highway, were you in stop and go traffic?

i would check coolent level first.
if you just got off a highway, i would place blame on a faulty thermostat. if you were idling or stop and go traffic, i would check themostat, cooling fans and radiator. also, how old is the water pump? ive seen some with plastic fins and they actually broke off over time and not circulating coolent. but the water pump is not very likely.

[xtremeskier97]

V6 or I4?

[sterfry2004]

As said, coolant and oil are probably the biggies. Make sure you take the oil cap off, too, don't just check the dipstick because JBlacks is right and you might not see the milkshake on the dipstick. Make sure your fans are running, and the thermostat is opening. I think you can check the thermostat by feeling the radiator hoses for heat while it's running, but you might have to wait until the engine is cool before you can touch it.

Make sure you get it fixed, though, and don't push the temps just to get it home. I did that in a Jeep and blew the headgasket, cracked the head, and I'm in a full rebuild now.