My engine overheats, when its gets warm. Could this be due to the exhaust leak I have on my passenger side manifold? I havent got around to fixing it yet. I put the cylinder heads onthe oppositebanks like a retard, but I just rerouted the oil cooler line, and it seems to sound ok when its running. Is that going to be a problem? Would that be part of the overheating? How much is it going to cost to get a pair of headers installed? Thanks

 

The exhaust leak won't make the car overheat, but a leaky head gasket will.Check that the fans come when the engine is hot, make sure you have a clean radiator, t stat put in the right direction. Reversing the heads should make no difference as long as the gaskets are oriented properly and not blocking any water passages. Make sure you use proper coolant filling procedures and purge out all the air.

 

Thanks your reply it was very helpful,no one was able to answer my reversed head question. Its good to know I don't have to turn them around. I have a brand new head gaskets, and I am pretty confident I installedthem correctly. Dumb question, but how do you purge out the air? The dealership put in my coolant, but who knows how they did it.

 

Remove radiator cap & fill all the way to the top, replace cap. Add coolant to the overflow tank to the full mark. Run engine & when fully warm open the brass bleed screw (don't unscrew all the wayout). The air bleed vent is located just above the water pump on the thermostat housing / water outlet. Let the air bubbles & coolant flow out until justcoolant comes out,and then tighten screw. Check level in overflow tank & add coolant if needed. Be careful not to get the optispark wet as it really hates water.

Make sure that the fans are running when the engine is hot, if they are not, that is propbaly the reason the engine overheats.

From Alldata:
Diagnostic Aids

If the temperature light or gauge indicated overheating, but no boil over is detected, the gauge or light should be checked. The gauge accuracy can also be checked using a scan tool to compare the coolant temperature reading with the gauge reading.

If the engine is actually overheating, and the gauge indicates overheating, but the cooling fan is not operating, the Engine Coolant Temperature (ETC) sensor may have shifted out of calibration and should be replaced.

If the engine is overheating and the cooling fan is operating, the cooling system should be checked.