Question for car guys

[RevBrown]

I have a 90 Toronado.

On a 95 degree day should it be heating up to 200+ degrees in a matter of minutes?
When it reaches 230 it stays pretty steady for awhile.

It has gotten to 260 and given me the overheat warning a couple of times in the last week after
some heavy driving.

[Lohman446]

The cooling fan is designed to come on at about 220 degrees - it sounds like it is not

[BigEvil]

First, when its cold. check the coolant. Make sure there is enough, that it is green colored and not clear of brown. Fill or replace it as needed.

Next check to see that the cooling fan is operating.

If all the above is ok, I would suspect you have a bad thermostate. For the $10 they cost, it might be worth changing anyhow.

[MarkM]

Obviously I am not familar with this model but if it operates like Lohman has suggested this would be a common fault on all the cars that have an electrically operated fan...we have cars like this here and they tend to fail on a regular basis. The easy fix is to rewire the fan to be on permenantly, over cooling can also be an issue for fuel enconomy but it will stop the warnings in the short term.
The Thermostat being faulty is pretty common on all cars as is a dead/faulty temperature sender, it can be the wiring giving the fault on this part or the part itself but since it is pennies to fix that it is something to look at. Not fun to do since it tends to be very near the distributor on most engines so be prepared for the water coming out of the block when you change this
Look at all the hoses for any signs of leaks plus look ALL over the radiator for any signs of mould this is the best description since this is actually a leak and could well be a the cause of the lack of fluids, assuming when cold there is a lack.
The last thing that could be playing up and unfortunately the most expensive is the water pump itself, the only test for this is to check that the return flow of water is in fact going back to the header tank when warm, this return is very often a very small bore so ensure that there is no blockages. If you find no leaks check the oil filler cap for jelly deposits and the dipstick if you find this then you have an internal leak and that is going to be uber expensive since that is a head gasket failure.

[skife]

Obviously I am not familar with this model but if it operates like Lohman has suggested this would be a common fault on all the cars that have an electrically operated fan...we have cars like this here and they tend to fail on a regular basis. The easy fix is to rewire the fan to be on permenantly, over cooling can also be an issue for fuel enconomy but it will stop the warnings in the short term.
The Thermostat being faulty is pretty common on all cars as is a dead/faulty temperature sender, it can be the wiring giving the fault on this part or the part itself but since it is pennies to fix that it is something to look at. Not fun to do since it tends to be very near the distributor on most engines so be prepared for the water coming out of the block when you change this
Look at all the hoses for any signs of leaks plus look ALL over the radiator for any signs of mould this is the best description since this is actually a leak and could well be a the cause of the lack of fluids, assuming when cold there is a lack.
The last thing that could be playing up and unfortunately the most expensive is the water pump itself, the only test for this is to check that the return flow of water is in fact going back to the header tank when warm, this return is very often a very small bore so ensure that there is no blockages. If you find no leaks check the oil filler cap for jelly deposits and the dipstick if you find this then you have an internal leak and that is going to be uber expensive since that is a head gasket failure.

what'chu talkin bout?, a water pump is like $20

[Jaan]

Besides what everyone else said ... if you change the thermostat and decide you want one which will give you a little more overheating protection, you want one rated at a *higher* temperature.

OKay, this is how it works. If you have a run of the mill V8 the stock thermostat will be rated at 180 degrees. The thermostat will stay closed until it reaches that temperature than open, then when it gets colder it closes. When it's closed, coolant is stuck in the radiator and is being cooled off. When it opens, that "cold" coolant is then mixed with the stuff around the engine block. If you're having overheating problems it seems logical at first glance to get say, a 170 degree thermostat but if you did that it might not ever cool down enough to close the thermostat and it would stay open all the time. If this happens then the coolant wont stay in the radiator long enough to cool down. What you want is one that stays closed longer so the coolant in the radiator can cool down even more.

[Lohman446]

There is a coolant temperature switch for the computer that controls when the fan comes on, this is a normal issue with these causing the fan to fail to engage.

Standard part number is a TX3 - it is also recommended to replace the connector wtih it, Standard part number TX3A but most of the time it is not necessary.

Obvioulsy diagnosing problems over the web is the equivilant of a wild guess, but you have it.

[MarkM]

what'chu talkin bout?, a water pump is like $20

Well I didn't realise that this model of car had a sewing machine for an engine as $20 is nothing money though more expensive than the other parts I mentioned (except the Head Gasket) But think about it logically car parts can be very cheap but the labour to fit them is where the cost is and I think it would be fair to say that someone asking pretty basic car mantainence questions online isn't capable of doing these jobs themselves so will be paying a mechanic to do the work.

[CKY_Alliance]

Like some others said the thermostat may be bad but i know soem cars have sensors that snese the water or whatever and they can go bad causing the fan to come on...reason it stays around the same temp after awhile is because it does get some air flow form the grill...which helps cool it slightly.Take it to a autozone or advanced auto(assuming you have those in ure area) and they will do a diagnostic for free and that should tell you the problem.