Loki

iTrader: (1)

How high does it rev? It could be indicative of a vacuum leak or ignition problem. It could also just be the A/C compressor cycling. How high it revs, and if it ever stalls out completely, will indicate severity.

Respectedwealth

It usually goes no higher than 2500 and I did once have the car die on me. But after a minute it started normally. I thought it could be because it was a hot day. My A/C I’ve noticed also stops from time to time. Is there any way to fix this problem?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Ok yeah, that's not great. A few things to check to confirm/eliminate possible causes:

• is the car stock? No aftermarket intakes or anything?
• Any visible broken or disconnected houses under the hood?
• Any history of overheating? Does the engine temp needle move at all when this is happening?
• Check engine light on?
• If you have access to an OBD reader, it would be great to collect the follow data while the car is warmed up and idling: rpm, AFR, short and long term fuel trim, coolant temperature

When you say A/C turns off, does it come back on within 30 seconds or so, or it stays off?

Respectedwealth

yes the car is stock.

Yes there is one.

it does overheat on hot days. [im actually waiting for it to cool as I’m typing this] The needles does move but I’ve noticed when I put it in acc the needle is very hot the. When I turn on the engine the needles goes to the middle.

No check engine light.

a mechanic did it once and said it was normal

It stays off. I’ve never had it turn back on

and thanks for the help. My parents think I should have gotten a corolla

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Ok, that's ok that's your barometric sensor. It should be open.

These engines are suuuper sensitive to overheating. If the needle is moving at all, you're in danger. If the needle is all the way right, it's dying. So that's not great.
Under what conditions does it over heat? Standing still or driving at speed? Traffic?

Respectedwealth

I mostly drive it around Chicago, so I get a fair deal of both, but definitely mostly stop and go traffic, but I can still get it so some speed on the highways around where I live

Loki

iTrader: (1)

I meant what are you doing when it overheats?

Respectedwealth

It is usually in traffic after about an hour of driving. My bad.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

It should be able to handle traffic in Chicago without overheating. A few possible explanations: the rad fans don't turn like they used to /have burnt out. Easy to test, just let the car idle and wait for them to turn on. They should go to low speed, then either turn off and on periodically or go to high speed. You can confirm if they're both turning, and if they do go to high speed it means the car is still not handling heat well. You can check if coolant in the radiator overflow bottle bubbles while it's warming up. DO NOT OPEN THE OVERFLOW WHILE CAR IS RUNNING OR STILL HOT.

The next possibility is the repeated overheating has damaged the engine. Bubbles in the overflow should point to that. You can have any mechanic do a "block test" for exhaust gas in the coolant. That will confirm it. You're lucky if it hasn't been damaged, to be honest.

Does the car still have the plastic tray under the radiator and front bumper? Not having it can lead to poor cooling at speed.

Respectedwealth

The car does still have the under tray. Thanks for the advice, I’ll go and do a block test

Respectedwealth

I was thinking of replacing my thermostat and was wondering if I should also replace the water pump. To help with the overheating. Also is there anything else I could change to help with the issue