Help with engine over heating and P0174 code

[Abelardoo_12]

I daily drive my car and the other day everything was normal when all of a sudden i got a message on the dash saying the ac shut off due to engine being too hot so i looked at the temperature gauge and it was almost touching the red line of the H so i let off the gas and then it slowly went back down to its normal temperature. My destination was a mile away when this happened so i got there and parked the car. Then on my way back the same thing happened after 15 minutes of driving except this time it would get hot then go back to the middle after i put it in neutral and then go back up once i took off again until it reached all the way to the H so i parked and turned it off for 5 minutes and it went back down and kept doing the same thing till i got home. Ive never seen this happen where the temperature moves up and down that quick like nothing. What could be causing this ? Would it have to do with the ticking noise that i posted about a couple of days ago that I've been hearing coming from the passengers side ?

Also i have the check engine light on due to the headers and the oxygen sensors since im not tuned yet so i checked it to see if anything new popped up due to this problem and i got code P0174 along with other codes saying bank 2 is lean and low voltage circuit to both sensors on bank 2. They advised me that it was the fuel pump and needed to replace it. The thing is that it's only on the passengers side which is bank 2 but nothing on the other side so do I really need to replace the fuel pump ? Or is it just the oxygen sensors giving me false signals since i dont have a tune yet ? Or does all this come back to the same noise I'm talking about ? Please help

[JD555]

Did you check your coolant level yet?

[Abelardoo_12]

Originally Posted by JD555

Did you check your coolant level yet?

I did, that same day after i got home and parked it for a while i checked the coolant and filled it all the way up, it was missing a little but not enough to be causing the engine to over heat. And even after i filled it to the top the next day after that i drove for a while and everything was good until i parked at a friends drive way with the car running and the temperature started going up slowly again. This was yesterday morning and so far I've been driving it and it hasn't happened again yet so far

[Candr3535]

Are fans coming on. If so I'd look at thermostat first.

[Rogue Leader]

Yep sounds to me like the thermostat isn't opening. Not a big deal to change, just messy.

make sure to buy premixed 50/50 Dexcool. getting the right 50/50 mix yourself is a PITA

[Abelardoo_12]

Originally Posted by Candr3535

Are fans coming on. If so I'd look at thermostat first.

Yeah the fans are working, I'll take a look at that and see if there's anything wrong there

[MrChrisLS3]

Try the heater, and see if you have hot air. Could very well be the t-stat. Or their could be some air in the system. Have any work involving removing/refilling the coolant recently?

[Abelardoo_12]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

Try the heater, and see if you have hot air. Could very well be the t-stat. Or their could be some air in the system. Have any work involving removing/refilling the coolant recently?

No work has been done to any of that in a while, I'll check the heater after work and see if it works

[Abelardoo_12]

The heater works perfectly, nothing seemed wrong with it

[Rock-It Man]

Did you check the radiator level, or just the dipstick in the surge tank?

And has the cooling system been drained and refilled recently due to some other engine work?

Let the system cool down and then remove the radiator cap and look there.

[Abelardoo_12]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

Did you check the radiator level, or just the dipstick in the surge tank?

And has the cooling system been drained and refilled recently due to some other engine work?

Let the system cool down and then remove the radiator cap and look there.

I didn't check the level i just poured water in to the radiator until it was all the way full. And no work has been done to the cooling system since I've owned the car. I drove it to work today which is 35 miles and then after work i drove it for about 50 more miles and everything seemed good, it didn't over heat or gave me any other problem. It's a really wierd situation

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by Abelardoo_12

I didn't check the level i just poured water in to the radiator until it was all the way full. And no work has been done to the cooling system since I've owned the car. I drove it to work today which is 35 miles and then after work i drove it for about 50 more miles and everything seemed good, it didn't over heat or gave me any other problem. It's a really wierd situation

I think you should go back to square one, if you are not the original owner.

Drain the system. Then put in the required amount of straight coolant to make a 50/50 mixture (see owner's manual for capacity) and top off with water. Run the motor with cap off until you see coolant circulating to the top of the radiator. This could take quite a long time...20 minutes or more. Now top off the radiator with water and keep running the motor. Once the level in the rad is stable, put the cap back on. Make any adjustments to the surge tank level with 50/50 coolant/water.

[Abelardoo_12]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

I think you should go back to square one, if you are not the original owner.

Drain the system. Then put in the required amount of straight coolant to make a 50/50 mixture (see owner's manual for capacity) and top off with water. Run the motor with cap off until you see coolant circulating to the top of the radiator. This could take quite a long time...20 minutes or more. Now top off the radiator with water and keep running the motor. Once the level in the rad is stable, put the cap back on. Make any adjustments to the surge tank level with 50/50 coolant/water.

Well I've had the car for two years now and never had anything like this happen, but I guess it would be time for a coolant flush anyways so I'll be doing it whenever i get a chance

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by Abelardoo_12

Well I've had the car for two years now and never had anything like this happen, but I guess it would be time for a coolant flush anyways so I'll be doing it whenever i get a chance

It would be cheap insurance to change the thermostat while doing the the coolant replacement.