1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse Overheating

WILLY281

MEMBER
1999 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
200,000 MILES

I am having issues with my car overheating. This only started happening on warm days and when I am sitting in traffic. I have been noticing a little steam on my windshield and an odor of coolant. This goes away when I turn on the heat. When my car starts to overheat in stop and go traffic, I turn the heat on to keep the temperature down. I have to add coolant to the system every so often; even though my reserve is full. It is not too much; I would say 2 cups every 2 weeks. What I am unsure is if it is my heater core, because I do not see any coolant on the floor. The steam on the windows leads me to believe that it is. If it is my heater core, is this something that I can do from home? I have read online that I would need to have someone drain the A/C. Is this true?

Willy

2 Replies

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Replacing heater core is a pretty big job which requires removing basically entire dashboard and draining cooling system as well as disabling air bags.

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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 AT 9:33 PM

MATTECLIPSE

MEMBER
1 POST

I had the same problem with my 2000 4 cylinder Eclipse. I read the Haynes Manual and it said to make sure there is still radiator fluid in the overflow tank when the car is running. It all runs on a kind of vacuum pressure system. Make sure there is plenty of fluid in the overflow tank first, if not then turn the car off and let completely cool. Add fluid to the radiator until full then fill the overflow tank to the top, The excess should come out of the drain hose for the tank. O and check when the engine is on and running for awhile if the top hose going into the radiator is hot, if not the radiator fluid is not circulating and you might need to replace the water pump.