HI i have a 02 dodge stratus sedan, 2.4l dohc, thats boils over after 45mins to an hour of driving, ive already changed the thermostat, water pump,hoses, radiator, everything is new, i have no leaks thru out the system, i have pressurerized the system to 16lbs and its holds with out leaking, ive also purchased a new cap, after all this the car still boils over after about 1hr, driving, i use the orange coolant that the dealer recommends, iam almost at a lost here, ive gotten suggestions that it might be the head gasket leaking, is there any way to test this?, there is no exhaust smell, no does my oil have water, has anybody had this issue before? iam a pretty good do it yourselfer! so im saving money by doing all the work myself, but before i buy a new engine, can i repair the one i have? any help would be great im almost out of ideas on what is causing this?

 

You did not indicate if you check or replaced the items listed below.

I would check the items listed below.

1. Tempture sensor
2. HI and Low speed fan relays
3. HI and Low speed fans

I have a 2000 Stratus ES 2.5L that was boiling over intermittently and I resolved the issue by replacing the HI speed fan.

 

Are your fans kicking on ???

 

when you did the work on your car, did you bleed the air out of the coolent system? My '00 was overheating intermittently, similar to yours. There was an air bubble that formed in the system that was blocking the flow.

What I did was to let the car idle with the radiator cap off until the coolent was swirling smoothly. It had girgled randomly for a few minutes as all the air purged out.

 

with the time it takes your car to overheat i would ask about your norm drive. i'm guessing it's mostly at speeds above 40mph for about 43-44 min. with speeds this high one does not need the cooling fan to operate in order to keep the motor cool. with the a/c on (if it's fan works; if it doesn't work this can be the issue) the speed can be dropped to about 30-35mph as long as you do not have a lot of stop and go driving (waiting at lights).

the first thing to check is if the fan comes on when the a/c is turned on. you might not have an issue with the engine cooling system.

the second question, why do you think your car overheats? guage, lots of steam, or just a bubbeling sound?

let us know.

 

thanks for the quick reposnses!!!
I have checked my fans lo/med/hi speeds im getting about 2200- 2400 rpms on low and in HI iam getting about 3800-4000 rpms, i measured with a laser inducter with reflctive tape on both fans, also when the car is idileling i can hear the fans changing speed also both engine and a/c fans, when the a/c is on, i havent changed my Temp sensor because it looks to be reading correctly, when the car is not gurguling the engine block reads 200 degrees at the temp sensor location, when its boiling over its about 240- 250 degrees, also read with a laser heat gun. ive tried releasing the air from the system by parking at a uphill, when the car is idiling and opening the bleed valve i get nothing but steem until about 5 mins when fluid starts spitting out. i drive only on long roads hardly any stop and go, and speed average about 45- 65 mph at the most. the car overheats because my reservoir is spitting like crazy, & the block is gurguling too. the car has never been driven to far to cause damage, its as soon the gauge starts climbing up & start seeing steem from the hood. ive basically replaced every part in the cooling system water pump new, thermostat 195 degree new, Radiator new, hoses, & new coolant orange. the only thing is left is the head gasket i believe, also the heater core works i get pretty good heat thru my vents. so im still at a lost. any help would be great also ive used the dye that Napa sell to detect emissions in the coolant and also that comes up empty no change in color.
Any ideas would be gratly appreciated thank again.

 

That may very well be your issue... I'll try to get a video to show you, but no promises.
Open the pressure radiator cap, take it off. Fill to the top. I ran idle and watched the fluid drop in the tube, than it would spit. It did this for a few minutes. The end result you are looking for is kinda a whirlpool at the radiator cap that is steady (some will spill over) and not dropping/rising. I never fill the resevuar first, but rather to make sure the radiator is filled, and then fill the tank to the appropriate level.

 

leaking head gasket can be checked with a compression check to see if your cylinders hold pressure or leak into the block, this would cause the car to overheat no matter the speed (sounds lik it's ok to ME). try bleeding the cooling system with the car on level ground as any kind of tilt may trap air in the system.

i rember a sim issue on the 1st gen neon section of this sight. turned out the cooling fins on the rad were debonding from the cooling tubes, not allowing heat to transfer as it should. he took a pressure washer to clean out the rad and was amazed to see the fin come of the rad. hope this helps.