2000 accent

hey I have a 2000 accent, when i start the car, it runs fine. then
when it runs for about an hour or so, the temperature gauge (next to
spedometer) looks like it gets real warm (above hot) and the littlle
oil light faintly flashes. and the engine makes weird noises (sound
bad) the noises sound like its about ready to stall and then it does.
Ive had a few people suggest thermostat it was a 20$ fix so i did
that, but still same result, I'm hoping its not what im afraid of the
head gasket but if so I MAY be able to get around that or something...
Thanks

 

It sounds like your fan isn't kicking on. There are two coolant temp
sensors. You may need to change the one that controles the fan relay.
You didn't say anything to lead me to think your head gasket is bad
yet, but you will have that if you don't fix the overheating problem,
possibly even a warped or worse (cracked) head or block.
Bill

 

hey Bill,
Thanks, well when it starts off with the fan is kicking on, but i only
get the scary noises after it gets warmed up, in that case thats about
an hour later, so im not sure if at that time the fan is on. do you
know what sensor that is that controls the fan..
Thanks
Alex

 

Are you saying that the car overheats after it's run for an hour, and then
starts making noise again, and chokes out and dies? As in... an overheated
engine seizing up?

 

The fan is controlled by your engine control module. The coolant
temperature is reported to the engine control module by the coolant
temperature sensor in the thermostat housing.

Before jumping into further repairs, you should make an audit of your
cooling system's performance.

First, check your coolant level. If low, check for and repair any leaks.

Next, check for proper coolant flow. With the engine cold, remove the
radiator cap and start the engine (a/c off). You should see the coolant
circulate through the radiator prior to the fan turning on and prior to
coolant boiling out of the radiator. If not, you have something
preventing flow. In most cases, this is caused by a stuck thermostat,
but
can also be caused by a clogged radiator. If you have trouble seeing
well
enough into the radiator to tell whether you have coolant flow, you can
feel the hoses. If only one hose is hot, the coolant is not flowing. If
both hoses are hat, the coolant is flowing.

Once you've determined you have coolant flow, allow the engine to
continue
to run. The radiator fan should begin to cycle on and off as necessary
to
manage coolant temperature. It should continue doing this without the
coolant boiling out of the radiator.