Hey guys, so I'm having an issue with overheating. Normally, this wouldn't be a hard problem to troubleshoot. However, these are the following symptoms:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) Coolant leaked from somewhere, some steam
6) Could not get 2-3 blocks without temp gauge hitting past "H" while car is warm.
So I checked and found that the thermostat housing was ajar, so I replaced with new thermostat and gasket.
This is the result:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) No leakage, but steam still
6) Got about 3 miles/5 kms before gauge hits "H"
I found that the steam came from a major dent in the radiator, very close to the top coolant hose; this dent was also leaking. So, next I tried replacing the radiator; the replacement came with its own fan and its own pressure cap.
Now we have this:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is slightly warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) No leakage
6) Fan doesn't turn on (could not get fan off replacement rad, so kept it on for now)
7) Got about 9 blocks before overheating.
For the record, fan turned on later, somehow. But not when I needed it to. I'll probably replace with original fan, but it's relatively cool out and if the car is moving, there still should not be any overheating with no fan. Besides, if it were truly hot and the fan would make a difference, wouldn't the radiator be hot as well? By now, I figure the water pump is bad, and I've got it stripped down to right before I remove the crankshaft pulley, and I find the pump is neither leaking nor is the bearing worn; the pump feels very solid still. So, instead, I decided to try tightening the belts to spec.
This happened:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is slightly warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) No leakage
6) Fan doesn't turn on (could not get fan off replacement rad, so kept it on for now)
7) Got about 9 blocks before overheating.
So, one way or another, coolant isn't moving around. However, I don't understand why the top coolant hose is still just a little warm? Is it possible the brand new thermostat is bad? I installed it the correct way, with the spring facing into the engine and the bypass hole at the top.
Or perhaps it's the fan? Or is it truly the water pump?
li Arc
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) Coolant leaked from somewhere, some steam
6) Could not get 2-3 blocks without temp gauge hitting past "H" while car is warm.
So I checked and found that the thermostat housing was ajar, so I replaced with new thermostat and gasket.
This is the result:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) No leakage, but steam still
6) Got about 3 miles/5 kms before gauge hits "H"
I found that the steam came from a major dent in the radiator, very close to the top coolant hose; this dent was also leaking. So, next I tried replacing the radiator; the replacement came with its own fan and its own pressure cap.
Now we have this:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is slightly warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) No leakage
6) Fan doesn't turn on (could not get fan off replacement rad, so kept it on for now)
7) Got about 9 blocks before overheating.
For the record, fan turned on later, somehow. But not when I needed it to. I'll probably replace with original fan, but it's relatively cool out and if the car is moving, there still should not be any overheating with no fan. Besides, if it were truly hot and the fan would make a difference, wouldn't the radiator be hot as well? By now, I figure the water pump is bad, and I've got it stripped down to right before I remove the crankshaft pulley, and I find the pump is neither leaking nor is the bearing worn; the pump feels very solid still. So, instead, I decided to try tightening the belts to spec.
This happened:
1) Radiator is cool to the touch
2) Top coolant hose is slightly warm
3) Bottom coolant hose is cool
4) Coolant level unchanged
5) No leakage
6) Fan doesn't turn on (could not get fan off replacement rad, so kept it on for now)
7) Got about 9 blocks before overheating.
So, one way or another, coolant isn't moving around. However, I don't understand why the top coolant hose is still just a little warm? Is it possible the brand new thermostat is bad? I installed it the correct way, with the spring facing into the engine and the bypass hole at the top.
Or perhaps it's the fan? Or is it truly the water pump?
li Arc
