Kevinsluminaeuro Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 alright so i cant figure out this damn overheating the car doesnt overheat really bad it hits like 230 i believe until the fan turns on in which it goes down to about 200 but its still going up to the line before 260 on my 94 lumina which is when the overheating light comes on.. but it only does this when the car is at a stop,once it overheats at a stop i will hit the gas and the car will cool down again. im guessing a bad flow somewhere, the only thing is the radiator gets hot EVERYWHERE and the only other thing i havent replaced or that my brother didnt have replaced other then the radiator is the heater core. the thermostat, hoses,water pump, coolant sensor and whatever else other then the radiator and heater core have been replaced, i think it might be a clog in the heater core stopping my circulation and causing the car to heat up but my dads conviced the heater core WILL NOT make the car overheat but ive noticed whenits overheating and i hit the gas i can hear the water starting to move through the heater core, so im guessing its forcing the fluid thru it but its not enough pressure to do so when im at a stop? any suggestions ? this probably is just starting to be a pain in the ass, its been like this since february Quote
Supreme Cutlass Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 I take it you've already tested the coolant, but is the condition the same with the heater on/off? Quote
bartonmd Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 Does the fan switch on? Next time when this happens, turn on the A/C and the fan will kick on... See if that lowers the temp... Mike Quote
94CutlassSLCoupe Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 has the cooling system been bled since the last time it was opened up? Quote
Kevinsluminaeuro Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Posted October 18, 2005 alrighty the cooling system has been bled MULTIPLE times,the coolant is new and has been changed and flushed like 3 times, and the fan is working and if i turn the a/c on it will run better but the fact is i shouldnt have to use both fans to keep the car from overheating so im trying to narrow it done and find the problem Quote
bartonmd Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 Did it do this before you changed the stat? If not, I'd change the stat again.. The heater core will have nothing to do with it. One question though... WHen you mix coolant, what kind of water do you use? Do you know what kind of water was used before you got the car? I ask because, if you use regular, tap water, the minerals in it can build up in the radiator (and engine for that matter) and clog it up, or coat all the walls so it has a much harder time getting the heat out to the fins... How scaley were the water pump the thermostat housing when you changed them? Mike Quote
Kevinsluminaeuro Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Posted October 18, 2005 yea ive changed the tstat like 3 times and it doesnt do anything, the reason i ask if its the heater core is cuz if theres a clog it would stop the flow from going thru and keep cycling the engine and when i hit the gas i can hear the coolant starting to push through the heater core but i never hear the noise when im driving or when its not overheating and i hit the gas, only when its overheating,and i never saw the water pump my brother got it done when he had the car out in cali, but th t-stat housing has all kinds of buildup on the outside so the hose was leaking but the inside of the housing was clean and its 50-50 mix coolant with distilled water Quote
Euro Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 ok so the gauge....after the fan turns on...what slash mark is it by? lol sorry thats all i go by, i dont know what those middle slash lines are supposed to read it might be the fan temp sensor or something like that...i forgot the actual name Quote
bartonmd Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 the noise you're hearing is the air in the lines from the boiling coolant... pretty much, no matter how fast water/coolant flows through the system, you don't hear anything... it's the air in with it that you hear... Also, as long as the 'stat is open, it doesn't matter if there is no heater core there at all... When it's closed on the other hand, it matters... I'd at least take the water pump off and look at it (make sure all the blades are in tact and everything)... The shop may have found a problem that wasn't the water pump and just fixed the problem and charged him for replacing the pump... Also, if there is buildup from the coolant, maybe you used distilled water, but somebody before you didn't, and at this point, that's what really matters... that stuff doesn't happen overnight... Mike Quote
sdwhite Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 Three things. Since you haven't specifically said it, I'll guess it hasn't been tested. Have you tested/replaced your radiator cap? If it's bad it will let the coolant boil at a lower temperature. I've heard that some "radiator stop leak" products *can* clog up the radiator and heater core. Ever ran that crap through it? Lastly... If you have a bad head gasket blowing hot exhaust into the coolant, that'll cause your overheating. Are you losing coolant? Any oil in water/water in oil, etc? I would also make sure that the radiator wasn't physically clogged with leaves, dead bugs, etc. Can make a difference. There's a product out there called "watter wetter" that helps heat transfer in the radiator...heard good things about it. Quote
bartonmd Posted October 18, 2005 Report Posted October 18, 2005 One thing you can do is a back-flush on the radiator... You just hook up a hose (like garden hose) to the "Cold" side and seal around it, and watch was comes out of the "hot" side... interesting to say the least... Mike Quote
Kevinsluminaeuro Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Posted October 18, 2005 ok so the car is reading at the 4th line up the line that is before 260 degrees which would be kinda high id imagine, i have replaced the radiator cap to and it didnt seem to help anything,never used stop leak because it doesnt leak it just boils therfor i loose coolant that way, i have inspected the head gasket and its not that or the intake manifold gasket, it doesnt overheat when you drive anyways its ONLY when im at a stop, and i also put a pressure tester on it over night and it didnt appear to lose any pressure or leak anywhere so im just really stumped on what it is Quote
sdwhite Posted October 19, 2005 Report Posted October 19, 2005 Well...Sounds like you need a new radiator. They get plugged up with minerals anyway. Every time it boils over, it deposits a few more minerals inside the radiator. You *may* have had one of the other problems for a while...but, the crap built up in the rad. to cause a similar-yet-new problem. Otherwise, I'm stumped. Quote
94CutlassSLCoupe Posted October 19, 2005 Report Posted October 19, 2005 The gage on my car is all messed up...mine goes pretty high even though my DIS reads at max 228 degrees...and that is when i idle in traffic for a LONG time. Quote
GP1138 Posted October 19, 2005 Report Posted October 19, 2005 Yeah, I had a Tech-II hooked to my car in Auto Tech class, and it showed about 15* lower than my gauge was reading. I'll wager dollars to donuts yours is doing the normal "overheat at idle" routine that all W-Bodies do. Quote
Kevinsluminaeuro Posted October 19, 2005 Author Report Posted October 19, 2005 yea it seems to only overheat at idle but what kinda tool could i use to check the acutally temperature not from the gauge Quote
Kevinsluminaeuro Posted October 24, 2005 Author Report Posted October 24, 2005 ok heres an update i brought it to some guy who tried giving me the typical BS most mechanics that dont have business do he said its a head gasket for sure and that the fan wasnt working first off i drove home without the fan connected cuz he never plugged it back in and it didnt overheat second the fan does work i watched it turn on myself, and third the head gaskets are not blown there is no coolant leaving my system no coolant in my oil and i put a pressure test on adn started the car and there was no white smoke or water indicating coolant in the oil, no im trying to figure this out eveyrthing is new like i said before BUT the radiator and heater core, it seems that i keep getting air in my system cuz once in a while my temp gauage will spike to 260 and just as quick as it went up it goes right back down to normal operating temp. the head gaskets are good and the intake manifold doesnt appear to be leaking when i put the pressure test on i looked everywhere and could NOT find a leak, although it was losing pressure anyone have any idead why i am losing my pressure but there is absolutely no coolant leaving my system? Quote
briandors Posted November 7, 2005 Report Posted November 7, 2005 You can drain and fill, or even garden hose flush, till you're red in the face. If the radiator has deposits, it won't clean them. I used a Prestone radiator cleaner. Our radiators are right at the limit of what one bottle SHOULD clean. I used two full bottles, and ran it almost twice as long as the bottle said. After that, lots of flushing with clean water (distilled, fill drive car drain). My temp gauge went down very noticeably. If that doesn't do it, you need a new radiator. Too much crud. Quote
chadz34 Posted November 7, 2005 Report Posted November 7, 2005 Save all the hard labour and just buy a new rad. It's a waste of time trying to save a ruined rad. Quote
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