Brian P Posted June 30, 2003 Report Share Posted June 30, 2003 My car has been running a little hotter than normal...ie the temp would stay at around 215* on the HIGHWAY with a 180* stat. In traffic it will climb to 230! This car never ran hot like this before, and of course after those occurences I opened the bleeder valve to see if any air was in the system, as well as I checked for proper operation of the cooling fans, checked for water in the oil, etc etc. Came up with nothing so I assumed the radiator needed replacement....for some odd reason. Anyway on my way home from work friday, coming to a red light after some (rather) hard driving, the temp climbs to 240 for about a minute. After accelerating it goes back to 220......I get home, shut off the car and hear gurgling. Open the bleeder valve and air just hissed out for the remainder of time there was pressure in the system. And much coolant forced itself into the overflow resevoir until things settled down after a few hours. This seems to conclude that engine compression is getting into the cooling system. Any other suggestions? PS please no BS answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slade901 Posted June 30, 2003 Report Share Posted June 30, 2003 PS please no BS answers How is your exhaust coming out? If you are concerned about oil and coolant mixing (head gasket problem), try to get a coolant system tester. This is not that typical coolant tester that measures the freeze and boil protection. This tester is put in place of the radiator cap and this will measure the content of the coolant for possible engine gases mixing with the coolant (head gasket problem). You can get this at Autozone, Advance, or any other local autoparts store. Possible bad water pump impeller. When was the last time you have replaced the coolant (flushed) and the thermostat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted June 30, 2003 Report Share Posted June 30, 2003 I hate to say it Brian, but I agree with your diagnosis. Those symptoms are pretty classic of a head gasket. My head gasket let go 4yrs ago, your car is only 1yr newer, and considering these cars seem to all share similar problems... well, head gasket sounds likely. Don't you have a 3100 you were gonna swap in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted July 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2003 well, good news. It wasn't the head gasket from what I can tell. The water pump impeller has got to be fine, I replaced the pump about 4 years ago. The coolant gets changed every year, more so if I did something like 6 months ago I replaced the radiator cause of a leaking side tank, then right after, I removed and replaced the intake manifold gaskets, so the coolant is +-4 months old. I used my noggin on this one. I thought about how the coolant sounded like it was boiling. Boiling point goes down as pressure goes down on a liquid, so I went right to pep boys before work and picked up a new radiator cap. Got home at 11pm, checked the oil for coolant, put the cap on, drove the piss out of it for 45 minutes. Checked the oil again. At this point she'd typically be at 230* but she was staying at 190 no problem. Went into town to test it out with stop and go driving, she got up to 230 but as soon as I took off it cooled off back to 190 within a few minutes. Before I drove off I felt under the door and there was no hot air being blown = cooling fan is not on. Bring it home, let it idle and the temp gets to 231-232 and the fan still didnt kick on. Put on the AC and the secondary fan came on only. I spun the primary fan a little and it started right up. So all I need is a non-flaky primary fan and I'm good. Also relieved!!!! Oh and the exhaust sucks, there's 1 bracket at the muffler that keeps rubbing the frame, making a squeaking sound every time I go over a little bump. This car, man. It squeaks, the suspension bushings suck, has a nail in 1 tire and a popping sound is heard from the rear when coming to a stop, but this bitch keeps on going. Thank heavens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted July 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2003 Oh, I dont have a 3100 block, just everything else. I may be doing a 3.2L with the Vin T block, or I might go on a limb and get a low mileage 3400 Vin E block, which is what I really want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Glad to hear it wasnt a head gasket. Thats a lot of work for a ~$10-20 part. Just rig up your primary fan with a toggle switch and control it in the car. I think that would work better, that way, you can keep it cool when YOU want it to, not when it wants to. Oh, BTW, I think I have a lifter stuck in the "up" position. Loud clicking, a little back fire through the intake. Im pissed. I got it all apart already, well, everything but the lower intake, and all in 1.5 hours. It just pisses me off alot............damn lifters Robby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted July 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Glad to hear it wasnt a head gasket. Thats a lot of work for a ~$10-20 part. Just rig up your primary fan with a toggle switch and control it in the car. I think that would work better, that way, you can keep it cool when YOU want it to, not when it wants to. Oh, BTW, I think I have a lifter stuck in the "up" position. Loud clicking, a little back fire through the intake. Im pissed. I got it all apart already, well, everything but the lower intake, and all in 1.5 hours. It just pisses me off alot............damn lifters Robby wait you didn't remove the lifters did you? As a minimum I would re-check preload and torque on the rockers and bolts. As for the fan, well the ECM gives it power but the FAN is flaky. Happened today too, I had to go underhood and spin it to get it to go on its own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 No, I didnt take out the lifters. I talked to some of the guys at the dealership and they said to not do what Comp Cams said to pre-load the lifters, and to torque them down the spec that was used for the stock ones, even though Im usin adjustable studs. Im just gonna take the rest off tomorrow, and rotate the crank a couple of times, and see what is going on with the valve train. That fan sounds like a junk yard item to me. I really hate dumb stuff like that goes wrong. That sorta stuff drives me nuts Robby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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