So just finished replacing head gasket, radiator and thermostat. Car is still overheating.

Upper radiator hose is warm, though lower is still cool. Also the radiator fan never kicks on. Am I looking at a bad water pump?

 

are you sure your fan is working?

 

you very well could be, my friend had a beretta and when it was overheating it ended up being the water pump.. They really arent to hard to do if you have 3 er so hours and tools, just watch out so you dont blow the hg again

EDIT even if the fan isnt working it shouldnt over heat that much, it your are doubtful run a switch with power to the fan and try that.

 

I'm now thinking that the reason the fan isn't coming on is b/c the upper hose never gets hot enough (b/c the coolant isn't circulating...)

 

if its not circulating then there is your answer, water pump they cost about 40$ it wont hurt to put a new one in.

 

How can a water pump fail unless it leaks or seizes? I think that you have a bad thermostat or blockage in the plumbing. New parts can be bad.

 

There was fluid up by the lower hose (where the thermostat is) when I took it off, but it's not getting warm when the car's running

 

They can fail, how i do not know but i know thats what my stupid friend payed 500$ to get replaced so i guess they can fail

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dogginator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How can a water pump fail unless it leaks or seizes? I think that you have a bad thermostat or blockage in the plumbing. New parts can be bad.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I was thinking, I have gotten a bad new thermostat before but I would also look into seeing if there is a blockage in the cooling system first. If you wanted to see if you have a blockage you can always remove the thermostat and put the housing back on and start flushing the cooling system with a hose and the drain valve open and see if you get any flow coming through and go from there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by haccord2.2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
If you wanted to see if you have a blockage you can always remove the thermostat and put the housing back on and start flushing the cooling system with a hose and the drain valve open and see if you get any flow coming through and go from there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ugh, would be the third time I drained the coolant in the past two days. I'm thinking it's time to let the experts take a crack at it.