I just had the motor rebuilt, for turbo, but I'm experiencing some overheating problems. It seems that I've been losing coolent somewhere. I don't see puddles dripping anywhere when I park after driving, but I do have to refill the rad every now and then. Now is this normal; after driving, the upper radiator hose collapses in. Then when I go to remove the rad cap, the hose will expand back to it's original form. So basically I'm losing fluid, but air is not getting in the system and the hose collapses since it's rubber and flexible. Is that normal? I don't see why if there is a vacume, it doesn't suck up coolent from the over fill tank. Or is that a one way thing? Any opinions on the problem?
Other then that I still overheat when I stop in traffic for long periods of time, maybe 2-3 clicks from the red. But I have a fluidyne that will be going in soon but I want to know what the problem is before I install it. I'd rather fix the problem rather then mask it. Also, how can i check if the thermostat is ok?

 

ttt

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wo-Nelly &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now is this normal; after driving, the upper radiator hose collapses in.</TD></TR></TABLE>
That's never happened to me, and I don't think it's normal. Is the hose clogged, either the upper or the overflow hose? I think the overflow should be two-way, also.
Have you bled the thing to verify there's no air in the system?
Also - there's a way to test the thermostat. Basically it involves taking the housing off and dipping the thermo in hot water to make sure it opens. I'm not positive of the water temp. used for the test.

 

Thanks for the response.
any other opinions on the problem? I don't really want to start work on the car till I get more opinions and things I could check. For 1 thing I'm kinda lazy and it's also hella hot out, I rather just lose a gallon of body fluids 1 day and recoving rather then doing it twice...

 

up pls

 

have you bled the system to make sure you don't have any big airlocks anywhere through the system.

I'm going by experience from my other cars here (I have a Renault 5 GT Turbo which you probably never even heard of) but if you don't bleed that system - the air pockets can prevent water from touching the thermostat leaving your engine jacket without any water.

It also gives a false reading on your temperature guage !

 

hey man i had the same prollem with my 91 crx after a rebuild, i changed the thermostat drained allll fluid in it an then filled it back up an got lil better fans an the prollem wuz good with me didnt do it no more.

 

i bleed the system everytime I fill it. I guess I'll try to test the thermo stat sometime this week.

 

Don't know if you still need the help... but I've got the Helm's for my car, looking at the thermostat test.

You remove the housing, take out the thermostat, and suspend the thermostat in water with a thermometer in it. Heat the water up, and the thing should start opening from 76 to 80 degrees C. Should be fully open by 90 degrees. And don't let the thing hit the bottom of the pot or whatever you use.
Also it should open up all the way to 8mm (.3")

 

thanks, I guess I'll give that a try tomorrow night