alright..more overheating problems. i'm at my wits end

its a 90 LS..its had the thermostat and head gasket changed. something was leaking..i narrowed it down to the water pump..JUST had it changed half an hour ago.

started the car and the idle was fluctuating between 1000-2500..there was zero coolant in there so we figured it was that and it needed to be bled..

i put in about 3/4 of a gallon of 50/50 and it stopped. i go to reverse out and it shoots all the way up from operating temp..to the red line. i take it out of gear and it goes back down to operating temp. i shut the car off for a couple minutes..then i take the radiator cap off..put in some more fluid and leave it be.

i went inside for two minutes..came back out and the thermo needle was 3/4 of the way to the red line..so i shut the car off. turned the ignition to see where the needle was at and it went to normal operating temp. i turned on the heat and it shot all the way up to past the red line..(still with the car off and just the ignition turned)

the kicker is that the lower radiator hose is ice cold.

i've run out of ideas.

 

Ummm...

Try the Temp sensor? If it "shoots up" then it sounds more like an electrical problem rather than an actual cooling problem.

 

i was thinking more along the lines that there was air somewhere.

 

That would be an odd solution to the problem but hey, if it works than it works. Burp the bastard and get back to us, if you can't burp it well enough (or so you believe) I think there's a suction tool you can put on the radiator that will take all the air out.

 

what thermostat did you use? alot of the aftermarket thermostat is c r a p..try just using the stock from acura...works wonders

 

it was some one from advanced auto..just the 7 dollar one from them. its been installed for a month and doesnt even have 15 miles on it

 

trust me...they are junk from autozone even new..get an acura thermostat from the dealership and it will work wonders.....

 

it cost more but well worth it

 

did you bleed the air out of the coolant?

 

This is not a physical coolant problem to what it sounds to me. I just spent a month diagnosing my dads cooling system on his 351 Ford Windsor motor that i rebuild cuz he blew the headgasket.

First thing first, get an additional temp gauge on there, either a mechanical u can hook up to compare to stock or if its OBD2, get a scanner and run it with it hooked up, see where the temp gets on there, sounds to me like u have an electrical issue. As simple of a cooling system is on a Teg there is no reason the air pocket shouldnt pass without u even knowing it.

My dads cooling system takes 7 gallons of coolant, has a complete rear heating system with seperate heater core and is a massive engine that takes a while to heat up, that cooling system wasnt that difficult to get the pocket to pass, thats not the problem here.

Start with this. Empty the radiator. Get alot of coolant ready, fill the radiator so its about 2 inches from the top. Start the car and lay some **** on top of the engine to so it doesnt get coolant on it. Let the car run and warm up, ignore the temp gauge, u will know when its overheating, u dont need the temp gauge for that. Watch the coolant level, its going to come up slowly. After a few minutes some crazy ***** gonna start to happen, engine RPM will fluctuate, coolant level will rise somewhat quickly and then "hick-up" and might spit some coolant out. AFter this happens, fill the radiator up and put the cap on. Your cooling system just passed its air pocket.

If the needle still does crazy ****, you have an electrical issue, and u have to get a different gauge/scanner on there to monitor that. For all u know, its cooling just fine and u cant tell. Trust me, after having things apart and rebuilt and put back together, things will never go too smoothly, just work with it and good luck.

Too bad u werent closer to Chi-town, id fix that **** for a case of beer.

Dan

 

I think if you do what ChillOutWayne said you should get the problem solved.

These are some other things worth mentioning. I know when I filled my coolant system after my rebuild it took around 20-25min for the cooling fan to turn on, so you have at least that long to play around without your engine overheating.

When you initially fill the radiator make sure you have the heat turned on high. Leave the radiator cap off. Some B-series motors have a bleeder on the upper coolant neck. I usually crack that loose when I think all the air is out. Coolant should bubble out and finally run out in a steady stream when all the air is out of the system.

The lower coolant hose will only be warm after the thermostate opens. It may even take the thermostate 2 times before the lower hose gets hot. It may take a while.

I also agree it sounds more like an electrical issue. Hope you get it figured out!!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ChillOutWayne &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Start with this. Empty the radiator. Get alot of coolant ready, fill the radiator so its about 2 inches from the top. Start the car and lay some **** on top of the engine to so it doesnt get coolant on it. Let the car run and warm up, ignore the temp gauge, u will know when its overheating, u dont need the temp gauge for that. Watch the coolant level, its going to come up slowly. After a few minutes some crazy ***** gonna start to happen, engine RPM will fluctuate, coolant level will rise somewhat quickly and then "hick-up" and might spit some coolant out. AFter this happens, fill the radiator up and put the cap on. Your cooling system just passed its air pocket.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the radiator was empty from the car dripping out all of the coolant..and when it turned it on the idle jumped for 1000-2500 up and down. i filled it most of the way up and let it sit..and it warmed up (within two minutes, too as opposed to the 10-12 it was taking before the water pump was put on today) when it reached operating temp it started to trickle over a bit..but no big bubbles like i'm looking for. i put the cap back on..went to move it and then it started overheating.

other than the temp gauge and hearing the coolant bubble i dont really know of signs of overheating.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ChillOutWayne &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
If the needle still does crazy ****, you have an electrical issue, and u have to get a different gauge/scanner on there to monitor that. For all u know, its cooling just fine and u cant tell. Trust me, after having things apart and rebuilt and put back together, things will never go too smoothly, just work with it and good luck.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont know why it'd be electrical since there was nothing like this happening prior to today.

but i will do this all again tomorrow and post back..thanks

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by simike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
When you initially fill the radiator make sure you have the heat turned on high. Leave the radiator cap off. Some B-series motors have a bleeder on the upper coolant neck. I usually crack that loose when I think all the air is out. Coolant should bubble out and finally run out in a steady stream when all the air is out of the system.</TD></TR></TABLE>

it had started to overheat when i let it sit..so i shut it off. with the car off and the ignition turned to "on" i put the heat on and it jumped all the way to the red..but the car was off so i dont know whats up.

there indeed is the bleeder at the end of the upper rad hose..i've been told you need some sort of straw or something though..so once i let it bubble through the open radiator and it chills out i should open this and make sure it comes out in a stream?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by simike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The lower coolant hose will only be warm after the thermostate opens. It may even take the thermostate 2 times before the lower hose gets hot. It may take a while.</TD></TR></TABLE>

but the thermostat opens once it starts getting hotter than usual, no? so if it was overheating why would the hose be ice cold?

 

How good is your radiator? I had a problem like this in a vw I used to own, went through a lot of the stuff you did and it turns out the readiator that was in the car had a defect. I took it to a radiator shop and they tested it for me. Bought a new one, car was fine. Good luck with fixin this, hope ya make it to the meet

 

have you done any cleaning to the cooling system?
when my brother had his crappy chevy blazer.. it would always over heat...
turns out coolant solified inside his radiator and he never knew.

also did you put the headgasket on properly? is it on backwards?

 

It's either your radiator, fans not turning on, but I truly think its your thermostat. Look at it this way. Start with the easy stuff first. You can try bleeding system. Everytime I've changed the thermostat and used autocrap stuff it still overheats.

 

alright..i just spent the last two hours outside with it. i started it and left the cap off. i waited for it to heat up. while waiting to heat up it shut off completely. not just the motor, but all interior lights as well..like someone just pulled the plug. i started it back up fine and it did it twice more within the next 15 minutes.

once it was warmed up it did it once more. again, i started it and just sat waiting for the next hour. watched the temp needle, periodically checking the coolant to look for movement/overflowing/anything. i left the heat on full blast during all of this. the car is fine. its not overheating at all, no more leaks at all. i took it for a 8 or so minute drive and there were zero problems.

so right now its been sitting for about the past ½ hour just idling. no problems.

oh and the lower rad hose is warm to the touch..no longer completely cold. i dont know whether or not the surrounding heat has made it warm or if there's some sort of flow. regardless..its warmer.

 

just was with it another 20 minutes. the fan does turn on and the lower radiator hose was hot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by igo4bmx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">have you done any cleaning to the cooling system?
when my brother had his crappy chevy blazer.. it would always over heat...
turns out coolant solified inside his radiator and he never knew.

also did you put the headgasket on properly? is it on backwards?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've used bars leaks on the radiator.

head gasket is OEM honda and was put on properly.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by . M i c h a e l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">alright..i just spent the last two hours outside with it. i started it and left the cap off. i waited for it to heat up. while waiting to heat up it shut off completely. not just the motor, but all interior lights as well..like someone just pulled the plug. i started it back up fine and it did it twice more within the next 15 minutes.

once it was warmed up it did it once more. again, i started it and just sat waiting for the next hour. watched the temp needle, periodically checking the coolant to look for movement/overflowing/anything. i left the heat on full blast during all of this. the car is fine. its not overheating at all, no more leaks at all. i took it for a 8 or so minute drive and there were zero problems.

so right now its been sitting for about the past ½ hour just idling. no problems.

oh and the lower rad hose is warm to the touch..no longer completely cold. i dont know whether or not the surrounding heat has made it warm or if there's some sort of flow. regardless..its warmer.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Leave the heat off completely and do it again, and take it on the highway.

And as far as the car shutting off randomly, i told u u had a electrical problem.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ChillOutWayne &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Leave the heat off completely and do it again, and take it on the highway. </TD></TR></TABLE>

so i can get stranded there?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chilloutwayne &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

And as far as the car shutting off randomly, i told u u had a electrical problem. </TD></TR></TABLE>

shush you..dont jynx me!

 

Damn this is why I love HT... People helpin each other out

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Alexander &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Damn this is why I love HT... People helpin each other out </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah man, aside from all the bullshit that goes on here sometimes..its cool that you can just come on here and troubleshoot your car from the comfort of your home.

<FONT SIZE="5">a big thank you to everyone who helped me out.</FONT>