I just got done putting in a new thermostat and washing out the old coolant and put new coolant in. I started it up and let it warmed up then took it for a spin around the neighborhood. After like 2-3 minutes, the temp needle went past the middle and was over in the red zone.

What else can it be? I even changed the oil and put in Mobil 1 10W30 and the oil light still blinks. It would like blink on and off, on and off and I have no idea why its doing that. I thought it could of been low oil but thats not it. What should I try next? I need help! Thanks!

Oh yeah, its a 96 4Dr LS.


Modified by Khoifather at 3:09 PM 9/8/2007

 

Did you flush the system properly? When filling it back up, did you bleed it to make sure there was no air in the system?

 

Yes I did bleed the system until no bubbles were showing. How do you know if the water pump is bad?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Khoifather &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes I did bleed the system until no bubbles were showing. How do you know if the water pump is bad?</TD></TR></TABLE>

did you do it this way pour the coolant untill full,start the car with cap off and watch it untill no more bubbles thats the only real way to test for air bubbles untill the coolant start to come up put the cap on,or did you just pour coolant in untill all bubble gone and just put cap on

 

I poured all the coolant in, turned the bleed bolt, left the radiator cap off, and put the heater on, on full blast. Problem is, no heat is coming out. Do you guys think its from changing the thermostat? What can I do to fix it?

 

Are the fans running?

 

The fans turns on as soon as I turn on the car. Usually they come on when the thermostat opens right?

 

Ohhhh kay... quick lesson in your oil light. It does NOT come on because you're low on oil. it comes on because you're low on oil pressure.

If you've let your temp needle go up into the red that is very !BAD!. Shut it down way before that point.

Check your dipstick and report back about what colour it is. My opinion is your headgasket is TOAST at the very least.
-Rik

 

Maybe your sensor is just reading wrong. Does the engine actually get hot? Have you checked the sensor?

 

if the engine overheats it will knock the CEL will turn on and the car will shut off...lol i speak from experience...

 

No way I'll let the temp to the red, I shut it off as soon as it goes pass the middle mark. I did check the dip stick before and it looks like new oil.

The engine does get very hot even from idling. I'll try to touch the valve cover or the radiator and it's extremely hot.

I haven't seen the cel come on yet so no cel on that one.

 

I would pull off the head and check the head gasket make sure its not blocking any passageways for the coolant. Did you feel the top and bottom hose coming out of/into the radiator? Are they hot or cold?

 

The top radiator hose was hot, I couldn't barely touch it but the weird thing is, the bottom radiator hose wasn't hot at all and I could put my whole hand around it which is a big difference from the top radiator hose. Is that normal?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Khoifather &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The top radiator hose was hot, I couldn't barely touch it but the weird thing is, the bottom radiator hose wasn't hot at all and I could put my whole hand around it which is a big difference from the top radiator hose. Is that normal?</TD></TR></TABLE>
sound like the waterpump

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Khoifather &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The top radiator hose was hot, I couldn't barely touch it but the weird thing is, the bottom radiator hose wasn't hot at all and I could put my whole hand around it which is a big difference from the top radiator hose. Is that normal?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No thats not normal at all, it should be a little cooler than the top one but not much cooler. If the bottom one is cool like you say, that means the water isnt circulating which means its probably the thermostat but you already replaced that so i'm gonna have to say its the water pump, like the guy above.

 

yea sounds like water pump not circulating.
I would change water pump.
I learned from experience that a radiator that looks fine with no leaks but high mileage can still be bad and cuz overheating.


Modified by roger93si at 2:48 PM 9/10/2007

 

How much do you guys think it'll cost to change the water pump? Seems like alot of intensive labor....

 

I'd say in the ball park of 500 bucks depending where you take it.

 

dam 500 bucks!
more around 150-200 w/parts.
not very difficult maybe an hours work.

 

What percentage of water are you using? It's the water that cools the motor, the coolant makes sure it doesn't boil and/or freeze. You should be using at least 50% water...

 

Won't you still have a heater without coolant circulation!?!?!
Sorry, I'm trying to to think to hard about this as I'm leaving work, but this doesn't sound right to me. When I have seen no heat, there is usually alot of air in the lines. The air usualy comes from the headgasket, unless you were flushing the radiator or changing the t-stat.
Did you overflow the resivoir tank at some point during the initial overheating?
Do a leakdown test, if you have access to the tools.
Squeeze both top and bottom hoses at the same time when you are filling it up...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thewrai6th &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Won't you still have a heater without coolant circulation!?!?!
</TD></TR></TABLE>

No circulation = No heater.

 

to bad u aint in cali ill do it for 120 and ill get u a new waterpump free cause i got a lifetime warrety

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sdinteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What percentage of water are you using? It's the water that cools the motor, the coolant makes sure it doesn't boil and/or freeze. You should be using at least 50% water...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm using the Prestone 50/50 mix, it says not to mix it with water cause it's already mixed.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thewrai6th &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Won't you still have a heater without coolant circulation!?!?!
Sorry, I'm trying to to think to hard about this as I'm leaving work, but this doesn't sound right to me. When I have seen no heat, there is usually alot of air in the lines. The air usualy comes from the headgasket, unless you were flushing the radiator or changing the t-stat.
Did you overflow the resivoir tank at some point during the initial overheating?
Do a leakdown test, if you have access to the tools.
Squeeze both top and bottom hoses at the same time when you are filling it up... </TD></TR></TABLE>

What about this though, when the engine is idling and I feel the upper radiator hose, it's extremely hot that I can barely touch it. But when I feel the lower radiator hose, it's cool enough for me to touch it and there's a huge temp difference. Is that normal?