So i went to the mountains, and came back along the way i find out my radiator hose blew so my car started over-heating.

Got that replaced luckily i was close to a town along the way back.

Car worked fine and got home safe. Next day i drove again, and this time my radiator blew and there was a crack in my radiator. So i replaced that. Then i noticed my thermal is still bouncing around so i thought i should replace my thermostat too.

i replaced the thermostat, and replaced the coolant fluid. And put everything back in normally.

Today was fine until i started driving on the freeway then i noticed my engine heat hitting 3/4 of the gauge.


I dont know whats going on?

I replaced everything, radiator, radiator hose, thermostat, and coolant fluid and its still over-heating.

Does anyone know what the problem might be? its starting to get on my nerves. Im running out of ideas as to what it can be.

 

Possibly you overheated it and blew the headgasket?

 

Check your coolant level, you might not have purged all of the air in the system out, thus allowing the temp to raise easier and oddly.

 

exactly what i was going to say. Prob air bubbles in the system causing it to overheat

 

unfortunately you have not replaced "everything" other components of the system include water pump, fan, fan switch, heater core, head gasket and a ton of other hoses.

but as others have mentioned, start with the most simple thing which is bleeding the radiator. also check to make sure the fan is operating properly. next you can test your cooling system for exhaust gases (blown headgasket). then start looking at other components.

worst case you have a warped head and blown gasket

 

yeah i did the plurging thing, i left the cap off and turned on my car for about 10 minutes to let it bubble off, but ill do it again just to double check.


im scared its a blown head gasket.... so im trying to do everything else before it comes to replacing it.

 

Are u sure u have the right thermostat and installed correctly?

 

^^ yes sir, all thermos are the same for my series motor... and its in correctly..

i just did the bubbling thing, so far my car is fine... but i havent runned it on the free way yet. dont wanna run it too far and i wont be able to make it back.. then would have to tow

 

You losing coolant? Is the fan coming on when the temp is high?

 

Just drive it around your block. You'll never know for sure if you did the job unless you take the chance, man.

 

Yeah fan is coming on, my coolant reservoir almost got depleted after like a 15 minute run before i re-did the bubbling check.

 

Just a subject that I threw some info together on (in a different thread/site) but I thought it might help you (you might want to check/replace the cap;

Leak in the cooling system;
Look for the easy obvious; signs of leakeage. Puddles on the ground. Lots of coolant on the tranny/backside of engine (pesky heater hoses)

Cooling fans;
Sit at idle to see if the fan comes on (duh). If they don't, you may have to rev it up a couple o' few of times to get heat going. Of course, watch the gauge as you do it.

Thermostat;
Pull thermostat and check it by boiling it in water and seeing if it opens fully (though most just replace it. Cheap and easy flip flop).

Radiator cap;
Have the radiator cap pressure tested (though, like the thermostat, most just replace it),

Radiator;
Look for obvious signs of rust and green/white flake build up on the exterior (usually located on the lower half). See if fins are just flaking off. Look for "wet spots". Pull radiator and have it pressure tested.

Blockage in the cooling system;
Flush the cooling system seperately (radiator then engine side) to check for blockage.

Water pump;
Check for signs of "weepage" under the water pump. Listen for grinding or squeaking (usually a chirping sound) coming from water pump. Look in the radiator cap opening and see if the coolant is actually moving (obviously, do this when engine is cold).

Headgasket;
Comp check and leak down. Look for oil contanimation or oil levels filling themselves up, lol. Look for air bubbles in the coolant as well as hardening of the coolant lines(pressurizing from the headgasket allowing combustion chamber pressure in the cooling system). Look for white smoke out of the exhaust after warm up. Check for hydrocarbons in the coolant (though this all could be good, but you could still have a bad headgasket. That's the tricky part).

.....and the etc. is for whatever I forgot/missed

MB

 

YES UR RIGHT..... LISTEN TO HIM!!!!!!!! I THINK NOTHING FORGOT!!!

 

Does anyone here use Prestone for their cooling because that's what i have now. Would that be o.k ??

 

Check your spark plugs and post their condition. If they are fine, get some coolant UV dye and find the leak.

 

Prestone is fine. Don't be so paranoid. Lol.

 

I had the same problem turned out to be my water pump....

 

My guess would be head gasket. Just had the same thing happen to me.

 

you said you left the radiator cap off and let the engine idle and bubbles were coming out?
do you know where the bleeder screw is?

 

If ur car do this at idle means that u could have a leak in headgasket...

 

If the bubbles don't stop, its headgasket.

 

Not to jack the op's thread but I'm having a cooling issue with my B18C in my hatch too, went out today and noticed I had no heat, temp guage was at normal. I just did a coolant flush/fill and new T-stat about a month ago and its been fine, now today no heat, the heater valve is operating fine but the lower rad hose is ice cold while the top hose is hot?!? Then I went for a longer drive and temp guage is going up to HOT and then floating back down, so I proceed to put ANOTHER thermostat in and bleed the system again and its still acting up?!?!?

Headgasket is good, checked the rad for combustion gas and did a compression check all is well there. Could it be my water pump? I've never seen one just stop pumping... they usually start leaking and the bearing goes out.

 

when your car is idling and your rad cap is off can you see fluid moving or if you rev the motor can you see coolant flowing? If not you may have a bad water pump.

 

I just love threads like this where everyone helps everyone out and is so helpful. Not sarcastic. Lol

 

With engine warm and rad cap off I noticed the coolant was ice cold in the radiator and was not moving much at all... but the water pump seems fine, I guess its hard to tell though without taking it off. I've never seen a water pump just stop pumping... usually they start leaking and squealing and stuff!