Hello, I'm new to this brilliant forum figured id get some advice from more experienced people. I'm not exactly car savvy learning as I go. I just recently took my 93 Del sol 1.5L to a friends house about a 120 mile round-trip, and my car decided to start overheating it didn't fully overheat just about 90% never went int eh red only on city streets. As when i was on the Highway and freeway it stayed below middle. I get to my friends house and radiator fan is not kicking on at all So we hard wire it to the battery to get me home. I check both fan motors they work fine so i assume the problem is with the sensor at the thermostat housing? As-well my radiator doesn't seem to be leaking any coolant anywhere at all yet its not completely full anymore either i cant see it at all to be honest i just see the metal and when i run the engine to Operating temp with the cap off i see nothing going on. So i check the hoses to check there temp see if getting hot plus if i can feel coolant run through when revving the engine Top one feels right its pretty hot but the hose on the bottom of the radiator is significantly colder and feels like no pressure but doesnt seem as if the hose is in bad shape at all. I just replaced my thermostat so i dont think thats it im not sure. Any advice would be appreciated. Is my radiator clogged? Seems coolant isnt getting where it needs to.

 

did you bleed the coolant after replacing the thermostat

 

After i put the thermostat in i flushed the radiator but did not bleed it. The bottom hose seems to be getting no coolant at all, stays pretty cold while the top hose is hot, and i cant see anything going on withiin the radiator just see the metal no coolant but i know its in there. Doesnt show any signs of leaking

 

did this problem happen before the thermostat change?

 

Uh yeh it did. I just checked outside this morning and there seems ot be a small puddle where the waterpump would be located right front tire. but it doesnt have the consistency of Coolant. When i touched and tasted and smelled didnt seem that way could it still be coolant leaking from the pump though?

 

I run my engine this mroning and again its hot on top of raditaor bottom is cold same with hoses hot top hose bottom cold. Thermostat is in there properly. But im looseing coolant in my radiator cause its not full. Yesterday my raadiator almost boiled coolant and shifted alot to the overflow. So car hasnt been driven sence. I cant see ay leaks around teh area of the water pump either even tho its difficult to see. my oil looks normal aswell. I was told to flush my rad again buy new hoses if the return hose is cold maybe its clogged. But still doesnt explain how im loosing coolant overtime. Would it be wise to flush/bleed the rad change hoses put new coolant in or is this most likely not the easy fix kinda issue?

 

if i was u i would undo top and lower hose and run water thru top to c if it comes out good or any and same wit radiator. c if that helps.

 

I did do that took the thermostat out aswell and checked it it clicked at 80ish i believe so thats working. When i pulled the hose a fair amount of coolant came out but with the engine on before i cant even see coolant when i took the R cap off. All water flowed through thte rad and hoses fine. My rad fan wasnt kicking on either i noticed when suppose to the other day so i hard wired it temp fix. I check my switch that attaches to the Thermostat housing and it clicked it on no problem but theres this clicking noise i keep hearing everytime i click the fan on someone said thats the relay i need to fix its broken? and the other fan turns on with the ac only right? Anyway yeh rad and hoses look fine they had water go through them with no issues at all. I dont see discolor or milky oil so i dont think its leaking coolant into my oil. And i dont have a white discharge but still after a good 40-50 mile drive the car gets near overheating but never hits the red. Waterpump is a hassle to get to but could it possible be leaking that why coolant isnt flowing? I mean if the hoses thermostat and rad is good wtf else can it be lol. Thanks for as much help as possible.

 

My radiator fan recently wasnt coming on on my 93 del sol 1.5, 16 valve, I just bought a new thermoswitch and put it on the thermostat housing and seems to be ok now. While i was at it i took the thermostat out and i boiled in hot water to check if it works (its only about 1 month old) and it is working properly. I drove about 100 miles the other day to work and my radiator had coolant almost boiling in it and shot almost over the max into the overflow tank. My top hsoe is hot and bottom is cold doesnt seem like much reaciton out of it. I cleaned my hoses and radiator and everything seemed clean. No cracks in the rad neither. I also let it idle for 15-20 min to norm temp and i felt the rad hot up top cold bottom. I dont see any coolant leaks that i can tell but i do have a odorless water type consistent puddle that just poped up last night behind my right front tire. Doesnt smell or taste like coolant at all though, cold it still be the water pump??? Or am i mistaken and its something else atempting to overheat my engine. On the freway or highway it stays cool until i slow down to about 40 mph. Or in stop and go traffic after off the highway. But i know the fan is on 100% Any ideas? My previous post was not as detailed hope this helps.

 

2 things come to mind a bad radiator, is original?

or a bad water pump, sometimes the blades internally rot away and will not spin, when was the water pump done?