Hey fellas I am trying to help my cousin diagnose his 88 Ef Sedan.

Specs

D16a6 swap

New Radiator
New thermostat
New Water pump
No smoke from tail pipe
Coolant was clean and free of contamination.

Currently he is having the following symptoms:

1 The rad fan is not kicking on.

2 Even with the rad fan not kicking on the temp on the gauge does not go above half when you let the car idle for an extended period of time.

3 After you let the car sit off for about 15 mins it will push coolant out thru cap and run terrible upon startup and show full hot on temp gauge

Thanks for any help

 

first off get the fan working. see if the fan itself is dead or just a relay. Apply 12V directly to the fan if you didnt know. polarity shouldnt matter. one way is gna be high speed and the other low speed. If that checks out than do a coolant pressure check. Apply around 13 lbs to the system. see where leaks are. if none than do a leakdown test. maybe wort comes to worst the Headgasket is blown.

 

Make sure to bleed all air from the coolant system properly first!

 

Trouble on hot starts and pushing coolant is a sheer sign of a blown headgasket...

Does it still make heat? Thats another sign..

Pull the VC and Id bet you'd seen some oil/coolant milkshake on it..

You can pull the plugs as well.. Bet they're being "steam cleaned"..

 

The heat works just fine and it only does the coolant surge after you let it sit.
The rad fan is working since it turned on when we hit it with 12v. The fuse for the fan is also good. Where would the fan relay be located?

With the fan working what else could cause it not to turn on when it reaches temp?