Ok, I have searched all the forums and trying to do my own research on my overheating problem. Now I need help.

First, I am mechanically inclined to a degree so please include detail if able I will interpret the best I can if not I may need clarification.

here's what the problem is, intermittently overheats. I replaced thermostat and bleed the coolant system, burped it whatever you want to call it. No white smoke from exuast, coolant is in radiator and in resviour tank, fan does work. relay switch does work. local mechanic did a hydrocarbon test and I can include a picture but alarming the HC's were 2000. heres the weird part. a monthy ago the HC's were only around 35/40. Mechanic placed the hc test lead into the resevar tank not the actual radiator. the low HC's where before I replaced the stuck closed thermat. car does not go above halfway on the termasta dash gage unless driven for most of the day, I can go up hills and put load on the alternator with a/c and I also just replaced the belts serpatine, ac and alternator belts. my problem is that im stumped due to not knowing how it could be a head gasket if no signs point to it, however the HC test shows other wise. would like some help in this matter.

Please and thank you.

 

Do a leakdown test and see which cylinder/s are loosing pressure. I've successfully used this method to identify a bad HG, bubbles started appearing in the radiator as the air pressure dropped in a cylinder.

Definitely seems like you have a small HG issue between cooling jacket and a cylinder.

 

perform next when the car is cold only!!!

when the car is off open your radiator cap and have some one start the car, if you got coolant shooting straight out the radiator then your head gasket is bad. trust me on this one. good luck!

 

ive done that and peered through the hood gap and saw a coolant volcano shoot up when i started the car.

so im assuming head gasket, now another problem is for instance today i drive the car almost consistantly from 10am-about idk i want to say early afternoon maybe 1-2 pm car temp gauge started rising when idle then dropped back down to half. i let car sit in driveway with hood up while i waited to leave at 8pm to pick my gf from the oakland airport which is an hour drive away from where i live. temp stayed at halfway.

what is so confusing is im really finding it hard to believe that it is a head gasket due to the face that other then the 2000 hydrocarbons i have no white smoke no excessive temp fluctuations and no valve tap or head knocking and no misfires under the hood. maybe im begging for it to not be a head gasket but idk just seems really odd why the motor would keep chugging along like nuthing is wrong if its not? does that make sense or am i just hoping its not a blown headgasket?

 

You have a slight breach in your HG. Get it fixed before driving it again, at this point just replacing your HG Can fix your issue while, if you keep driving your car, it can be detrimental to your motor. And you may have to replace more than just your HG.

STOP DRIVING IT ASAP, your going to save your self alot of headache and money.

My car did the sames things as yours and i replaced the HG and it fixed it.
What kinds of work have you done on your car? im just asking to see what your capable of.
You can probably fix it your self.

 

^Enough said - install new head gasket if the head and block are not warped. Otherwise, shop for a new engine.

 

i have done the thermastat rotors and pads, hids foglights and headlights lowering spring sleeves new gas struts, coolant drain burp and flush, uhm sound system wiring , new gage face ..

could you walk me through the process of the head gasket and give me a rough estimate from 1-10 on the hardness level of doing my own head gasket as well?

 

I believe you should be able to do the job on this with out a doubt, just make sure you habe a good tool set, mainly open ends and sockets.

Good d16y7 HG there is a write up on d series.org thats pretty useful, and several quick frame videos on you tube that can help as well.

Basically you remove both manifolds, set car to TDC on #1 cylinder mark dizzy and timing and cam sprocket, loosen belt tensioner and slip belt off. Then in sequence remove head bolts and remover head, check for warpage if so resurface at shop, its head is all good put new gasket and work in reverse order from there.

 

Ok, i can answer your question alot better in this reply. The level of difficulty of doing a d-series head gasket i would say is a 7 Where 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
For tools You basically need an alright jack, and a mechanics toolset(sears has a good 250 piece toolset) i suggest if you dont already have a toolset then invest because i can assure you it will pay for its self in no time.

You'll need to buy coolant, oil, oil filter, HG, intake manifold gasket, valve cover gasket, and copper HG spray.

D-series.com has a really good write up on how to do a d16 HG.

 

hey ok this damn car still is confusing me... ok so i got the head gasket job done got a felpro headgasket smothered it in copper spray and machined the head .. brand new radiator, water pump, timing belt, alternator, thermastat (although idk if this was oem or not), and basically everything under the sun besides a new transmission and starter. so im driving boom car overheats again.. ok soo heres what i did:

-first i tried re-burping the system heater turn *** to high fan off.. also noticed no heat was coming out after a solid 30+ minutes of car on idle and temp gauge riased turned on fan (not ac part still no heat from vents even turned on ac and no heat thru vents, i did this at midnight soo def cold outside) did this in driveway with front of car raised.. (maybe heater core)?
-replaced the engine temperature sensor, the coolant temp sensor, and fan switch sensor .. checked the relays and all was good and the overheating happens during hottest part of day and sometimes in the evening (i live in california so temps are hotter then other places) and also when at idle. both top and bottom hoses are hot, fan comes on although idk if they are coming on correctly tho i would think it is due to replacing all 3 sensors.. im hella confused and cant figure this out..

*will get oem thermostat when i get paid after july 4th.*

can it be headgasket again? it cant possibly be another blown headgasket right? what the hell could be wrong with it? why does it still shoot up to red in temp but then comes back down when driving or on hot days shoots up a little hot but then comes back down i dont understand? it happens for sure when going uphil or some sort of load on it.. doesnt matter if ac is on or not.. please answer this is beginning to **** me off ive dumped way to much money into this car.. some one anyones help would be appreciated..

 

hey ok this damn car still is confusing me... ok so i got the head gasket job done got a felpro headgasket smothered it in copper spray and machined the head .. brand new radiator, water pump, timing belt, alternator, thermastat (although idk if this was oem or not), and basically everything under the sun besides a new transmission and starter. so im driving boom car overheats again.. ok soo heres what i did:

-first i tried re-burping the system heater turn *** to high fan off.. also noticed no heat was coming out after a solid 30+ minutes of car on idle and temp gauge riased turned on fan (not ac part still no heat from vents even turned on ac and no heat thru vents, i did this at midnight soo def cold outside) did this in driveway with front of car raised.. (maybe heater core)?
-replaced the engine temperature sensor, the coolant temp sensor, and fan switch sensor .. checked the relays and all was good and the overheating happens during hottest part of day and sometimes in the evening (i live in california so temps are hotter then other places) and also when at idle. both top and bottom hoses are hot, fan comes on although idk if they are coming on correctly tho i would think it is due to replacing all 3 sensors.. im hella confused and cant figure this out..

*will get oem thermostat when i get paid after july 4th.*

can it be headgasket again? it cant possibly be another blown headgasket right? what the hell could be wrong with it? why does it still shoot up to red in temp but then comes back down when driving or on hot days shoots up a little hot but then comes back down i dont understand? it happens for sure when going uphil or some sort of load on it.. doesnt matter if ac is on or not.. please answer this is beginning to **** me off ive dumped way to much money into this car.. some one anyones help would be appreciated..

 

I keep saying this. Take care of ALL known deficiencies before starting a thread. There could be a giant pocket of air trapped in the heater core or it could be bad. Was this an issue prior to all the work being done ? It would be a waste if you were stuck on it being a head gasket issue and this was the cause all along.

 

Only one thread per topic is allowed. Threads merged.

 

nooo i completely understand about taking care of it before the thread was started.. however my head gasket was bad so after replacing that i figured it would fix my problems.. so thats why i called on the forum for help..

soo could someone please help guide me thru the process of burping or bleeding heater core where its located and how? if anyone has pictures it would be appreciated..

thank you again,
armysniper18

 

Proper bleed procedure for the heater core is the same as bleed procedure for the entire cooling system. Put the front end on jack stands, remove the radiator cap, turn the HVAC temperature setting all the way to hot, start the car, and let it run for two to three radiator fan cycles.

 

notaracist, question- do i have to have ac on or off? or just the heater *** turned to heat do i have to have fan on or off? i can hear the hearer thing buzzing when i turn from cold to hot ... although im not sure if i need air on or off? ac or just fan on or off?

 

Doesn't matter if the fan is off or on. Keep the AC turned off, though. As long as you have the slider all the way to hot, the heater core will have fluid flowing to it.

 

ok i just bought a oem thermastat and new gasket i guess when i got the headgasket done the dumba** mechanic decided to use liquid gasket as a double gakset with the thermastat gasket and when i took out the thermastat i could hear gurgling like there was a **** ton of air in the thermastat housing on the engine bay.. i may have fixed my problem by that but do u think thats the cause? redoing it now, stupid mechanics and using liquid gasket sealer

 

Burp it and let it run.

 

ok im lost for words.. i did everything i can think of besides buying a new car and a transmission and starter... ive replaced the thermastat replaced sensors with warranty jumped the fan and it comes on ive flushed old coolant out with radiator drain plug bought new coolant let car fun at idle and saw it drop down into radiator and push back up both top and bottom hoses hot ..and the only thing i noticed was i could hear under radiator cap a hissing sound and u could also hear the resivor tank having fluid pushed into it from the radiator... im completly lost on what to do.. oil isnt milky no white gas no water on spark plugs doesnt make sense why its overheating...

 

seen this before with warped/cracked heads. you sure your machinist is competent? pressurized coolant flowing into the reservoir is a bad thing. you can loop the two lines at the firewall that connect to the heater core to eliminate it as a problem, or to confirm if the overheating issue goes away, but i really doubt that it is the problem. cheap to free to test, tho

 

Sorry I didn't read all comments I just wanted to share somewhat same situation. My ex ek did the same I replaced EVERYTHING . Thermo, sensors, switches, fuses, wp, tb, headgastekt, radiator u name it!!! And still when I got on it or sat too long starts getting warm. Also was loosing radiator fluid but no drips, no smoke, I was and still am stumped what it was. So I dropped b16 in problem solved

 

ill try that loop thing ... but one thing i noticed when i let my car go cold when i was going to go back out and look at it.. i noticed (keep in mind this was after i got home and heard radiator cap hissing...) i opened cap on resvior and noticed it was empty the radaitor after sitting had pulled all the coolant from the overflow resevior into radiator.. soo i tried one more thing...

-i tried bleeding it again.. raised the front end on an inclined hill.. (my driveway is inclined) threw a turkey bastet into the opening of the radiator mouth and noticed the temp was 200 degrees steady climb tho up to 200 degrees.. the temp gauge on my dash read halfway until about 200 degrees then and only then did the radiator fluid start bubling like it was boiling..

keep in mine i have great flow well at least it looks like it does i can see it moving side to side.. after it started boiling the fan came on but only for a short time.. the temperature gauge was now 80%.. and then it would stay there i was only idling...

i forgot to put the turkey baster on the engine valve cover itself but i figured just testing the radiator fluid was enough.. also both top and bottom hoses were hot.. soo whats extremely weird is it seems i have perfect flow.. tomaro i will buy new radiator cap..

but any idea about why coolant temp would be that hot and fan only comes on for a short time and when fan comes on temp doesnt drop:/ ????

also another thing to note... please dont jump to conclusion about head gasket with what im about to say.. soo when my car was on the incline nose down... i would turn ignition on after the rad cap was hissing let the engine get cold fluid shot out of the radiator about 6ft twice each time i turned it on.. soo i thought ok thats not good..BUT.. when i reversed incline meaning the nose of the car was now pointed up... i turned car on no coolant shot upwards out of radiator...?? this problem is so freaking wierd..

 

Noone ever mentioned replacing the head bolts or torquring them to spec..

how tight did you make the head bolts..?

 

go to your local parts store and rent a block tester. it contains a chemical that reacts to exhaust gases in your radiator. if it tests positive, you have head issues.