car running at etremely high temps

[jstang209]

i finally tracked down a leak in my cooling system yesterday after replacing both bypass hoses off the waterpump, it turned out that the upper radiator hose clamp had loosened up on the thermostat housing, anyways after replacing both small hoses and tightening up the loose clamps my car's temp guage stays in the upper red area after warming up. It hasnt overheated but the temp guage make it seem like it wants to. Anyone know what might be causing this?
thanks!

 

[GTOreturns]

i finally tracked down a leak in my cooling system yesterday after replacing both bypass hoses off the waterpump, it turned out that the upper radiator hose clamp had loosened up on the thermostat housing, anyways after replacing both small hoses and tightening up the loose clamps my car's temp guage stays in the upper red area after warming up. It hasnt overheated but the temp guage make it seem like it wants to. Anyone know what might be causing this?
thanks!

Get your system pressure checked. Mite be more leaks. Is the water pump itself leaking?

 

[jstang209]

i didnt see anymore puddles on the ground or steam

 

[HISSIN50]

In addition to my GTO's wise advice:

Also let us know when it runs higher on the gauge (while idling, while at speed, both, etc).
Be sure all air is out of the system and if you have doubts, get a real gauge.

 

[jstang209]

how do you make sure all the air is out? and the temps get high while driving, and them seem to go down a little when at idle

 

[BoostedSN95]

how do you make sure all the air is out? and the temps get high while driving, and them seem to go down a little when at idle

Turn the car on with the radiator cap off (cold start). Let the thermostat cycle and keep filling with 50/50. Be sure to make sure the car is not over heating.

Check to make sure there is no coolant in your oil!

 

[seijirou]

Yeah run it with the cap off. it will start to swell and puke coolant out of the radiator, let it puke and don't replace the cap. Watch for the fluid to start dropping dramatically, start filling. Usually it takes about two times of puking and filling to get the air out. Keep doing it untill she gets consistant and quits puking.

 

[jstang209]

should i wait for it to cool down becuase i just got home, would it be ok to use water? or should i go buy somemore antifreeze

 

[BoostedSN95]

If it does not freeze to often and you have sine antifreeze in already you should be fine, especially since you are just toping it off. You just need to let the car cool off enough to take the cap off. Hot cap=bad.

 

[jstang209]

ok well i waited for the car to cool down, i removed the cap and turned her back on... about 10-15 minutes later the temp guage was all the way back up...stayed right above the middle portion.. thing is i was watchin the coolant and it never made budge lol didnt move up or down.. so im guessing a bad tstat right? or does that mean that air is out the system?

 

[BoostedSN95]

If the top radiator hose is getting pretty hot, then you tstat should be fine. Is it getting hot?

 

[HISSIN50]

As always, be real careful around hot coolant. However, if you have a turkey-thermometer, you could put it in the radiator neck to note temps (put a rag, etc around the rad neck to help catch any burps). Getting a second temp reading can be helpful.

And once you're done, that thermometer stays in the garage - it won't be used in contact with consumables (a new thermometer is about a buck at wallymart in case you need to get a new one. Been there and done that. ).

Good luck.

 

[seijirou]

If it didn't budge with that much heat I'd say your Tstat isn't opening. A free test. take off the tstat neck, pull out the tstat, and replace the neck without the tstat in it. If you run cool after that it's because your tstat didn't open. If the problem doesn't change, you're either not moving water because the pump is messed up somehow, or your heat exchanger can't exchange enough heat. (radiator)

I've seen radiators that are clogged completely with crap, hosing them from the backside forward can blow that stuff out if this is the case.

just some ideas.

 

[jstang209]

turned out i was just kinda low on fluid, i ended adding a whole bottle lol, thanks for the help tho!

 

[GTOreturns]

With the motor warmed up and the cap off jack up the left front side of the car(Drivers side) .Get it good and high.This will find airpockets in the block which cause over heating.