I need some help guys, COOLING ISSUES!!

Kdubslugga

Active Member
Jun 7, 2003
1,515
4
38
Akron, OH
Heres the deal!!! I just got a new water pump and thermostat. i got everything hooked up, i filled it up with water to see if theres any leaks, well no leaks but i dont think the thermostat is opening. I let it run for about 15 min and all of a sudden the low coolant light comes on but the coolant level is at the top, also my temperature guage is stuck or something its not moving! Im gonna need some new guages. Should i be able to feel water running through the radiator hose that connects from the radiator top the temperature housing. I guess only if the thermo opens right> I dunno what to do, help me out.. Please
 
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you have the t-stat installed the right way correct?? i've seen people install it wrong.. but yes once the t-stat opens the upper hose will loose its pressure and you'll be able to squeeze it.. do you have the stock temp gauge?? maybe the temp sender is bad.. its easy enough to replace
 
HO93LX302 said:
you have the t-stat installed the right way correct?? i've seen people install it wrong.. but yes once the t-stat opens the upper hose will loose its pressure and you'll be able to squeeze it.. do you have the stock temp gauge?? maybe the temp sender is bad.. its easy enough to replace

Where exactly is the temp sender, can someone post a pic or something, Also the new Thermostat installed backwards compared to the stock thermo, there were arrows and stuff on the new thermo saying this side facing radiator, so i just follwed what it said. Is that right?
 
it could be the crappy sender on the low coolant bottle. the stock gauge sender is: find the dizzy. look just to the driver side of it, and behind it. you will see a sender in the lower intake with one wire on it. that's it. a new sender from CSK is like 4 bucks....but a real gauge is a must, IMHO.

also, water is an excellent coolant (in coolant and water mix, water is what cools the motor. anti-freeze has boil over/freeze protection, lubrication, and anti rust properties). the greater the ratio of water to coolant, the cooler you will run (but lowering absolute temps you can run at).

i would drain it, fill it up with distilled water and coolant, burp it and see how it goes.

also, if you have the car cold, take the rad cap off and run it. when the stat opens, you will see the coolant flow from the pass side to the driver side. that suggests the stat opened.
if you followed the instructions (arrows), you should be good to go.

good luck.
 
another thing to add to hissin5.0s post....you can also tell when the t-stat opens because the upper radiator hose will be hot. just to make sure you put it in right the spring side of the thermostat goes into the lower intake
 
HISSIN50 said:
it could be the crappy sender on the low coolant bottle. the stock gauge sender is: find the dizzy. look just to the driver side of it, and behind it. you will see a sender in the lower intake with one wire on it. that's it. a new sender from CSK is like 4 bucks....but a real gauge is a must, IMHO.

also, water is an excellent coolant (in coolant and water mix, water is what cools the motor. anti-freeze has boil over/freeze protection, lubrication, and anti rust properties). the greater the ratio of water to coolant, the cooler you will run (but lowering absolute temps you can run at).

i would drain it, fill it up with distilled water and coolant, burp it and see how it goes.

also, if you have the car cold, take the rad cap off and run it. when the stat opens, you will see the coolant flow from the pass side to the driver side. that suggests the stat opened.
if you followed the instructions (arrows), you should be good to go.

good luck.

Low coolant bottle, you mean the white plastic thing thats connected to the fan shroud right? Also hows the proper way to burp it? Sorry im a newbie, never done this before. Thanks for the replies guys i appreciate it!!!!
 
you caught me inbetween two names for the item i was trying to describe. coolant bottle and low coolant sensor combined into low coolant bottle. oops.

yep - there is a sensor in that bottle. it takes a dump often, and most folks by-pass the sensor to kill the light (checking the coolant regularily).

for burping, i have written it up nicely, but i did this today or so, so i remembered it, even though it is kinda brief:
for bleeding: on a cold motor, remove the rad cap. park or jack it up, so the front driver side is higher than the rest of the car. run it. when the stat opens, you will see coolant flow from pass side to drivers side (lookin through the rad cap hole). note the temp that this occurs.
run it like this for a bit - if there is air trapped in there, it should come out (also make sure your heater is on full bore).

good luck.
 
HISSIN50 said:
you caught me inbetween two names for the item i was trying to describe. coolant bottle and low coolant sensor combined into low coolant bottle. oops.

yep - there is a sensor in that bottle. it takes a dump often, and most folks by-pass the sensor to kill the light (checking the coolant regularily).

for burping, i have written it up nicely, but i did this today or so, so i remembered it, even though it is kinda brief:
for bleeding: on a cold motor, remove the rad cap. park or jack it up, so the front driver side is higher than the rest of the car. run it. when the stat opens, you will see coolant flow from pass side to drivers side (lookin through the rad cap hole). note the temp that this occurs.
run it like this for a bit - if there is air trapped in there, it should come out (also make sure your heater is on full bore).

good luck.

You summed it up nice thanks man