Since I got this piece of crap, the temperature has always fluctuated about 15 degrees from normal to hot during slow and stop and go driving. My smog pump went out and I just took it off and got a smaller belt. Now as I was driving the car started to overheat all the way up to 270. I had to stop and shut off the car every couple of miles, and it would drop to about 250 after I shut it off, and then depending on how fast I was driving stay or increase in a short amount of time. When I got home and popped the hood, the belt was ripped in a few pieces and thrown around the engine compartment. About half of it was still wrapped around the accesories and pretty melted. So I figured it wasnt spinning the water pump causing the car to overheat or has it been the water pump all along and it just decided to go out? How can I check? Or should I just man up and buy a new smog pump and put the old belt back on? I really need some advice as I need to drive this thing. I have a new water pump waiting to go on, but dont want to do it, if that is not the problem. Please help
Overheating Problem
- Thread starter WickedDropTop
- Start date
Pull what is left of the belt off.
Then you should be able to turn all the access. by hand. The one that does not rotate freely is the problem.
If I had a new water pump sitting on the shelf, I would take this opportunity to put it on.
jason
Then you should be able to turn all the access. by hand. The one that does not rotate freely is the problem.
If I had a new water pump sitting on the shelf, I would take this opportunity to put it on.
jason
Agreed. Everything should turn easily by hand. Although I've never seen a water pump sieze, I'm not saying it can't happen. I've seen the bearings fail and break the shaft, though. Good luck, bro! 
Nick
Nick
bluevenom867
I will have images of molesting stuffed animals in
I agree, check all the accessories. make sure the belt tensioner isnt too tight and causing the belt to rub on anything. As for the overheating problem, you need to do a few different things. Start easy, make sure your coolant system is staying pressurized. You didnt say what year your stang was, but one way of checking it is by opening the relief valve if its an newer stang. If its an older one, pop the rad cap and make sure theres pressure. check for any mixture of coolant/oil. To check your water pump, you can disconnect the outlet hose but make sure you dont let the water run out of the radiator, start the car, and see if water pumps out of the pump. This can be messy tho if you have coolant in the still. This also could mean you have a bad T-stat on the 5.0 engines since the T-stat is right there also. You need to check your thermostat. If its bad and not opening , youre not getting flow. If you find that the water pump and thermostat are good, make sure your fan is working. Is it a mechanical or an electric fan? if its mechanical, you may have a bad fan clutch, if its electric, make sure it kicks on. If all this checks out, then youre looking at the tear down part of things. Intake gaskets, or the worse yet, head gaskets. Does the coolant ever overflow when it overheats? Does it come back out the overflow bottle? If so, its a possible sign of a bad head gasket. If you cant test this stuff yourself, I highly recommend takin it to a shop. The last thing you want is to crack your block, or a head cause it keeps overheating. Hope some of this helps you.
Definetely change the thermostat, use a Mr. gasket 180.
Get a new belt put it on, and watch from directly perpendicular to it, see if it is aligned correctly. If any of the bolts are in the wrong places it will angle ever so slightly and toss belts.
Get a new belt put it on, and watch from directly perpendicular to it, see if it is aligned correctly. If any of the bolts are in the wrong places it will angle ever so slightly and toss belts.
Stang85 you are the man. Ok. Its a 90. The fan is not electric, when I spun the pulley on the end of the water pump (which also spins the fan) I noticed that I can spin both in opposite directions as in it is not locked? Also, I have been spilling coolent out of the overflow tank after I drive it and it gets hot and then shut it off, but not always, the cap does not fit on tight. If I have a bad head gasket, wouldnt I be pouring some white smoke out the exhaust or have water in the oil. Neither are present
bluevenom867
I will have images of molesting stuffed animals in
WickedDropTop said:
Heck if water keeps pouring out,your probably low on water....
I know we had a similar problem,but didnt know it casue when the pump wasnt turned on,the rad. looked full.
Unfortunately, i have experienced a bad head gasket without the fluids actually mixing. Took me a month to find out it was a head gasket in my case. I did everything including a radiator before i finally replaced the head gaskets. then my overheating issues went away. but i think my case is rare. Now, the other way to know if your water pump is bad, on the bottom of the pump is a weep hole. If water comes out of there, its bad. The first thing i would change, and its the least expensive are the rad cap and t-stat. start there. see what happens.
oh, and another thing.. make sure its the correct water pump. these take the reverse flow water pumps. a buddy of mine had a very similar problem with his 90gt. we replaced the rad, the head gaskets, the t-stat, and come to find out it had a standard 302 water pump on it.
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