overheating problem

[rx7-5.0]

got an 89 5.0 in my rx7 and i currently have an overheating problem. never did it until recently. has new thermostat so that isnt it.....anyway. it doesn't have a power steering pump so the belt makes little contact with water pump pulley but still spins it. I can spin the water pump by hand. is that ok? I hope that is the problem....if so is ther any kind of pulley i can put on to make better contact. could it b anything else? i dont think its head gasket. has power and no smoke.....any help would be nice.....thanx

 

[Maryland Stang]

Can you show us a pic of the front of the engine?

 

[HISSIN50]

And let us know if you mean you can spin the pump by hand *while the serp belt is attached*. If so, that's gonna be a problem.

 

[rx7-5.0]

yea i can easily turn it by hand with the belt making contact. il try to get a pic. think of the 5.0 belt route with out power steering goes from the crank pulley little contact with left side of water pump pulley (wen ur looking straight at the motor from the front) and goes up to alternator.

 

[rx7-5.0]

it never ran hot before....til recently tho....to me this never looked go but did work til recently........and idk how to get a pic on here from my computer

 

[Mustang5L5]

Yeah that's a prob. Probably not enough belt tension.

What pulleys do you have on the car? And which way do you have the tensioner set up to put tension?

 

[HISSIN50]

For a reason why it just happened, the back of the belt might have glazed slightly, stretched, or hardened. Or the pulley might have gotten contaminated and that left a layer of something that hinders the Co of friction.

 

[rx7-5.0]

alright thanx. ive been thinkin that for a while. the tensioner is between alternator and smog pump. Its an underdrive pulley for the crank.........could i get a different pulley? or is ther a water pump pulley that uses the ribbed side of the serpentine belt?....any ideas would be appreciated.....thanx

 

[rx7-5.0]

yea today i got a new belt and wiped off the wp pulley. put it on ther and it seems to do better. I just let it sit there and idle with no probs. havent driven it yet. I did rev it up to 2500 rpms cuz thats wat i usually run it at on the highway and the temp did rise but the car didnt have air blowing on it either so it may be ok.....il have to run it for sure to see how its doing.....