Overheating question

[Danny-Boi]

Hi, when i'm idling with the a/c on the engines temp goes way up and if im driving for about a half hour or so the car starts to hesitate and then gets really bad and will start bucking and not accelerate and the temp guage gets pretty high. Is this an overheating problem? If so what could be the problem?
Thanks

 

[85GTlover]

likely,could be thermostat,check your cooling fluid(rad) your rad hoses waterpump may be bad,try squeezing the rad hoses to feel if fluid is going through.

 

[bgjohnson]

you could have air in your cooling system. try to burp the system

 

[Danny-Boi]

I recently had the thermostat replaced but i dont know what temp the thermostat is. How do I burp the system?

 

[blk92stangg]

I would think the car would just boil over it was purely an overheating issue. Also, if you kept driving it like that more likely than not you would kill your engine, but it seems the temps rise, and then it starts to run badly. Had a bad stat and fan clutch, and the temp got pegged to the top of the gauge and the AC kicked off, however the car still ran OK, enough for me to get home without engine damage. The hesistation and loss of power when hot could be anything: fuel system, ignition, etc. Check your fan, flush your radiator, recheck your stat, and then go from there. You burp the system by raising the front the car, getting it up to temp, and seeing if the fluid in the rad goes down. If it does, keep adding fluid till it is full.

 

[85GTlover]

I would think the car would just boil over it was purely an overheating issue. Also, if you kept driving it like that more likely than not you would kill your engine, but it seems the temps rise, and then it starts to run badly. Had a bad stat and fan clutch, and the temp got pegged to the top of the gauge and the AC kicked off, however the car still ran OK, enough for me to get home without engine damage. The hesistation and loss of power when hot could be anything: fuel system, ignition, etc. Check your fan, flush your radiator, recheck your stat, and then go from there. You burp the system by raising the front the car, getting it up to temp, and seeing if the fluid in the rad goes down. If it does, keep adding fluid till it is full.

raising the car physically or raise the hood? Good points BTW to your analysis/diagnosis of the situation/problem.

 

[blk92stangg]

Ah, the car itself. You basically are trying to get air bubbles that are trapped (if any) to the radiator. Raising the front of the car helps by using forcing the bubble to raise towards the radiator. I have a rather steep driveway, so I just park the car ont he incline wheneve I flush the radiator. A lot of people just jack the front of the car up.

 

[85GTlover]

Ah, the car itself. You basically are trying to get air bubbles that are trapped (if any) to the radiator. Raising the front of the car helps by using forcing the bubble to raise towards the radiator. I have a rather steep driveway, so I just park the car ont he incline wheneve I flush the radiator. A lot of people just jack the front of the car up.

OK makes sense but wanted to be certain. Thanks, cause you want the car running too, when you refill
the rad you might have meant that but lets hope most car owners know that

 

[blk92stangg]

 

[86/92stang]

if its a fox also try to undo the hose to the egr spacer and fill until coolant comes out of there. Its the highest point in the system and will help get rid of air. Also take on a "warm up" test drive then check level in rad/ overflow again

 

[HISSIN50]

if the cooling system is stock, that is semi normal, depending upon where you are (how hot the ambient temps are). if you kill the a/c, do your temps stabilize? the puter pulls timing at 226*, IIRC. this could be what you are experiencing. i know it is 100 degrees here now, and with the a/c on in traffic, all bets are off. you said something about idling for awhile with the a/c on.

but , BG and blk92 are right on with the burping of the system. also, try to figure out what temp stat you have. if you have a stocker (192 or 195), drop down to a 180. i really like the Mr Gasket 180's. fully balanced, open fully sooner than parts store ones, and have a bleed hole. 10 bucks at the speed shop).

as Blk 92, said, jack up the driver side front. take the rad cap off (cold motor). and let it warm up. some folks pop the ECT sensor out to help bleed (or the methods listed in this thread are good too).

i agree with the info in this thread, but wanted to toss out the a/c on while idling in heat stuff, cause it is an issue, even on an ok system. a/c really heats stuff up. if you do alright with no a/c, i would not worry. just watch how much you have the a/c on and kill it when you get too hot.

good luck.