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Forum nameTurbo/Nitrous Tech
Topic subjectStarting to second guess myself....
Topic URLhttps://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=i8&topic_id=29050
29050, Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Strauss, Aug-15-02 07:25 AM
Well, I'm not to sure about my radiator being the culprit in my overheating saga. I'm losing antifreeze somewhere BAD everytime I overheat. Some comes out my overflow, but no where near as much as I have to dump back in. Also, EVERYTIME the car overheats, I get wicked belt squeel before my temp gauge goes up. I check my acc. belts and they are always bone dry. I'm thinking maybe it's my water pump leaking onto my timing belt.....causing low antifreeze levels and that god awful squeel. But, the car never leaks antifreeze on the ground anywhere, if it is coming out it must spray out while I'm driving. She leaves a little puddle where it overflows but nothing near the pump area. This would also seem to explain how my temps drop once I start to rev the car, at least more so than a bad radiator. Can you check to see if the water pump is shot?? I just want to rule this out before I spend $400 on a Fluidyne. Thanks guys....this shit is driving me crazy!

Oh yes, and on a more positive note, DSBLK93GT and I got the ignition in last night. Everything went VERY smooth....took about 45min. total. I also put in another range cooler plug, and she is pullin' real nice! Once I get this overheating problem fixed, off to the track I'll go. I forsee 116mph+ trap speeds next time....hopefully I can hook up }>
29051, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Twiste, Aug-15-02 07:40 AM
check your heater hoses. Can you smell burning anti-freeze? If there isnt a crack in your radiator anywhere then there is probably nothing wrong with it. Go ahead and get ur water pump replaced cause from what you describe it sounds like that is the culprit. while you are at it you might want to also change your thermostat just in case.
29052, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by DarkOne, Aug-15-02 07:56 AM
If it is your water pump leaking, you'll see signs of coolant from the bottom, on the lower timing belt cover. You might want to chgeck, and quick - coolant and timing belts don't mix.

The water pump is also in the same general area as the overflow bottle, so it could be coming from both and you might not see it in the location of the puddle.
29053, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Strauss, Aug-15-02 12:44 PM
Well, tonight I FULLY flushed the radiator. This time I took it out of the car, and blasted it for about 5min. each direction with my garden hose. The radiator was flowing nicely, and no shit came out of it whatsoever. So I put it back in and took it for a drive, and she overheated once again :( And I figured out that all that antifreeze I'm losing IS coming all out of my overflow tank. I re-routed the hose so it sprays directly to the groud(so it would stay off my belts), and it sprays so bad that it gets all over my passenger front tire as I driving down the road!...thus inducing tire spin dropping it at 80mph!!!! This radiator should definitly cool the car well enough with the turbo correct???!!! Because if it is, looks like it is either my water pump or the headgasket, I really doubt it's the second though. Damn, this sucks......
29054, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by XtremeRS, Aug-15-02 12:56 PM
I would rule out the radiator. When i am at 8 psi, it NEVER goes over half on the temp gauge. I had done some long HARD pulls on the highway, up to 120+ mph, and the temp stays the same. Usually when you loos coolant out the dump tube, its because there is too much pressure in the radiator, usually caused by boiling of the coolant/water. Have you replaced the radiator cap yet? If not, do that. It almost sounds like you have a blockage somewhere in the motor/cooling system somewhere..You did replace the waterpump on your rebuild too right? Are you SURE there is no leakage around the water pump?
29055, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by fly1, Aug-15-02 02:42 PM
I'm guessing, but the leak seems to be coming from the water pump area, especially how it gets on your belts when it overheats. You might have a leaky water pump seal. Also, check your thermostat housing. Sometimes it could leak from there, or it could crack (it's not very strong). Just something to look out for.
29056, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Strauss, Aug-15-02 03:31 PM
I've changed the thermostat twice, the upper radiator hose, radiator cap, lower hose, AND flushed the radiator out and she still overheats. It won't do it unless I pound on it above 70mph or so. When I drive around the city and just blast first and second gear, it NEVER overheats. Only if I ride third gear all the way to redline, then it will overheat, piss out antifreeze from the overflow, and stay overheated until I put more antifreeze in it. When I drive it stays just a hair above half(once it overheats) on the temp gauge, but when I come to a stop the temps shoot back up again. I ordered the Fluidyne tonight from RRE as well as some Redline water wetter. I figured if I replaced the water pump and it didn't fix it, I'd be more pissed than getting the radiator and not having it fix it. At least with getting the new radiator, if it dosen't fix it, I still have a bad ass Fluidyne. It won't be here till the end of next week probably, but I'll let you guys know what happens. Keep your fingers crossed for me! If this doesn't fix it, I'm getting the water pump changed next :(
29057, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by 992gnt, Aug-15-02 11:43 PM
Do a compression test. My car would overheat only after being boosted. Driving on the highway it was fine (for the most part) but if I got on it, the cylinder compression was pushing the coolant right out of the overflow. Once the coolant level was low enough, it would overheat. Culprit - blown head gasket. There was no oil and collant mixing and no smoke of any kind. The gasket was tweaked just enough to let excess cylinder pressure into the water jacket and push out the coolant.


29058, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Kirby, Aug-16-02 01:33 AM
Ok Guys I'm oficially boarding the strauss boat. My car is overheating only when the A/C is on.(and usually on the highway)I have replaced the thermostat (160 degree from howell), the Rad. cap (the gst 13psi cap), and I have had the cooling system flushed with BG and I'm running water wetter and all of that.(plus the water pump is new and I have no leaks) I'm starting to get really pissed here. I don't know what else it could be. Basicly if I have the a/C on on a hot day and get on it to get up to speed the temp gets too high then if I turn off the A/C it will go down. This sucks!!! Strauss Have you checked the guage itself or the coolant temp sensor? We have to figure this $hit out my car is not even a beast and I'm having trouble I'm only running 8 psi. Now the other thing I will say is that it never did this before the HG change. Since I changed it this cropped up a few weeks later and I changed the water pump with the HG. But my comp #'s are great so I know I did a good job with changing it. Where should I go from here.
29059, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by XtremeRS, Aug-16-02 03:37 AM
Kirby, be sure your left fan is coming on(passenger side one) when the ac button is on, if not, this can cause overheating..That fan should ALWAYS be on when the A/C is on..
29060, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Kirby, Aug-16-02 04:38 AM
Yeah it's on when the A/C is on I don't really know what the F to do man I've done all I know to do.
29061, RE: Starting to second guess myself....
Posted by Strauss, Aug-16-02 04:06 PM
This shit is driving me crazy as well! I'm now just awaiting the arrival of my Fluidyne. Should ship out by end of next week they said(have to mofify it), so I should have it the begining of the following week. I'm just waiting on this thing now, I've changed everything else as well. I'll to a compression test tomorrow to check my headgasket....I'll give you guys my numbers after the test.