Need Help. No coolant circulation.

[FrankRaniolo]

I bought a 1992 240sx coupe for $750. 275,000 miles. Clean shell. Ran fine. One day the radiator exploded on me. I replaced the thermostat and found chunks of calcified crap in the cooling hoses. I replaced the water pump, hoses, radiator. When I put the car together and ran it I realized the coolant is barely circulating pressurizing the hoses. Is there any way to get a clogged cooling system in the block unclogged? SHould I just trash the motor? Does anybody have any leads on a good KA24de near northwest florida or gainesville area?

[JNM240]

Try removing the thermostat, refilling the system, and see if the coolant circulates.

[TheOne]

where did you buy the water pump at?

friend of mine bought his from o'reilly auto parts store, shaft was not hooked up @ all, thus not creating pressure.

[WWJD]

thermostat on backwards

[bcar240]

does the motor overheat? If not, it may just normally flow slower than you might expect. There are some flushing chemicals that might help to clear a blockage, and you might be able to do some sort of pressurized blowdown like shops might do with a radiator (although sometimes this just relocates the crud).

[FrankRaniolo]

The thermostat is not on backwards. I bought the water pump at discount auto parts. I tried the coolant flush chemicals. I will try to run without a thermostat and see what happens. Let me know if any one comes across a clean KA24de. NWFLoridaThanks

[jmcbride1976]

same thing happened to me. did you bleed the system? there is a bolt 10 mm on the housing. loosen it and run water or coolant until it flows from the whole then cap it up. air is bad!

[TheOne]

i'd check the water pump, make sure that the shaft is spinning right.

[irichjohn]

please tell me how to bleed it?wer is that 10mm located,any pictures wer is it located?

[bcar240]

please tell me how to bleed it?wer is that 10mm located,any pictures wer is it located?

I think this is what was being referred to.

It's on the passenger side of the engine right in front of the intake manifold. I can't remember what exactly it says, but I think it has some English and Japanese right next to it on that raised spot explaining what it is. Although, I can't see how coolant would ever flow out from there unless the engine was running because it is higher than the radiator cap. The first time I started my engine after changing the water pump I left both that vent open and the cap off and parked the car on a steep incline (front higher), I let it run until around normal operating temp and added water as necessary to keep that rad full. Then I capped everything, filled the overflow tank, and carefully tested it.