Overheating Strangley

[freshrebel]

I've searched and read other posts and am worried about blown HG, though I can't locate any posts with the same symptoms as mine.

Yesterday, I went driving and noticed a little smoke, glanced at my temp gauge and it was at the top.

so i found out that my coolant was at MIN.

I filled it back up to max and drove it home. On the freeway it was fine so i thought it was ok. Then on the side roads, it would raise and fluctuate, sometimes go to H and then back down to the middle and be ok. Then all of a sudden go back up to H and then stay about 3/4's.

after i got home, the coolant was min again. So i filled it again.

This morning it was at min, so i filled it and went driving, same thing, it stayed ok on the freeway but is going between overheating and 3/4.

after letting sit for a few hours, i checked and the coolant was at MIN AGAIN?!?!

I just filled it and drove it around the block and it got up to the H, and this time the coolant was bubbling.......

Im not sure what it could be. Im thinking of changing the thermostat this weekend, do u think that may be it?

thanks

[IanS]

Are you only filling the reservoir? You need to actually check the level of coolant in the radiator, the overflow tank is just for catching the excess coolant that comes out when the car warms up.

Fill the radiator and properly bleed the cooling system.

Have you noticed any coolant on the ground under the car?

Have you noticed any white smoke from the exhaust?

[freshrebel]

yeah the radiator is full - so then there is a clog in the system somewhere?

I want to make sure before taking it to a dealer and they quoting me some outrageous price.

Thanks again.

[freshrebel]

Ok, UPDATE

I changed the thermostat (Thanks so much for the write up on this forum)

and after driving it for two days here's what happens.

Within the first 20 minutes it will all of a sudden jump right below the "H" and then go back to normal 10 seconds after.

After about an hour of driving, when i am at a light or idle too long it may slowly go up to about 3/4 and then when i rev it to 2000 RPM it goes back to normal.

Any ideas?

[s13-t]

are you using a stock radiator? cause i was using a sohc ka radiator for my sr and it would do the same thing. i then purchased an aluminum racing radiator from cx racing and no more overheating you also need to bleed the system correctly. i put the front end of my car up on jack stands, filled the rad and the puke tank. then ran the car with the RAD CAP OFF for like 4-5 min. then before shuting the motor off i put the cap on. and i have had no prblems. if u need a rad go on ebay and get one from cxracing, their inexpensive and high qulity

[mikefromtjs]

before going and buying a brand new radiator do a simple compression test. If your compression does NOT read the same in all cylendars then you know your car has a head gasket or cylendar head issue. I had the same exact problem with my 1990 s13 where the coolant resivior would be empty because when the car overheats it spits out the coolant. Also you should notice a loss in power because the compression is not the same in all cylendars.Just try it, its a simple test and if they read the same then you know thats not your problem and you disregard my babbling.

[freshrebel]

will do guys, thanks.

i'll get back with an update

[gvenkat]

To see if your Head Gasket is blown:

Open the radiator cap.Fill coolant to the top.Turn over engine.

If the coolant starts to spew - head gasket is shot.

[Moto Man]

Replace your radiator cap as that could cause all the symptoms you have and is cheap and easy to replace.

[MxExUx]

Have you checked the oil to see if it has coolant in it or over filled?

[freshrebel]

yea, oil seems ok to me.

crazy thing is, the other day, my car developed a coolant leak!

here's a pic, where do you think it may be coming from?

[freshrebel]

also, i finally successfully bled the system and its still overheating...

[Moto Man]

I'll guess that it is leaking from your water pump.

[gingerbredman]

i have to agree. i'll bet my left.. haha no but it's most likely the water pump.. mine had the exact same symptoms. i change the thermo, even took it out, and coolant still leaked, so i put a new Mr.Gasket one in. got the radiator checked out, it was good. still ran hot. finally replaced the pump, bingo.

on a side note, dont use the duralast thermostats, they suck. while we were diagnosing the problem we tested and compared a new duralast thermostat and a Mr. Gasket in pot of hot water to see if the thermostat was the culprit. the MG opened early and quickly, and stayed open for a bit as the water was cooling. the duralast however didnt begin to open until the water was boiling madly, and opened very slowly, turned off the heat and it snapped back shut in a few seconds. i dunno, im sure duralast ones work, but i wouldnt use them

[freshrebel]

ouch, i guess thats the culprit, i'll be bringing it to a shop then, how much does something like that usually cost?

[gingerbredman]

the pump itself goes from 30 to 34 bucks new at Autozone, it's not hard at all. i did like so:

first off, remove the upper fan shroud and then remove the mech. fan.

loosen up the power steering pump. s14's should be the same so there should be holes in the steering pump pulley that give you access to the nut you need to loosen, i just hit the starter until i had clearance for a socket to get in there, but you could probably just turn the pulley itself with a ratchet/socket. then loosen up the really long adjustment bolt enough to get the belt off.

remove water pump pulley, unbolt the water pump, then do everything the same way, just backards, with the new pump

thats IF you do it yourself. a shop shouldnt charge much at all to do it.

[Moto Man]

Yes, it's not hard to do yourself. Drain the coolant out first, though.

[nismoracingsx]

this runaround diagnosing could have been avoided with a system pressure test. Inexpensive tool that applies system pressure to your car and then you can watch/listen for leaks while monitoring pressure on the gauge to see if you have a leak.

I had hellacious overheating problems and one of them was a rad. hose not tightened quite enough and it was causing air pockets .

Good luck with the water pump, they're pretty easy. Just bleed the car well.

and +1 for the new radiator cap as well, they're cheap and cause too many problems when they go bad.

[Canseri_]

Sounds like the issues that the previous owner of me car had before i bought the not running car off him for 700 dollars. blowing white smoke out the tailpipe last time it ran...

[s13_maJiK]

I'll guess that it is leaking from your water pump.

Had the same leak. it was the water pump easy fix just take off the fan and install th new pump. Theres a write up too about this to help you out