overheating w/ stock radi???

[hek1620]

if i'm on the highway in 5th, and i just pin it for a few seconds she gets hot. i don't think it was doing that when i first went turbo a few weeks ago. the second time it happened i realized that there was a little bit of fluid that had came out of the rad. cap, and also some had spilled out of the res. tank. so i bought a new cap and some water wetter. put the water wetter in and the new cap. went for a couple pulls and everything was cool. then yesterday i'm on i-75 in 5th w/ the a/c on and i pinned it for a few seconds. then settled at around 80-85. a minute later i notice that it's one bar away from the big H! i got off the highway and started looking around and noticed that the a/c fan was not working. fine, thats going to get looked at today, but that was the first time it happened with the a/c. the other times it wasn't on. could it be as simple as the radiator is not handling the job? sorry for the long one but i wanted to give all senarios. thanks in advance.

[98240]

It could be the radiator or the thermostat.

[hek1620]

the thermostat could be stuck shut huh? would it suck to run without it? we really don't see cold weather down here. i got the a/c fan working, just a loose wire. now i gotta go check if she still heats up.

[SeanC]

i can never understand why people take out the thermostat, they are only 10 dollars.

[pr240sx]

dont run without a thermoYou will waste a lot of fuel ($$)Instead, try running with a restrictor if you NEED to run without a thermo.Or get a lower temp one.I live in the tropics (PR) and currently run with a restrictor without any problems.

[240sxproblems]

You might could try bleeding the cooling system. If you lost fluid you could very easily have air in the system.

[hek1620]

i think she stopped overheating, but how do i bleed it? i'll do it just to be sure.

[240sxproblems]

if you follow the upper radiator hose to the intake manifold their should be a bolt their. Remove the bolt and start the engine. With the engine running apply water or radiator fluid to filler neck on the radiator. Add water until the air stops bubbling from the hole.

[hek1620]

i bled the system and she still overheats only on the highway over 3000rpm with the a/c on. even sitting in traffic with the a/c, she won't overheat. i'm thinking the rad. just can't take the heat the engine produces over time at that rpm with the a/c on. but then again i could tear trough the gears a few times and no movement of the temp needle. i'm stumped.

[Iamjohnhayes]

you should never run w/o a thermostat unless its to the auto parts store to get a new one. also you should never put a lower temp thermostat in your car b/c if you run your car even 10 degrees cooler than it was designed for it will almost double your engine wear.

[Edub1]

Since you only overheat while moving I'm thinking that your coolant isn't flowing. Have you flushed your system? How's your water pump? Have you warmed it up while watching for flow trough the spout?

Also, you might want to do a compression test. A small pin hole in the head gasket might cause this problem under heavy load.

[hek1620]

my comp test came out over 190 all across. how do i check the flow, cuz when i open the cap, coolant is right there. will it go down once it warms up to allow me to see flow?

[fullthrtl_tech]

how sthe condition of your belt to the water pump, is the tension good

[hek1620]

all belts are fine.