Still an overheating problem w/all brand new parts!!

[ChavezSA]

Hi, I have a 1990 S13 hatch, around 120K on the clock. Stock KA24E motor. It has always ran well until about 2 months ago. It all started with my water pump. I replaced it the next day, but had some leaking problems afterward. I replaced the pump again (thinking it was faulty) and it seemed to be fine for about 2 days. Then I started having major overheating problems.

I even got stranded on the side of the highway one night because the engine temp just got too high, I was afraid I was going to cook the head gasket or something. So I pulled over and messed with it for about an hour until I got it semi-under control. Limped it home, and went about diagnosing the problem. At first I thought it was the thermostat, so I replaced it. Burped the system, yadda, yadda, yadda. So far so good.

All was well for about 2 more days, then on the way home from a friend's house, my upper radiator hose blew. Limped it home again, and decided to just tear into it and replace anything I thought was questionable.

I got a Koyo OEM replacement radiator (couldn't afford the nice all aluminum one), and all new hoses. I burped the system using the 2-litre-bottle-funnel trick until the coolant stopped churning in the 2 litre bottle (about 30 minutes).

One note - I noticed that when I burped the system, after the coolant stopped churning in the 2 litre bottle, the level began to rise,and kept rising up until it nearly overflowed the bottle. Seemed odd for it to do that, but didn't think much of it. I turned off the motor, let it sit for 20 minutes, capped off the radiator, then came back in about in hour. I checked the radiator's coolant level - it still looked full of coolant, so I figured, sweet.

I took it around the block to test it out - it still overheats - BADLY. I measured the overflow bottle boiling at somewhere around 160 degrees Farenheit.

(BTW does that sound like a low boiling point to anyone?)

I'm kinda stumped, because nearly the entire cooling system is brand spanking new at this point. I was hoping to have this resolved in time for my road trip to Chicago, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Anyone have a similar problem, or ideas of what to do? I searched the forum and found some things to maybe try, but they all don't have quite the same problem I do. So, I decided to get some second opinions.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

p.s. Sorry for the long post. I figured I better give as many details as possible.
Modified by ChavezSA at 1:24 PM 5/13/2005

[Import_Ant]

at the times when you are overheating, are you out of coolant? it seems like it runs fine for a bit then overheats. I just couldn't tell whether you got the leaking issue resolved or not.

(also there is a 10mm bolt you can remove from the upper coolant housing [where the upper radiator hose meets the block]. I'll get a picture for you later tonight if you'd like. Anyhow you remove this bolt when you are filling the coolant. it will allow all the air to escape from the water jacket/radiator. once coolant starts to come out of the hole your system is full. no burping needed. just an FYI)

[ChavezSA]

No, it doesn't seem to leak anymore. I've been out of town since Friday afternoon (I was able to secure another mothod of transportation for my road trip).

I'll try the bleeder screw thing. Maybe that'll work better than my burping method. I think I'm gonna get a new radiator cap too. If it still persists after that, then I'm just plain stumped.
Modified by ChavezSA at 4:31 AM 5/16/2005

[hamsterball]

Unless you bled the system incorrectly (maybe forgot to take the air relief valve off), the only items left are your water pump and headgasket.

or maybe your clutch fan isn't spinning fast enough.Maybe it's time for a dual electric fan conversion.Alot of people have problems, and this helps alot.

Another slightly worse idea is an oil cooler kit.

Absolute worse case scenario of your block leaking coolant and burning it away, or having an already warped motor that has overheating issues.

:-/ Goo luck

[ChavezSA]

Unless you bled the system incorrectly (maybe forgot to take the air relief valve off), the only items left are your water pump and headgasket.

If you read my first post, I have replaced the water pump and gasket twice already.

I don't think it's the fan clutch, because the motor seems to overheat just as fast, whether I let it idle for 15 minutes, or I go drive it for 15 minutes. Engine rev speed doesn't seem to matter. I could see it being the fan clutch if it happened only after revving the motor, because that would mean the fan isn't spinning faster when the motor starts to. Not to mention, I spun the fan clutch by hand (while I had the fan blades off so I could get to the thermostat housing) and it seems to have a good amount of resistance.

And the motor has always ran cool, even in a few outstanding conditions. One time I even found my radiator half empty and in need of a flush badly, after owning the car for only 3 months. I only found that because I just happened to check the coolant level one day and found it half empty. The motor ran fine though - it gave me no reason to check, I was just being nosy. It turned out to be a crack in the upper radiator end tank that let coolant leak out and evaporate. I fixed the crack with JB Weld and never had another issue until now. Or I should say, this is the first issue that has actually caused my car to not run properly.

Also, I don't think it's the motor leaking coolant, because it never smells of antifreeze, never leaves spots on the driveway, nor does it ever seem to be low on coolant, with exception to the one time I found it half empty, nearly two years ago.

I appreciate your suggestions though.

I have an oil cooler, but I haven't installed it yet. I found this huge one off a turbo Volvo in a junkyard. I'm going to retrofit to my car, but I was waiting to do it after I got my SR swap done.

With this cooling problem, maybe my SR swap will come sooner than I expected...