Coolant problem that will NOT go away! :mad:

[elementalwindx]

I developed a over heating problem where I started to over heat when I boosted, and then it developed into whenever I did 70 for a short period of time on the interstate, and then it developed into random occurances of while I was in a drive thru it would go up.

All of these times I could just simply make the revs go higher and that would either help, or cure the problem temporarily. I can also turn my heater on and that would completely put the temperature back down to normal.

Well I got air bubbles almost non-stop from the coolant hole, so I bought a 2nd head, replaced the valve stem seals, 3g lifters, evo3 hg, arp studs, and did that, and torqued them to 80. Well now I get considerably lesser amounts of bubbles but I still get them, and my over heating problem has not changed one bit. We even used a block tester and the fluid never changed yellow so that turned out fine.

Any friggn idea how I can cure this? It started about around the time I added my FMIC. I also added a SPAL fan on the pass. side so that I could cool the radiator and other stuff better, and so I could fit my short route design properly.

http://members.cardomain.com/uncwdragonfire for updates on upgrades/etc.

 

[Omega]

Did you check the block when you had the head off to make sure is was true?

Replace the thermostat? Have you back flushed the cooling system in general.. how is the radiator?

Are you loosing coolant in anyway?

 

[Greg Collier]

More horsepower more heat! Still have AC? Less air more heat!

 

[DNTBLNK]

did you ever check the radiator cap?

 

[hellotbone]

This is the EXACT same problem I was having with my 7bolt engine before it blew, I know it could be 1 million other things but here is my experiece and something to concider.

For one it could be the waterpump off the bat I would check that.

Now for mine my car would do the same thing after installing the FMIC go for a pull and it would over heat sit in traffic even with the fans running still get hot finally it took out the rod bearing on #3 rod and also crank walked at the same time. Well I figure the rod is because it was walking.

Anyways if its not the water pump there are limited things in the system it could be you could start with the thermostat and replace it maybe its staying closed and causing the problem or sticking or something, check the water pump or replace it.

 

[BoostedTalonTS]

After you check the water pump and thermostat, go get yourself a bottle of Redline's Watter Wetter... EXCELLENT STUFF!!

 

[kottyking]

Definately check the thermostat. Also once you boil your coolant over, change it. It will just keep over heating if you dont.

 

[bullettdsm]

Wow, did you put the cart before the horse? I think I would have started out with the cheaper and simpler things; thermostat, rad cap, waterpump. Did you do any testing before you pulled the head? Now you have to wonder if there was a problem with the install and the mating surfaces along with the other components. I think I would start small and do rad cap etc.
MB

 

[DROOPY209]

I would do the cheapest and easiest things first, then go on to the bigger things later on.
Also, when you replace the thermostat, make sure you buy it at the dealership, as I've seen a lot of bad thermostats come out of Auto Zone and Kragen. One time, I saw 3 brand new thermostats in a row, all come out bad from Auto Zone. They were all stuck closed.

While you're at that, if would be a good idea to buy some of that radiator flush product and run it through your coolant system. It worked wonders for my GMC Typhoon a couple years back. Start out with the cheapest and easiest things first, check for leaks, park your car under a big piece of cardboard at night. In the morning you will be able to tell if you have a leak somewhere. Also, check your radiator cap. They tend to go bad over time as well, and not hold the recommended pressure as advertised. Keep us posted.

 

[elementalwindx]

I would do the cheapest and easiest things first, then go on to the bigger things later on.
Also, when you replace the thermostat, make sure you buy it at the dealership, as I've seen a lot of bad thermostats come out of Auto Zone and Kragen. One time, I saw 3 brand new thermostats in a row, all come out bad from Auto Zone. They were all stuck closed.

While you're at that, if would be a good idea to buy some of that radiator flush product and run it through your coolant system. It worked wonders for my GMC Typhoon a couple years back. Start out with the cheapest and easiest things first, check for leaks, park your car under a big piece of cardboard at night. In the morning you will be able to tell if you have a leak somewhere. Also, check your radiator cap. They tend to go bad over time as well, and not hold the recommended pressure as advertised. Keep us posted.

Back in january I replaced the thermostat and radiator cap from CarQuest. I was also running without the termostat at all and it still did the exact same thing as it does with the thermostat in.

Tell me about this back radiator flush stuff?

I've removed my ac condensor, compressor, and lines. I even made a ghetto stupid metal shroud I am going to remove tomorrow.

I'm losing coolant somewhere, and I think its just coming out the overflow. I'm going to look at that tomorrow.

Also we didnt use any copper spray with the 4 layer metal hg, does that matter?

In the morning I'm taking my radiator out and going to try and see if its clogged up or something. I am hoping its just clogged because I have never done a "radiator flush" other than opening the little drain tube to let the water out and I've had this car for two years.

 

[elementalwindx]

I'd just like to point out this little detail and I dont know what it could lead to but whenever I rev the rpms it shoots out coolant and I didn't know if that was normal or not. I know it may sound stupid, but I dont rule anything out. I am doing a radiator flush today so hopfully that will help.

 

[hellotbone]

Revving the car with the cap off causes the water pump to pump more nothing else. It shows though your tstat is open.

 

[luv2rallye]

When you say you are losing coolant do you mean on the ground or inside the engine? If inside engine you will either have white smoke out back or coolant in your oil. White smoke is blown HG (do compression test) or turbo seals (turbo leak test). Coolant in oil will make oil look foamy. After flushing if you still get overheating or if you are leaking coolant outside engine but don't know where, have the cooling system pressure tested to find the leak. Also check all hose clamps to be tight and wiggle hoses near the clamps to see if any are ruptured there. Old hoses can crack or sometimes even leak right thru the casing - pinch them to test. The o-ring where the water pump meets the coolant crossover pipe under the exhaust manifold is another common leak area. But the cooling system pressure test is the ultimate weapon when all else fails. Any auto repair place can do it or you can buy the tester at Sears.

 

[elementalwindx]

When you say you are losing coolant do you mean on the ground or inside the engine? If inside engine you will either have white smoke out back or coolant in your oil. White smoke is blown HG (do compression test) or turbo seals (turbo leak test). Coolant in oil will make oil look foamy. After flushing if you still get overheating or if you are leaking coolant outside engine but don't know where, have the cooling system pressure tested to find the leak. Also check all hose clamps to be tight and wiggle hoses near the clamps to see if any are ruptured there. Old hoses can crack or sometimes even leak right thru the casing - pinch them to test. The o-ring where the water pump meets the coolant crossover pipe under the exhaust manifold is another common leak area. But the cooling system pressure test is the ultimate weapon when all else fails. Any auto repair place can do it or you can buy the tester at Sears.

Thanks hellotbone.

I have no smoke at all

I will complete the flushing today, I used some stuff called Zetrex and it takes 3-6hrs of driving with that stuff to do the flush.

That coolant pressure test sounds like a great idea and I will do that next.

What is a turbo leak test, and how does that work? are you referring to like a boost leak test?

 

[UofACATS]

Any friggn idea how I can cure this? It started about around the time I added my FMIC.

Not sure this will help, but this is my overheating solution. I'm in a hot climate also, probably hit 108 today. When I installed my FMIC I overheated within 10 minutes or so with the A/C on.

I drained the coolant/water (which was mostly coolant btw) and refilled with 30% coolant 70% distilled water and added a bottle of water wetter, then I wired both fans to operate together. Results? Now I could drive for like 15 minutes before starting to overheat, although the gauge now crept slowly above normal, quickly returning to normal with the ac off.

This is not good enough so time for the sawzall. With this much of the underside of the bumper cut out (hack job yes) my overheating is gone. I can drive as hard as I want, AC on doesn't matter, I can also idle with the ac on no problem. So, long story longer the problem might be airflow related.

NOTE: I dont have a way to get actual coolant temps, Im relying on the factory gauge.

 

[Grn95GST]

Is your gauge going above the half way point? How high did you gauge show hellotbone? Recent my car has been running warm, 216-223degrees, but gauge read half way doesnt go over half? Did you log your car when it was getting hot? Also elemental I had the same problem awhile back, my car would almost over heat but if I reved the car up it would go down almost immediately. Turned out to be the waterpump.

 

[elementalwindx]

Is your gauge going above the half way point? How high did you gauge show hellotbone? Recent my car has been running warm, 216-223degrees, but gauge read half way doesnt go over half? Did you log your car when it was getting hot? Also elemental I had the same problem awhile back, my car would almost over heat but if I reved the car up it would go down almost immediately. Turned out to be the waterpump.

DSMLink showed my car hitting just under 230deg mark. It doesn't normalize until 210-220. *sigh* and everyone else claims to hit 190 and such. I'm gonna go outside real quick and take some pics and show you MY hack job *yuck*

I have a new water pump, bought from autozone but its the same brand that mitsu resells, so I HOPE that would not be the problem.

 

[hellotbone]

I log my car thats how I know the temps my car runs 190* usually I run water wetter as well.

If you don't have any smoke then its got to be something with the cooling system. Your going to have to go though it and trouble shoot each part till you find the problem.

Also you will have to double check but I'm almost positive if your coolant temp gets over 200* your car start to pull timing and looses performance.

 

[elementalwindx]

I log my car thats how I know the temps my car runs 190* usually I run water wetter as well.

If you don't have any smoke then its got to be something with the cooling system. Your going to have to go though it and trouble shoot each part till you find the problem.

Also you will have to double check but I'm almost positive if your coolant temp gets over 200* your car start to pull timing and looses performance.

yep your right about that. which is one reason why I am so determined to figure this darn thing out. Not just cause other people say their car runs 190.

 

[elementalwindx]

Did a coolant flush and not a darn bit of black or gunk of any kind came out, so i added distilled water with water wetter and 30% coolant, and even wired both my fans to come on at the same time and it helped VERY little by delaying the overheating for like a minute. So my next step is going to find someone with a pressure tester for the coolant system.

 

[SlowImport]

My car over heated tonight. My situation is really weird!!! Ill exlpain what I did so maybe you guys can help me.

I race this mustang 4 times and then we pull over to talk and get my money for winnning. hehe.

I get out of my car and set the turbo timer to 5 mins. I return to the car to get something to drink 2 mins later while the car is still running and and notice a huge puddle of water under my car and there is more water gushing out.

So my friend is hurry and get the car going and keep RPMs down so we can get to a lighted gas station while also getting some air to pass over the radiator. By the way the needle is sitting almost to the red about 1/2 way between normal and red.

So We do that and the car starts to cool down. But I notice my vents arent blowing any air threw them at all. I have the switch to high. So i try to turn on the A/C and nothing. The button wont even light up yellow or green. Very puzzled at this point.

So we drive for about 30 more seconds and the car dies. We pull over and pop the hood and let the car sit there for a bit. I feel the upper radiator hose and you can feel the coolant bubbling/boiling.

So I turn my car to acc. and the fans work and the A/C button works also. Now im really puzzled. So we let the car sit for about 10mins. Then limp the car over the gas satation which was about 1/8 of a mile down the road.

I put more water in it and the low coolant light goes off. We then get on the highway and drive 30miles home and no problems. I drove about 65-70 on the highway in 5th gear keeping the RPMs at 3K or less.

I get home and let it idle for a bit and its fine. I also notice that the car is idling kinda high, 1200 RPMs. I take the key out and set the turbo timer for 5 mins and notice that the car is starting to over heat once again. Very slowly though.

I notice that my fans arent coming on while i have the turbo timer on. I have to put my key in the car and turn the key to the ACC. mode or just turn the car on for the fans to run.

My friend is thinking its the thermostat and i have no clue what is going on. I hope this info helps in the quest to try and figure this thing out. I also just have a side mount intercooler not a FMIC or anything to keep air from flowing freely to the Radiator.

damn she is hot,
Josh

 

[BISHILVR]

How about removing the front mount and running like that for a little while to see if it makes any difference.

 

[redboosted97]

bro i have the same problem as you, I didn't have an overflow tank so i installed a general one and it helped a little bit but it still overheats a little bit. I have another thermostat but i just haven't gotten to putting it in. I think I am going to try to get a larger radiator since i have a decent amount of mods and some spal fans. If you find any other answer let me know and I shall do the same if I find.

 

[oncehuman]

so I bought a 2nd head, replaced the valve stem seals, 3g lifters, evo3 hg, arp studs, and did that, and torqued them to 80. Well now I get considerably lesser amounts of bubbles but I still get them, and my over heating problem has not changed one bit.

Well there is one thing I am seeing here I think that you may or may have over-looked possibly. Did you check for warpage on the head? Did you resurface the block and head so that they would match up? Just something you didn't mention with all this head work. Cause I seeing that your getting bubbles from high pressure through your head and block regardless of that 4 layer head gasket and torque'n to the correct specs. It may not be much but then a little problem is like that weak link in the chain.

Also I recommend to everyone that whenever you overheat is to think about changing your oil too, of course after you find out what the source of the problem is.

 

[elementalwindx]

Well there is one thing I am seeing here I think that you may or may have over-looked possibly. Did you check for warpage on the head? Did you resurface the block and head so that they would match up? Just something you didn't mention with all this head work. Cause I seeing that your getting bubbles from high pressure through your head and block regardless of that 4 layer head gasket and torque'n to the correct specs. It may not be much but then a little problem is like that weak link in the chain.

Also I recommend to everyone that whenever you overheat is to think about changing your oil too, of course after you find out what the source of the problem is.

Cleaned, resurfaced, pressure tested. Fixed a few leaky valves, and drilled and retapped an exhaust manifold stud hole to fix an exhaust leak.