Heating problem in 97 GSX

[dm7x09]

Im looking to buy a 97 GSX with 96,xxx miles on it and theres a heating problem with it, the seller is saying that when he drives it for like an hour if its driven hard then it heats up and if you drive normal it will heat and then cool down. Hes already replaced the water pump and thermostat and know hes gonna replace the radiator. will this help or what? any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[wolski420a]

Does he ever have to add water/coolant, could be a blown headgasket pushing the coolant out of the system.

 

[TrevorS]

If when driven normally it heats (you don't say how much) and then cools to presumably normal, then it could be it's a hot environment and needs a lower temp thermostat. My thinking would be to run a cooling system flush through it and replace the thermostat (possibly with a lower opening temp) and coolant, but you haven't mentioned the coolant history (some people just run water which accelerates corrosion). The question of whether coolant has to be periodically added is definitely good!

 

[Boostinsideways]

Assuming its a turbo model, if its only doing it under boost, its probably a failed headgasket. Mine was driveable when I first bought, but it would start pushing coolant out the overflow if you hit hard boost. I had to keep it under 7 psi But I drove quite a bit. Just kept water in the trunk, and my foot of the floor.

 

[Black-Out]

before jumping to conclusions the first thing to do is check all the fuses to ensure that the cooling fans are operational and that they as well as the condensor and radiator are free of debris (plastic bags,grass,garbage off the road you name it) This will at least insure air is getting in to and through the rad and condensor assemblies to exchange heat off of the cooling system......from there you would change water pump and thermostat,and then if the issues persist you either flush or replace the radiator.......but by all means before spending more money check these things...as a fuse that cost $1.00 is far easier and cheaper to replace than a radiator or anything else you've mentioned and it would just plain suck if you spent your time and money to do a water pump, T-stat, radiator only to find out that the issue was caused by a faulty cooling fan,air flow blockage from debris, or a cheap fuse......

If you do find that a fuse is the issue double check the electrical connections for the fans and relays to ensure that you don't have an unusually high amperage draw that is causing the issue (by way of increased resistance caused by melted or corroaded wiring contacts or worn out fan motors)

After that you can always pressure check the cooling system for leaks which can expose a head gasket leak if you use the tester in a few different ways other than inteneded
William-

 

[spoolingreen20]

I had that same problem on my 96 turbo. The temps would rise when I got on it and would cool when driving normal. It had 143,000 miles on it though. Took the head off and (suprise, suprise) I noticed the headgasket breaking down around a coolant passage.

 

[dm7x09]

Alright, since its not mine yet im going off what the seller is saying. he doesnt have to add coolant as far as i know and im not sure just how hot its getting, but he just replaced the thermostat and waterpump and it kept happening so now hes replacing the radiator hoping that will do it but its sounding more like a headgsket problem just curious how hard or how to replace the gasket. Thanks for all the help.

 

[vash_1010]

check oil see if its contaminated. the lower hose gets old and leaks. Check fans...

 

[doubleclutch]

I had a leak in my overflow bottle cap that caused coolant to go out but not in. 3$ fix, worth checking

 

[tonyseagle]

How about...do you have a front mount? Are you running AC at the same time?