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water pump or Headgasket

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1990gsx1781

10+ Year Contributor
190
1
Jun 28, 2008
Lynn, Massachusetts
ok i searched the forums and couldnt find somethin similar so here i go its been pretty hot out lately and my car has been running fine for about 10 mins then after that my temp goes high a little before the red.. then when i start driving it goes down just a little. when i get out of my car i can hear the coolant in the reservoir bubbling like hot water and some leaking out... then after its cool i open the cap and theres not fluid i can see. so i fill it i just changed the thermostat it had a 192 degree in it now it has a 180 and it still doing the same thing my compression is low but idk i just relly wanna figure out what this is before i spend all my damn money on this thing.... shoulda just stuck with my supra :( pleaseee help me out!!! THANX alot
 
Is your fan kicking in, any smoke from the exhaust, is your oil brownish and thick, what is the color of your coolant, any loss in power?
 
The water pump would be leaking coolant if that was the case, they are designed to leak when bad to let you know that there is a problem sounds like a headgasket to me too. ^^^
 
The water pump would be leaking coolant if that was the case, they are designed to leak when bad to let you know that there is a problem sounds like a headgasket to me too. ^^^

wow thats cool i didnt no that thank you..
 
Well I have the same problem and I'm still trying to figure it out. If you are worried about the HG then do a compression test. If the results are low then you can suspect the HG but it's not definite. There are countless overheating thread on this forum. Maybe try looking through one of them for idea of areas to troubleshoot. Here is a good start. http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/200575-help-im-overheating-heres-how-fix.html I removed my A/C condenser and the thermostat and it helped a lot. It's not a permanent solution but it buys me time to find the real problem.

Good luck,

Tom
 
Is your fan kicking in, any smoke from the exhaust, is your oil brownish and thick, what is the color of your coolant, any loss in power?

yea fans are good. no smoke what so ever.. and oil seems to be fine a little thick. and color of the coolant is normal green and not really and power that i have noticed to be honest

That sounds like a headgasket to me. Is it throwing any misfire codes?

no codes but it has been misfiring alot
 
have you tried a new thermostat cap ("radiator cap") you outta check that out its not very expensive. The rubber that seals the cap down cracks and dries out which causes a leak in pressure in the cooling system, then when you rev the engine it creates enough pressure to circulate the coolent through the radiator. Just a thought post the results, oh and btw most Supras aint got $hlt on us DSM guys LOL :thumb:

scrap my last post, those compression numers are definitely not good, how many miles the motor have on it?
 
scrap my last post, those compression numers are deff, not good

haha supras got alot on alot of things. but i like my dsm im saving for a new motor i just want something that will help me get back to work and home each day.. untill i have the money. so if i just take the thermostat out it will be cooler?

p.s. they were wet. tests
 
When your car gets up to temp feel the radiator and see if its hot or cool. Cool obviously means theres no circulation and the water pump is not pushing coolant, or the thermostat is stuck shut.

Your compression numbers are low, but this does not necessairly mean you have a blown headgasket. Especially since you claim the coolant to be green.
 
With compression results like that I would most deffinaly start with removing the cylinder head and inspecting the cylinder walls and valves. However that does not necssary fix you over heating problem.

Coolant when exposed to combustion gasses (leaking or blown headgasket) changes colors and textures. You can also use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity of the coolant too. You will also find traces of oil in the over flow bottle. This likly rules out a head issuse or head gasket issue for the over heating problem.

I would start by double checking your radiator fan is make sure it is kicking on. This sounds more like your culprit.

If it is, pressure test your cooling system. It is possible you have a leak somewhere that you don't see. It could be boiling off as soon as it exits the part.

If it holds pressure for 15min you have no leaks.

Another key thing to check is the temperature difference is the upper portion of the radiator to the bottom. You also should check in various spots on the radiators surface to make sure the heat is being despensed evenly. If at operating temps (or overheating temps) the bottom is still cold you have a clogged radiator.

If no leaks are present, try flushing your radiator with a garden hose and see what comes out. Take off both upper and lower hoses and just flush it out.

This is assumming the thermostate has already been replaced too.

Like I said though, compression resaults like that are usually engine damage/wear.
 
my car was doing the exact same thing as yours. the oil looked fine and so did the coolant. i did a compression test and the numbers were 100-90-45-60. i didnt do a wet test because the numbers were so low i just wanted to see what was wrong with it. found out the next day that the headgasket blew in 3 different places and one was half way around a cylinder. im not saying that this is your problem but odds are that since we had the same things wrong, its your headgasket.
 
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