temp gauge high

[campbell]

Hi,

Any follow up on this one?

My temp gauge rarely went above 1/3.  Except when there were problems, such as no cooling fan, stuck in traffic in 30+ temps, failed thermostat or broken hose.

Many radiator companies want to replace/recore our radiators at about the 200,000km mark, claim that the residue on the tubes reduces the efficiency.  Check the colour, quality of your coolant.

Maybe give it a flush and refill.

And to re-ask, was it losing any coolant?

And what's the colour under the oil filler cap?

good luck, looking forward to the following story.
regards,
Campbell
Brisbane

[mozzy]

Coolant is high quality, have flushed and refilled twice and yes coolant and oil slowly builds up on the garage floor for me to clean ::).

gonna check the water pump next...

[Colza]

You need to find where it is leaking from. There is no point replacing stuff if it is leaking somewhere else! Esp. if it is leaking oil! That should be the first thing you try to track down!

[campbell]

A simple question.

With the radiator cap off (obviously not when the engine is hot, hot.), does the water move when you blip the throttle?  This will show if the water pump is actually moving it as it should.  We did have T2 in the club here where the vanes fell off the shaft.  Not much of a pump like that.

At the same time watch for bubbles.  Not a good sign if you see any.

Check that mess of other hoses and make sure that none are kinked and restricting flow.  And none are leaking along their length.

And no, having, or not having, the intercooler in place will not influence the engine operating temperature.

good luck.
regards,
Campbell

[mozzy]

With the radiator cap off we started the engine and watched the coolant.  Just idling, the coolant slowly rises and spills over the edge of where the radiator cap goes.  There were no bubbles and from what I remember a quick 'blip of the throttle' only increased the rising of the coolant.

After a test drive to get the temperature to halfway-ish on the guage, removing the radiator cap results in coolant bursting out the cap hole like a fire hydrant!

Dave.

[campbell]

Yes, as one learns, don't take the radiator cap off once operating temperature is reached.  This will cause instant boiling throughout the engine and steam powered ejection of contents via radiator cap.  Bugger.

Is it losing coolant at all over a couple of duty cycles?

If all of the hoses are intact, don't forget the cabin heater on both sides of the firewall, and it's not losing coolant, maybe the radiator.  It is clean, the outside front and rear so that there is uninterrupted airflow?

It's a new pump and cap.  And missing a bit of the old thermostat....

When running, from cold, the coolant level shouldn't rise much with the cap off and the engine running.

I would be taking out the radiator and giving it a clean too.  Inside and out.

Hmm.  The mystery continues.  What's that about a cappucino machine?

good luck,
Campbell

[doggystyle]

two words.. pressure test.. get one done on the cooling system.. will tell you exactly if there is a prob with sytem integrity and most likely where it is.. just replace your cap and therm as they arent much

[mozzy]

[quote author=doggystyle link=board=GEN;num=1098268192;start=30#36 date=12/24/04 at 21:32:25]two words.. pressure test.. get one done on the cooling system.. will tell you exactly if there is a prob with sytem integrity and most likely where it is.. just replace your cap and therm as they arent much[/quote]

If you had read the rest of the thread you would be aware that the thermostat and cap have already been replaced... infact it was in the first post!

Looking into the radiator next...

[Fader]

Hi guys,

well as mozzy said, we have tried a few things again, im getting a feeling the  radiator is just not efficient...

Once the car reaches temperature, it stays there quite nicely, go for a drive and it starts to come up slowly, then struggles to come back down. However once its idling in the shade with the fan on for a few minutes (bit of hose on the radiator too, it was a very hot day) it eventually comes back down to normal.

Doggy, a pressure test sounds like a good idea, i think short of a new radiator, this will be the next thing on the list.

Thanks for all the advice!
Chris

[Smithy]

Hey i've got a spare radiator and hoses if you wanna
work something out with them... ie swap radiators
see if its blocked up ...

I dont know Im only at Bulimba so let me know if thats something you want to consider...

[Fader]

Hey Smithy, thanks for the offer, we will probably take you up on it..

Will let you know.

Chris

[Brendan]

[quote author=Smithy link=board=GEN;num=1098268192;start=30#39 date=12/28/04 at 02:31:17]Hey i've got a spare radiator and hoses if you wanna
work something out with them... ie swap radiators
see if its blocked up ...

I dont know Im only at Bulimba so let me know if thats something you want to consider...

[/quote]

Hey Smithy I sent you a PM about your spare radiator... could you send me back a PM and we'll sort something out

cheers mate

[mozzy]

Good news - the radiator obtained from Smith has finally fixed the problem!! ;D

The temp guage now sits nicely just above 1/4

[Smithy]

YAY!   ;D



glad to of helped...just make sure it gets driven a bout now!

Smithy!