Cooling System Woes

[ggzilla]

It's not Timing. It's not beause you havea 190 degree thermostat (a 180 won't fix the issue)

 

 

> What do you guys think? What should I check? Maybe a air pocket in the system?

 

Definitely. #1 cause of overheating that happens soon after changing the coolant. Top the radiator up. Air pocket will dissapear after driving but then it needs to be topped up again.

 

 

If that's not it, the new radiator might not work very well.

 

> I'm gonna swap the old radiator back in tonight and see what that does, it leaks a lil bit but I never overheated with it.

 

Use Silver Seal or Copper Seal and keep using it. The factory uses radiator seal, so you know it's good if used according to directions.

[LenRobertson]

Re-reading all the posts, I'm not convinced it can't be a head gasket problem (although I do hope I'm wrong and it is timing or something easier to fix). When i was running the stock 1600 in my 510, it started using coolant, with no sign of external leaks, and not running hot. But gradually over the summer, it was using more coolant, and starting to run warmer on the temp gauge. By Fall, I was adding coolant every morning to make my 26 mile round trip commute. Usually the temp was heading toward the top of the scale by the time I made it back home.I finally gave up on it and admitted my head gasket was going or nearly gone. But in the early stages, I didn't notice coolant smell from the exhaust. Later on it was a noticeable smell. I never had water in the oil (and I did check it all the time after the engine ran, expecting ti see brown milky oil). One symptom I did have, at least toward the end - When the engine was warm,  I could look in the top tank of the radiator and see bubbles in the coolant when I would rev the engine. As I recall, it would take a few seconds after increasing the engine speed for the bubbles to appear. And oddly, it seems like it wouldn't do this if the engine was cold. So I hope you don't see any bubbles in your coolant, but it is one more thing to check, and easy to do.

 

One thing I'm not sure is if your problem has been going on for awhile, or is something that showed up after you put in the new radiator. A one-time overheat after you had drained and refilled the system does seem more like an air pocket.

 

Len

 

 

 

 

['70dime]

I'm not sure what you mean by one time over heat, it over heats once everytime I get on the interstate. If I'm able to get to the side of the road before it gets to hot, I dont loose that much coolant. I'm 80% sure my coolant loss is out on the overflow. For instance, this morning as soon as I saw the gauge start creepin past 190 I started looking for a good spot to pull over. By the time I stop it has pushed the cap open, I sit there for a min, start back up to check the temp, it starts high on the gauge then comes right back down to 190 and I cruise the rest of the way to work without issue.

 

I check the coolant on my lunch break and it was still covering the top of the fins. I said earlier that the lower hose was not collapsing but thats something I couldn't get it to do in the driveway. if the lower hose collapses and I turn the engine off, does it open right back up? or does it stay collasped?

[LenRobertson]

I guess what I meant has it been running hotter and loosing coolant for a few weeks now, or just a very few times since you drained it to change radiators. The several week thing seems more like a head gasket, while something happening since the radiator was changed could be an air pocket.

 

But a collapsed hose seems like a good possibility too. I've never had this happen myself, but I get the idea a hose will collapse when the engine is at highway speed and un-collapse when you slow down and look at it. Changing the radiator hoses is probably the best way to be sure that isn't the problem. With the quality of some of the parts we get anymore, even a fairly new hose maybe could be a problem. Changing the heater hoses at the same time might save you a disaster in the future.

 

Len

[ggzilla]

Why do you suspect anything except the new radiator? That was all that changed. Now it's overheating. With the old radiator, no overheating. you are ussing the same fan, shroud, thermostat, hoses. Only the radiator has changed. And it's one of the cheap aluminum radiators...

['70dime]

Why do you suspect anything except the new radiator? That was all that changed. Now it's overheating. With the old radiator, no overheating. you are ussing the same fan, shroud, thermostat, hoses. Only the radiator has changed. And it's one of the cheap aluminum radiators...

 

Well, Yes it is a Champion radiator from ebay. The warranty sold me and it was a resonable price. My reason for swaping was my orginal radiator had a small leak in on of the fins that had meen repaired. the shop that repair it said they wouldn't warraty it because it was so old. Yes only the radiator changed, but I was thinking maybe the old radiator being able to leak a little kept things together and now that the new one holds pressure it has highlighted other weak spots. Tonight the old radiator goes back in for sure, then I'll go for a highway run tonight.

['70dime]

It's fixed! It was the lower hose. Hainz wins because he was the first to mention it. The new hose didn't come with a spring in it but its a lot stiffer. Is there a way to but something in there as a fail safe?

 

Thanks everyone for the help, I read a lot on here but don't really post to much. Maybe I'll start a build thread this weekend, theres good people in here.

 

Ratsun is the beez kneez.

[banzai510(hainz)]

soem old radiators can be fixed. its based on the top and bottom pieces. some can be fixed.

[ggzilla]

Radiator hoses do not need a spring in them. On the other hand they can get soft when aged, though it doesn't happen often.

 

Glad to hear you found the problem!

[secret sponge]

I had a similar problem recently, I couldn't mimic it in the driveway, thankfully I guess, my fuel pump went out on the freeway and when I popped the Hood I saw it, the little hose that runs off the front of the block that runs to the thermostat had a little pin hole in it, but it wouldn't drop an ounce of fluid till the motor was under load, replaced the hose, no overheating or loss of fluid.