Stupid overheating issue.

[thedsmguy]

Ok, I've been unable to find anything specific about my scenario by searching, and I have a feeling I might know the main cause I just want to get some insight.

92 awd laser, Mods are ETS fmic (I think this is the main problem). 16g, 3" exhaust, all heat shields installed, only one fan but it seems to work right.

The car can sit and idle or be at 2-3k rpm and not have any problem even with the hood shut. As soon as I drive it about a mile it will start to creep up in temperature it will get hot enough eventually to start boiling out the overflow.

There are no "bubbles" when the rad cap is off and its running, I've done a hydrocarbon test on the radiator "air" and it turned up with no hydrocarbons meaning a good headgasket, the compression is fine also.

I've taken the thermostat out and it helps just a tiny bit (maybe). I've flushed and added chemical flush to the coolant and I've tried 100% water which I heard actually cools better then antifreeze?

I guess I'm wondering is the ETS kit blocking out all the air that the radiator needs? The 92 front bumper design basically allows for no airflow other then to the fmic.

I'm going to try replacing the radiator with another one I have that was from a ok running car. Oh, and I've tested the heater core and it seems to flow quite well.

Let me know what you think it might be??

Thanks,
Paul:thumb: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

 

[Rausch]

Hmmmm....Water pump?

Only other thing I can think of would be a pretty significant block somewhere in the system.

Edit, this is assuming the rad. switch does not yield better results.

 

[rgeier11]

Are the fans turning on for sure?

 

[SmoothCustomer]

Water cools much better, but it will also boil off at a lot lower temperature (which is why you do half water half anti-freeze (and so it doesn't freeze in the winter)) so it's hard to say if it's still as hot or if it is in fact cooler and the water just boils lower. A blockage sounds possible. I know there are cleaning agents out there for cooling systems, maybe one of them works like drano /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif. Oh and if it gets super hot just idling for a while then air flow has nothing to do with it but I know your pain because gvr4's with ac have the bumper support, the ic, the ac condenser and some other little stuff (in my case an oil cooler too) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif.

 

[thedsmguy]

Well, It does not get hot even revving to 2k off and on for a 30 minute time frame. I'm going to try the 50/50 mix and see what happens, its only $8 for antifreeze I guess....


Damn dsm's (its my laser doing this....)

 

[conquesttsi]

I had this same problem on my 420a non turbo 2g a year ago.

We thought thermostat..and we changed it.

Blockage in the radiator (we hit a bird)...and we changed it.

Oddly enough it turned out to be a failed water pump that just happened to go at the same time.

 

Sounds liket the water pump or a fan issue you sida only one is working are you sure it works. The cooling fan relay could be bad also and not turing on at the right temp.

Quoting thedsmguy:
Ok, I've been unable to find anything specific about my scenario by searching, and I have a feeling I might know the main cause I just want to get some insight.

92 awd laser, Mods are ETS fmic (I think this is the main problem). 16g, 3" exhaust, all heat shields installed, only one fan but it seems to work right.

The car can sit and idle or be at 2-3k rpm and not have any problem even with the hood shut. As soon as I drive it about a mile it will start to creep up in temperature it will get hot enough eventually to start boiling out the overflow.

There are no "bubbles" when the rad cap is off and its running, I've done a hydrocarbon test on the radiator "air" and it turned up with no hydrocarbons meaning a good headgasket, the compression is fine also.

I've taken the thermostat out and it helps just a tiny bit (maybe). I've flushed and added chemical flush to the coolant and I've tried 100% water which I heard actually cools better then antifreeze?

I guess I'm wondering is the ETS kit blocking out all the air that the radiator needs? The 92 front bumper design basically allows for no airflow other then to the fmic.

I'm going to try replacing the radiator with another one I have that was from a ok running car. Oh, and I've tested the heater core and it seems to flow quite well.

Let me know what you think it might be??

Thanks,
Paul:thumb: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

 

Aftermarket fan not hooked up right?

 

[thecman02]

Make sure the Radiator cap is good for its rating. Make sure Fan is working 100% The fact that removing the thermostat helped a little bit makes me believe the water pump is wimping out.

 

[conquesttsi]

Good one Mike, I didn't think about that. This is definatly something to check.

Quoting mac515:
Sounds liket the water pump or a fan issue you sida only one is working are you sure it works. The cooling fan relay could be bad also and not turing on at the right temp.

 

[thedsmguy]

Thanks guys. I did that hydro carbon test for the headgasket a few days ago and it did not show any in the coolant system.... Weird because today I did a leakdown test and cyl. 3 was the only one with more then 4% leakdown. It was at about 15 or so which is still in the green on this snap on tester. BUT..... as I was doing that I filled the car with water again and left the cap on to check for air bubbles.. And there we go. Bubbles, slow and consistant when the car was not running and I had the leakdown tester blowing into the cylinder. I did not notice any bubbling when I was filling the car with water which is weird to me and its also weird that no hydrocarbons were in those bubbles for the original chemical test.

I tried to give the ARP's a little more torque and it slowed the bubble rate but its not going to fix the problem... Is there any kind of weird crap I could use to fix this without actually doing the headgasktet? I'm super busy and would be happy with a temporary fix. ( there was a guy a while back swearing to me he could simply fix a headgasket with some chemical but I didn't believe him and probably still shouldn't but I can hope!!!)

Thanks..

 

[Rausch]

^ Don't bother with the chemical crap. It'll just clog the rest of the system, and may not even work. At that point you'll have a thorough cleaning job on your hands...

 

[thedsmguy]

True..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/idea.gif

 

There is a head gasket for sale on here for only 50$$

 

[SmoothCustomer]

Yeah but you have to tear down everything so it's not really the cost that's the issue for most people.

 

No I know its mostly $$$ that is the issue cause of all the stuff you have to remove ( Done a few) PIA. Just thought I'd throw that out there cause a think it's a MLS gasket.

 

[conquesttsi]

I'd just do the gasket. Avoiding it will only give you worse troubles. Both time wise and in the wallet.

 

[SmoothCustomer]

Well if you decide to do the gasket I have a cometic for sale. Let me know if you're interested via pm and we will work something out.