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Replaced head, thermostat, fan and more--still over heating

So I bought a GVR4 that was running (has a 91 motor from GSX)but had a blown headgasket--so i thought. Turned out the head was warped.
So I just installed a reman'd haed, cometic headgasket and all ARP hardware. No oil in the coolant anymore but its still overheating. Replaced the fan and thermostat and housing. Still overheating.
I was reading that the stock radiators are pretty junky? Is this most likely my problem, water pump issue?
Any help or redirection would be greatly appreciated..Thank you!
 

Barnes

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Feb 9, 2003
Messages
6,249
Location
Richland, WA
Welcome to the board!

What are the temps outside when you are overheating? You should *not* be overheating unless it is over 100 outside. And even then plenty of people are fine with the stock cooling system.
 

beaner

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Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
1,562
Location
b'ham, mi
There's probably air in the system.

Start the car cold with the rad cap off. As the engine runs and warms up, air bubbles will start coming out. This is good. Add coolant as needed. Let it get to operating temperature. When the thermostat opens up and you can see the coolant moving quickly, put the cap back on.

Additionally, the overflow bottle is important. Make sure it's hooked up correctly and half full of coolant. The system will push or pull coolant from the overflow as needed. If it's empty, it will suck in air. In that case, you're back to the top of this post.
 

coolant is brown...not milky-no oil in it
this has lead me to believe a broken/clogged radiator or failed waterpump...does this seem right? the bottom end is built so im confident that it isnt an issue there

Thank you for the welcome also
 

broxma

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Messages
911
Location
San Antonio Tx
If the coolant is brown and smells like the ass of a rotting pig, someone probably put radiator seal in it. That stuff does in fact seal your radiator, as well as totally screw up everything else in the cooling system. Even if you drain and replace it, it stays in there. It's like bong resin.

One of the issues with getting air out of these cars is the poor location of the radiator cap. Try this. Take a two liter bottle and chop just the bottom off. Screw the neck into the radiator fill. Fill the system through the bottle with the car running. This gives you a higher practical position for the top of the system and lets the car warm up a bit without shooting all the coolant out. You can rev the motor a bit to get as much air out as possible. If the car gets hot and coolant starts to fill the bottle don't worry. As long as the air in the system is at the radiator cap and not somewhere else down the line, you're good. Be safe about it though. Don't let it go crazy.

/brox
 

OZRally

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Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
78
Location
Illinois
Also make sure you have the proper mix of coolant/water. I've seen people run 100% antifreeze and wonder why it never cools down properly.
 

ghostinthevr4

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Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
587
Location
Fresno, Califonia
You have two good ways to get the bubbles out of your cooling system from beaner and broxma. I have something to add to both of these while your doing either of these methods, make sure you turn the heater on full blast. This allows the coolant to pass through heater box under the dash. Also this is a long process you have to make sure the car reaches operating tempature before you cap the radiator. Reving the car a bit will help speed up the process but dont rev it too high, rev it and hold it for a few minutes will help the thermostat open up faster wich is what you are trying to achieve.

Kepp the radiator cap off during this whole process and keep an eye on the coolant, fill as needed once you have the engine at opertating temp the thermostat should open. You can tell it's open by filling on the upper radiator hose it'll be very hot and you can feel the coolant rushing through, just be carefull not to burn your self. Now your gonna to have to add more coolant if you see the coolant level drop as you look into the radiator. Once the coolant starts you come out of the radiator over flowing that is when you want to put your cap on and shut it.

Once again becareful because the coolant will be hot, it's a messy process but it'll take care of the air bubbles. This is how you "burp" the cooling system, dont forget to turn on your heater. You can also jack up just the front of the car to help the coolant travel to the heater box in the cabin of the car.

Hope this helps.
 

beaner

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Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
1,562
Location
b'ham, mi
I never understood why people turn on the hvac while doing this. Coolant goes to the heater core whether the hvac fan is on or not. Right?
 
Last edited:

Terry Posten

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Dec 16, 2003
Messages
9,009
Location
Davenport, Iowa USA
Correct. The heater core does not have an on/off valve.

But it does help know the temp of the water to keep tabs on the warm up process.
 

Terry Posten

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Dec 16, 2003
Messages
9,009
Location
Davenport, Iowa USA
You can also jack the front of the car as high as possible (support it properly please) to get the top of the radiator higher up.

This won't work very well if you have the TEL water neck but works well for stock GVR4 setups.
 

fuel

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Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
2,165
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
yes but if the temperature is set to cold then the heater matrix valve doesn't open and is bypassed. Once the heater valve is opened then you can potentially introduce in a air bubble.
 

mikus

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Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Messages
2,763
Location
Aurora IL
Quote:
This won't work very well if you have the TEL water neck but works well for stock GVR4 setups.


This is me (Ie. NO radiator cap, cap is on thermostat housing) Any tips for this setup? I'm 'fine' currently, just curious if there's a slick way for next time I'm in there.
 

Terry Posten

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Dec 16, 2003
Messages
9,009
Location
Davenport, Iowa USA
I am thinking about drilling and tapping in a bleeder screw in the top tank of my aluminum core to help get all the air out in the radiator itself.
 

Maybe it's possible that your radiator has some blockage in it. Either mineral or rust build up. Or... When I replaced my water pump during a t-belt job my water pumps fins all had this ball of nasty rust/mineral build up on them that I'm sure was hindering its performance.

As for the liter bottle cut in half, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket you could buy this, it's the same principle. I got one a few months ago and have done two cars with it, including mine. It's awesome, I could visibly see air bubbles coming out. Don't rev too much after the thermostat opens though because after a while the fluid gets so hot that it was overflowing. If you have a really shiny clean engine bay, or you just want to avoid a mess, put some towels down around the area and have some extra handy in case you do reach that overflow point.

click

I got mine at napa.

Oh and don't forget, if you drain radiator and go to refill it, always, always use distilled water, especially on new radiators. Distilled water has no minerals in it that causes build up. You can pick up distilled water at your local grocery store.
 
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