Help with overheating problem

[mK 6]

Originally Posted by flipper66

This sure sounds like air in the system. You can rent or buy a air pump to pressurize and "burp" the system yourself. Justin had all kinds of trouble and that solved his air issues.

Also, for those who replaced the T-stat, did you make sure to put it back in the correct way(it is a 1 way valve and if the correct side isn't heated, it will never open). Also did you replace the retainer ring when replacing the T-stat? This is critical to holding it in the correct position.

I have never had an issue with burping the system, but I fill it with distilled water and pump the upper radiator hose till it is solid, then start the car up and let it burp itself the rest of the way.

Sorry I haven't been working on the car lately but today I started working on it and 1 out of the 3 bolts just keeps spinning that holds the thermostat housing cover on the thermostat. I guess I am going to have to replace that cover and that whole thermostat housing as well. Once I replace these parts I'm going to try my hardest to burp the system before I start looking at the head gasket on this thing. I did replace the thermostat the right way and it is a 180 degree stant thermostat so it does not have the retainer ring. I followed the online how to when I replaced it. I will definitely look into the air pump. My dad is finally getting tired of having this car sitting in the garage for this long so its time to move it out. I never had this much of a hard time burping any car's system as the 6 wow.

[MaKeH]

Originally Posted by mK 6

Sorry I haven't been working on the car lately but today I started working on it and 1 out of the 3 bolts just keeps spinning that holds the thermostat housing cover on the thermostat. I guess I am going to have to replace that cover and that whole thermostat housing as well. Once I replace these parts I'm going to try my hardest to burp the system before I start looking at the head gasket on this thing. I did replace the thermostat the right way and it is a 180 degree stant thermostat so it does not have the retainer ring. I followed the online how to when I replaced it. I will definitely look into the air pump. My dad is finally getting tired of having this car sitting in the garage for this long so its time to move it out. I never had this much of a hard time burping any car's system as the 6 wow.

you mean no "O" ring ? donno... i bought a stant 180 too ..it did not have the O Ring but i reused my old one ... i dont think you can install a termostat with no gasket...

[mK 6]

Originally Posted by MaKeH

you mean no "O" ring ? donno... i bought a stant 180 too ..it did not have the O Ring but i reused my old one ... i dont think you can install a termostat with no gasket...

Sorry I thought it meant something else but yes i do have a new gasket o ring for the thermostat that im using.

[AlanD]

Hello again.

It has been a month since the car was repaired so I am now confident enough that the problem has been solved.

Surprise surprise...it was the head gasket. My experience with second hand cars is that when something goes wrong it is the head gasket, even if it isn't - it is!

The previous owner hadn't taken care of the radiator, which was in an awful state, and the knock on effect was a broken seal in the gasket.

Radiator replaced, gasket replaced, 140kmh for an hour without issue.

Thanks

[mK 6]

Originally Posted by AlanD

Hello again.

It has been a month since the car was repaired so I am now confident enough that the problem has been solved.

Surprise surprise...it was the head gasket. My experience with second hand cars is that when something goes wrong it is the head gasket, even if it isn't - it is!

The previous owner hadn't taken care of the radiator, which was in an awful state, and the knock on effect was a broken seal in the gasket.

Radiator replaced, gasket replaced, 140kmh for an hour without issue.

Thanks

Well im glad your issue is fixed. I've tried burping my cooling system but it still overheats I guess im just gonna get it over with. How much was the headgasket job ? or did you do it yourself ?

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by mK 6

Well im glad your issue is fixed. I've tried burping my cooling system but it still overheats I guess im just gonna get it over with. How much was the headgasket job ? or did you do it yourself ?

I am in the UAE, I am quite sure my pricing is going to be different to yours (probably a fair bit cheaper). Parts and labour, radiator included, about $300

[flipper66]

300 bucks for a HG? must be a 4 cylinder.

[Final Impact]

As a last resort and when no other progress can be made you may try pulling the right side of the car onto a curb and make it higher. Some times a small elevation change can get things moving like trapped bubbles.

Also you can rent or buy pressure testers and pressurize the cooling system. It should not leak down. This can find bad head gaskets but not sometimes they have to be further along into failure mode. . .

OP - it reads as if you did not solely rely on the instrument panel gauge. What else did you use?

[mK 6]

Originally Posted by Final Impact

As a last resort and when no other progress can be made you may try pulling the right side of the car onto a curb and make it higher. Some times a small elevation change can get things moving like trapped bubbles.

Also you can rent or buy pressure testers and pressurize the cooling system. It should not leak down. This can find bad head gaskets but not sometimes they have to be further along into failure mode. . .

OP - it reads as if you did not solely rely on the instrument panel gauge. What else did you use?

I changed the reservoir cap and now it has pressurized the system and I found my radiator leaking a lot of water. I ordered a new radiator which is expected to be here by Friday. I'm very confident that this will resolve the problem.

Final Impact, I'm also running a oil temp gauge so when the car starts heating up the oil temp starts going way up. Sometimes the water temp gauge would be normal and my engine oil temp would go up towards 240*F(normal temp is 215 *F) and then the water temp gauge would start moving from the middle.

[mK 6]

I replaced the radiator(easy job) and I been trying to burp the cooling system for couple hours now. There is no leak coming from the radiator now and I've got my heat back after burping for so long. It still overheats but takes awhile to get to high now. So these signs are looking good now.

I went to check for leaks after i came back from a drive and there is a big leak coming from the rear of the engine. Right from where the sway bar is in the middle. I haven't gotten underneath the car yet to look from where its coming from as I ran out of time for the day. Any guess from where it could be leaking from? TB? heater core?