My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

[firebirdn]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Ok it's not fixed! I took her out of storage today and made it about 10 miles and she overheated on me! My rad is full? Do you think my radiator is malfunctioning? After I put the water pump in I filled it up and when she got up to temp I could hear the thermostat open???? Coolant in rad is cold, so it's obviously not circulating now so Wtf?

[ssms5411]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Sounds like the water pump.

[FIREBIRDV6RAGE]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Sounds like the water pump.

its bran new man it cant be that he also got a new thromostat, and he had a full radiator full of coolant so the last thing is the radiator or the cooling fans , were your fans on when you pulled over and opened the hood when the car was running?

[ssms5411]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Did you bleed the air out after the new water pump?

[firebirdn]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Well I appreciate the input..If you read back, I've replaced thermostat and water pump.The water pump was leaking. So I think my rad is plugged or I've got air bubbles? No fluid in oil or any signs of bad gasket. Tomorrow I'm going to flush the rad and try to bleed it thorougly.

[ssms5411]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

It takes awhile to bleed the air out of the coolant, mine takes 3-4 times or more bleeding it out.

[2.8 Bird]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

It takes awhile to bleed the air out of the coolant, mine takes 3-4 times or more bleeding it out.

I replaced my coolant in Jan., but I didn't bleed the air out. Not that mine is overheating. How do you bleed it out?

I know Fiero's need to be bleed out or else, but never knew that Fbodies are the same way.

[ssms5411]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

I replaced my coolant in Jan., but I didn't bleed the air out. Not that mine is overheating. How do you bleed it out?

I know Fiero's need to be bleed out or else, but never knew that Fbodies are the same way.

Theres a bleed srcew on the thermo housing , reg. screwdriver open it while the car is running and wait until you get a steady flow of coolant coming out then tighten the screw back down.

[2.8 Bird]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Theres a bleed srcew on the thermo housing , reg. screwdriver open it while the car is running and wait until you get a steady flow of coolant coming out then tighten the screw back down.

Gosh, I didn't know that...thanks. I just learned something. Yup, always something new.

[firebirdn]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Ok..So I flushed the radiator.I bleed it and the ***** is still overheating. I'm guessing it's the head gasket at this point? I know that's a pricey fix is there anything else it could be? The fans are working the pumps pumping but she still is overheating? No coolant in the oil as far as I can tell but I don't what else it could be. The TCS seems to be working and she is definitely overheating.I don't see any coolant leaking either?

[FIREBIRDV6RAGE]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

Ok..So I flushed the radiator.I bleed it and the ***** is still overheating. I'm guessing it's the head gasket at this point? I know that's a pricey fix is there anything else it could be? The fans are working the pumps pumping but she still is overheating? No coolant in the oil as far as I can tell but I don't what else it could be. The TCS seems to be working and she is definitely overheating.I don't see any coolant leaking either?

all gaskets do is separate the oil and water and from spaying out of every crack. hat has nothing to do with your cooling system unless coolant is creeping into a cylinder.

if the coolant system is not under the psi it should be then the boiling point of the coolant goes down. the higher the psi water is under ,the higher the boiling point of it is. maybe thats the case.

this is what i would check.
1. the correct coolant and water mix and no air bubbles
2.the thermostat
3.if the fans kick in when they have to
4. if the water pump is making the coolant flow though
5.no leaks any where including internaly
6.no clogs in the radiator or cooling system
7.the psi the cooling system is actually under and if its correct with spec's
8.if enough air is getting to the radiator to cool it off.
9.maybe your temp sensor is just acting up and giving you a wrong reading
10. the egr system also helps with cooling so that may be a cause.
11. and last maybe its your radiator
thats all i can think of to be honest

[firebirdn]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

I appreciate your input. At this point I think it's the radiator or a hose? I replaced the thermostat again today just to make sure. So I drove it until it was up to temp. I pulled the cap and I could hear the thermostat open the coolant level went down.I added repeated, and the fans kicked on. Ok everything seemed to be operating as should be. Cracked the bleeder by the thermo housing and coolant came out as expected. Took her for a spin and she was starting to overheat again. When I started checking things out I cracked the bleeder valve and nothing came out!! So I opened the rad cap and it was under pressure .So using my judgement I would say it's gotta be either the rad hose or rad itself.It's weird that everything seems to work until it she fully gets up to temp? I think I might just take it to the shop.

[FIREBIRDV6RAGE]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

I appreciate your input. At this point I think it's the radiator or a hose? I replaced the thermostat again today just to make sure. So I drove it until it was up to temp. I pulled the cap and I could hear the thermostat open the coolant level went down.I added repeated, and the fans kicked on. Ok everything seemed to be operating as should be. Cracked the bleeder by the thermo housing and coolant came out as expected. Took her for a spin and she was starting to overheat again. When I started checking things out I cracked the bleeder valve and nothing came out!! So I opened the rad cap and it was under pressure .So using my judgement I would say it's gotta be either the rad hose or rad itself.It's weird that everything seems to work until it she fully gets up to temp? I think I might just take it to the shop.

well the last thing left is the radiator

[ssms5411]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

I would bleed it more than 1 time.

[r_simmonds]

Re: My bird is overheating.Thoughts?

I know that you replaced the water pump, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have gotten a bad one. One thing to check, is to check the accessory belt for slipping. Make sure that your tensioner is functioning properly to keep good tension on the belt. If your accessory belt is not slipping, then you'll want to top off the coolant while it's cold, which can be a little tricky. But start the car and let it sit and run up to operating temperature, until the fans kick on. Let it cycle, and watch for coolant to be leaking from around the water pump housing. If there is coolant leaking from around the water pump pulley, your new pump is likely bad. Also, double check to make sure that you have the new thermostat in the proper orientation. I would also have the cooling system and the cap pressure tested.

If all of those check out ok then I would do a good chemical flush, making sure to completely flush the coolant out of the system and then making sure to get all of the cleaner flushed before you refill the coolant. This is something that you need to be aware of though; with a chemical flush, it can open an area that may have leaked at one point and closed off due to the silica blocking the leak. One thing that would be a good idea if you're at this point, is to add a UV tracer to the coolant when you refill it. You can pick these kits up at most autoparts stores. It won't affect the function of the coolant but will allow you to use a UV light to check for leaks, though it will need to be dark to spot where the leak would be coming from.

Checking the radiator for leaks is a bit harder, simply because of how it's oriented in the car. I have had 2 vehicles that had burst radiators, and you couldn't see the leak simply because of where the leak was at. They tend to burst on the sides, where the tanks are. This is where the UV tracer would come in handy.

As long as the car seems to be running strong, I wouldn't assume that it's something to do with the engine. It's possible that it could be running too lean or have too much advance, but generally your SES light would be on indicating that you're throwing some sort of code. Though it is possible for there to be a problem without throwing a code, if you're not showing one then I wouldn't put much of my focus into that. Though it wouldn't hurt to pull the plugs and check their color.

Hope that gives some ideas of what to look at.