86 tpi 305 auto heats up slowly to 230' in 1/2 hour. I have allways been shutting it off after that to prevent major overheating. Heats up at same rate wether driving or standing still

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS that I can think of = old ECM went bonkers as soon as I tried to start up the new motor. The old ECM made multiple sensors and relays turn on and off rapidly, probably damaging some of them. I know the IAC was ruined by this, it has been replaced along with the tps.
SENSORS that may have been damaged / there were noises coming fron the sensors or the area around them. I have not checked them for proper operation because I dont know how:
- canister purge solenoid
- esc module
- maf burnoff relay
- maf relay
- fuel pump relay
- TPS - replaced, works fine now
- IAC - replaced, works fine now

Could some of these things be malfunctioning and cause it to run hot?????????????????????????

I had a carbed lg4 that did the same overheating thing. The electric choke was not working and that made it run hotter, lust like this tpi car.

My main priority is to get it to run cool, I only have 22 miles on the motor.

My plugs have carbon on them and I do not have water coming out of the exhaust like I did with the old motor. I am pretty sure I am not getting a complete fuel burn like I used to.

I have checked the basic cooling areas, so we can skip these, unless one of the parts just failed.
Car cooled fine 190' almost all the time with old motor
-same fans - they work and turn on,I have one set to turn on at 180', the other is hooked up to the factory 220 switch
-new 180 thermostat, replaced 1 year old 180 thinking it had gone bad
-new waterpump, new motor has only been run with new waterpump
-newer radiator, worked fine on old motor and I can see flow, does not seem to be dirty
-60 / 40 antifreze mix
-airdam is fine and intact
-bottom and top hose are ok, not colapsed
-new tranny cooler hooked up before radiator

Also: no engine light codes, fluids are new and look ok, and timing is set to factory 6'btdc.

Ideas? What should I check next?

 

This may be a stupic question, but I have to ask anyways...

Are you sure you dont have the thermostat in upside down?

Do you have any smoking?

What is the quality of the oil ? (is there any coolant in it?)

Do the fan(s) turn on?

Have you had your coolant system pressure tested?



If I was you, I'd take it to a shop to have a radiator flush done (I know at jiffy lube it's 60 dollars). Find a slower jiffy lube though, and explain that you think you have an air bubble in the system... they'll take extra time to suck the air out (dont ask me how I know this lol).

Good luck

 

thanks,
-t-stat in ok, copper and spring down in intake

-fans work at 180 and move air

-oil on dipstick is clean and new looking

-a pressure test + tow would cost close to the same price as a new radiator. I plan on going with a new radiator this weekend, just to eliminate that posibility.

other ideas?

 

a radiator swap will not get rid of an air bubble in the engine unless you get lucky in the process and manage to drain everywhere and dont get another bubble.

If you have AAA, it's 10 miles free towing, and there's gotta be a place 30 minutes around you that will do coolant flushes, that you could just drive to? If you lived in Oregon I would just tow you myself lol.

 

Thanks for the ideas
I never heard of a "air bubble" problem.

I did some homework and found out how the home mechanic gets rid of air. Fill it cold, start it and run temp just over 100. Turn off and wait till upper hose has no pressure but motor is still warm. Take cap off and add coolant, then start and run at 2500 while adding coolant. Put on the cap while at 2500 rom and radiator is full. I think I will try the home method with a new rad.
I may even drill a small hole in the t-stat to help.



The closest shop is approx 15 min away and I HATE to take my car to a shop for anything if I can try to do it myself. The only thing I have done by a shop now is alignment.

P.S.
A new radiator will be 117$. Not bad.

 

Drilling a small hole or 2 in your thermostat allows the air bubbles to pass through, as they are formed, away from the "sensor" end of the thermostat so the stat can get a true reading.

Does it climb to 230 just initially? Or does it climb and drop then climb back up again and so on (indicating that it does this repeatedly, even after the stat opens, allowing coolant to circulate?)

 

at idle, temp climbs slowly, hovers at 190 for a little bit then goes up to 220, hovers for a bit, then goes hotter. I shut it off when it gets around 230. I think the fans cause the temp to hover, 1 turns on at 180, one turns on at 220. It hurts bad if I put a finger on the valve cover for even 1 second when it says 230. I would say the gauge is fairly correct.

 

Wait, aren't you supposed to drill the holes in the housing rather than in the thermostat itself?

 

Fixed, now it runs a perfect 180. The new thermostat was stuck closed and barley moves. Compared it to the 6 month old 180 I took out and it barley moves. Tried a old thermostat I had laying around and I could push it open with my thumb. I got P/Oed and hit it hard, I could push it open after that. Both stuck closed thermostats were from Stant and both were like $7 bux new with a LLT waranty. I will NEVER buy one of their thermostats again. I drilled one small hole in the new autozone stat just for fun.

Spent 135$ puttng a new radiator and lower hose on when they were not the problem. I dont feel too bad about this since my hose and radiator were not brand new anymore and I could easily have been charged the same price for a shop to try and figure out my problem.

Holes get drilled in the stat close to the outside away fron the copper and spring. Look for other threads on it here , some people have posted pictures.