Okay, so heres the deal.

My car overheats badly in this hot summer weather. Yesterday, I pulled into my work and decided to check the oil before I went in. The dipstick was blistering hot to the touch, and when I took the oil cap off, a little smoke was coming from the valve covers. I cant tell you exactly what temp its running at, as my factory gauge hasn't worked since I got the car, but I can sure tell you that its TOO HOT!

I'm a little stumped as to what it is.. I ran over this mental checklist in my head:

-It has a full level of coolant, and there's no air in the coolant. I sealed the thing myself!

-It does have a small oil leak at the rear main seal, but I always keep it topped off between oil changes.

-It has a new radiator and a new thermostat. (Had a shop put it in for cheap.)

-The upper/lower rad hoses are not collapsed/damaged, and secured onto their designated locations.

-The timing chain was recently worked on, meaning the water pump has been ****ed with. (Wouldve done it myself, but it broke a DAY before I moved into an apartment!)

So, I have two theories.

A) The shop put in the wrong thermostat.
B) My water pump is shot.


Any clues?

 

i read somthing about the bottom part of the body that scrapes on anything, if we lose those the car will overheat quickly, its on another post i just can't remeber where it is. the air dam channels air upto the radiator and aids in cooling

 

Well, the thing is off the car. Of course, I had overheating problems before that, too, but they couldve been unrelated to that.

The more I think about it the more sense it makes why I would need the damn thing.

Slapping it back on tomorrow before work, and we'll see what happens.

 

If it overheats while at speed, you are suffering from not enough airflow through the radiator, because the chin spoiler is missing.

Check your timing, too advanced will make it run hot.

There are 2 different water pumps, one for v belts (skinny type) and one for the '88 and later serpentine belts. They look the same, but the serpentine pump is designed to rotate the opposite direction, so if you have the wrong pump on your car, it will not flow well.

I hope that helps

Troy
So Cal

 

And if your fan isn't working, it can over heat too

 

Havent checked, but im almost 100% sure it is.

A crapped out fan wont make me overheat cruising at 45mph, though.

 

Check the chin spoiler. If it is missing, or even bent back, it can cause overheating at freeway speeds. I use a few holed drilled through it and the plastic jack points under the nose, and some big zip ties to keep it slightly bent forward to catch the air. It solved all my overheating problems at speed.

Third gens are prone to this problem because they have no functional grille, and the ground effects front ends really cut down air going under the car, and thus through the radiator. If it cools OK at idle and around town, this is most likely the problem.

Good luck

Troy
So Cal

 

Oops sorry, I must have missed where you said that it was happening when you were cruising. (Teaches me to read the whole posting, huh?)
Anyways, I would agree with everyone else about the air dam ( i think that's what they call it).
Most times when a water pump heads south, it usually leaks out the back, underneath. Through a weep-hole. In most cases, it only happens after the car is off. So if you think that might be a problem, look to see if there is any coolant leaking from the water pump. If the bearings seize up in it, they normally tell you about it, very loudly
Good Luck and keep us posted

 

Actually you didnt miss anything, I just forgot to unclude that in my original post.

I have the thing back on, but I havent gotten a chance to just drive around yet. We'll see tomorrow.

 

let us know i'm interested in how it does

 

I got the thing back on, and it seemed to help a LITTLE. But it has a large crack in the middle of it. (Probably got that way sitting in storage or something.) So its inconclusive as to whether or not that was my problem.

 

So, if you are still heating up, then there are a couple of options to help. You already stated about the thermostat, so you should probably just go out and get a lower temp like 170-180º. Shop probably installed a factory 195º with new radiator.
To make sure your fan is working, just turn on the A/C, and it should come on until you turn the A/C off. I know this is academic at crusing speeds, but at least you'll know the fan motor is actually working.

 

I'm guessing the radiator is smaller, or doesn't flow as well as the original.

And squeeze the upper radiator hose. If you don't feel coolant flowing, your water pump isn't working.

 

A good possibility the problem is debris built up between the A/C condensor and the radiator.

Unbolt the plastic cover that holds the radiator in. This is the part under the hood on top of the rad.

Once off use a drop or flash light and look down in front of the radiator (between rad and A/C condensor). Not unusual to find it half full of leaves, paper, cig. butts, paper cups, kids school notes and whetever else is laying about the street.

RBob.