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| Thread ID: 70584 | 2006-07-08 10:04:00 | Part II of the "Blown head gasket?" | george12 (7) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 469431 | 2006-07-08 10:04:00 | Hi, Thanks for helping sort out what I thought was a blown head gasket. The symptoms seem to have, after a few days of the car being left alone, completely disappeared. No more steam/smoke out the back, no water in the oil, no oil getting into the water. It's running nicely. It's still a bit on the hot side though. Like, it will sit on just under half way for the duration of a drive, even a short one at night. I noticed that the water hose going TO the radiator was hot, but the one going from it, back into the engine is completely cold. Is this normal or is the water not circulating properly? The other thing is that after two drained radiatiors I havn't put 1/2 coolant in there yet. Where should I get it from and how do I put it in properly when the tank is full of water already? Cheers |
george12 (7) | ||
| 469432 | 2006-07-08 10:13:00 | you could have a seized thermostat. pull the thermostat out and test it. don't worry about coolant untill its all fixed, then you can simply drain some of the water out and refill it with coolant. | tweak'e (69) | ||
| 469433 | 2006-07-08 11:57:00 | Just thinking the same thing. Had to replace one in my car 3 weeks ago it was stuck partly open and on these cold days the engine was hardly getting warm especially with the heater on. Trevor :) |
Trev (427) | ||
| 469434 | 2006-07-08 16:56:00 | What you have here is a "chicken or egg, which came first" problem . Did it overheat because it has a mechanical failure or did a mechanical failure happen after overheating? If the outlet hose to the radiator is hot (uncomfortable to touch at least), then the thermostat is probably opened enough for adequate flow . The fact that the lower (return) hose is cold might indicate a plugged radiator . Modern radiators have pretty fine tubes and they clog up very easily . . . not something that can be flushed out with a garden hose or strong chemicals without accompanying destruction to the core, the tank(s) or the rest of the engine . Seriously I didn't think of the radiator as the culprit here as you suggested a different venue for your problem . . . ie; steam/smoke out the tailpipe and oil in the coolant . Here is a possible scenerio: For some reason the engine got hotter than normal . In getting hot, old crud that was collected for years of use on the "wet" interior of the engine sloughed off and became trapped in the tubes of the radiator, causing the heat to grow higher in the engine because of lack of circulation . Now, lack of circulation thru the radiator is creating an overheat situation . This is not the original problem but a secondary damage thing . Be careful with this possibility, as all will appear to be within normal limits or slightly higher on the temp gauge . Even if the coolant is not touching the sensor (it is pretty high in the engine and won't read correctly) it MAY show the temp of the steam in the block . Since steam is usually around 100C/212F depending on pressure, it will look pretty close to normal for the reading . . but it is not! Your thermostat is designed to open at about 95C/190F, and that's pretty close to what you will see when you are seeing steam . Even if this is not the whole story, get a professional opinion as you are walking a very shaky line on engine reliability . Things to check: Fan Clutch for those types of systems, or electric fan operation on the others . For a quick test and if the fan is electric: turn on the A/C to make the fan run . . . if it doesn't, then test for relay-sensor-wiring-fuse problems . Radiator flow Broken/partially inactive thermostat Carbon Monoxide in the cooling system (indicates combustion gasses in the coolant . . . not normal!) Water pumps are not usually suspect . . . so few have actually failed to pump coolant/water in the 40+ years experience of work in this field, that I don't usually bother with that one . Leaks are a different thing alltogether and are definately a failure by leaking . There are exceptions: most German-made Ford products (Taurus via Mazda designs) have a plastic impeller that is pressed onto the shaft and they fail at about 20,000 miles . Kias and other Korean cars have poor water pump impellers that fall off the shaft at whim . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 469435 | 2006-07-09 01:25:00 | at the risk of being insulting (not that that ever stops me!) the aircon fan and radiator fan are often 2 seperate items. turning the AC on won't effect it. | tweak'e (69) | ||
| 469436 | 2006-07-09 01:47:00 | at the risk of being insulting (not that that ever stops me!) the aircon fan and radiator fan are often 2 seperate items . turning the AC on won't effect it . Now you got me mad . . . and that's crap for sure . :angry If the fan is not mechanically-driven by belts or water pump, then there are very damned few vehicles that don't use one or more electric fans to pull air thru the condensor . . . unless your vehicle is always traveling at highway speeds and there is ram air enough for heat exchange . The low pressure sensor in the receiver/drier might accept as low the signal it gets and turn off the condensor fan . Not very damned likely though! There are a few notable vehicles that have two electric fans, one for basic cooling of the engine, and another that kicks in when the A/C is turned on . Some Fords use a three-speed electric fan for varied speeds and thermal loads, and also another aux fan in caes it gets overloaded . Some vehicles use an existing mechanical fan with thermal clutch and also an auxillary electric fan to help share the load due to the increased therms from the A/C . I know that I have serviced many A/C units here in the States, and all without a mechanical fan require some sort of air-moving-thru-the-condensor -device . . . do you mind telling me what it might be if it's not an electric or rubber band powered one? (flapping lips in front of the grill do not count) |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 469437 | 2006-07-09 02:03:00 | no need to get mad. all i was saying is a lot of the ones i have seen have the radiator fan behind the radiator and a smaller fan in front of the AC condenser. mind you its been years since i've played with cars, most of my vehicles i have now have mechanical radiator fan and electric AC fan. |
tweak'e (69) | ||
| 469438 | 2006-07-09 02:14:00 | oooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! I had such an edit to add . . . . but the damned edit time got all used up while I was still putting on my angry eyes . Anyway . . . I suggested that the person with the overheat problem use the command of the A/C relay to turn on the electric fan to see if it worked at all! I am cooler now in retrospect . Timing is everything . It was just to test the fan's capacity to run at all . . . that's what I wanted to have them do . If the engine is cold, and the A/C is turned on, the the fan has to run proviso the A/C works and has not lost it's charge, keeping everything from working . Some single fans run at a higher speed or even some add an aux fan to take the thermal load off the basic radiator fan . There is always some sort of fan to condense the freon . . and maybe to cool the engine as an extra . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 469439 | 2006-07-09 03:44:00 | Age (with respect) showing its age again eh Joe? | Greg (193) | ||
| 469440 | 2006-07-09 08:14:00 | Age (with respect) showing its age again eh Joe? Yeah..the medicine isn't for rage or temper control...it can however make me rather mellow if I take it aforehand...ahem! I just get my feathers fluffed when my experiences in 40+ years of everything automotive, get thrashed: kinda like illigitimitizing my child. (Is that a good word?..hope so) :D The 15 minute edit clock starts ticking when? I was still typing it when I guess the door slammed shut...but it worked out better...you shouldda heard what I said to him!!! Better I guess that it got lost in the ether. :rolleyes: |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
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