car is over heating.... but not?

[Fully]

hey all,

my car seems to be over heating! and i just got my radiator replaced last week

i was driving on the ring road and my temp gauge went all the way to the top and my dash warning light went as well ( that is the temp warning light)

so i pulled over and had a look but all seemed fine, radiator nice a cool and i had water in the over flow bottle. it really didnt seem too hot at all, i seen it a lot hotter.

so what could it be? i have booked it into the mechacians for tuesday but want an idea of what i up for. my guess is the tsp sensor?

cheers!

Jezza

[Streetvision]

Would probally say sensor.

[Fully]

does anybody know how much the tps sensor is? i think i might give that a shot first b4 tuesday.

cheers

[Fully]

just checked my radiator and it was missing about 2-3 litres of coolant, would that cause it to over heat that much? and should i have lost that mush in such a short time? since i have a new radiator since the 26/06/06? i have done a bit of kms, about 1000kms ish. or would there be leakage?

cheers!

Jezza

[sircruisealotVS]

who put the new radiator in?...sounds like someone didnt check the coolant levels after installation.
when adding the coolant after flushing the system or putting in a new radiator, etc...you need to bring the car to operating temperature and adjust coolant levels accordingly.

[Metallifux]

how yah goin

i had the exact same problem with mine, besides the temp light coming on... anyhow it use to go all the way up and then come down again and so on nearly everytime i drove

my problem was the water pump maybie get that chekd out or sumthing, that was in my case anway urs could be differnt

[Fully]

well hopefully i know wat is wrong 2moro when i take it back to the place that put my radiator in.

so should i have lost about 2-3 ltr over the period from 29/06/06 to 8/7/06?

cheers!

Jezza

[adam69]

You might have had some air pockets in the cooling system.If you were able to top it up with 2-3 litres then it should be OK now.To be on the safe side i would get the fitter to do a pressure test on it.

[Veneficus]

i had a similar problem and it was the thermostat. if it is a series 1 engine youll find it behind the inlet manifiold up the back. its in a really anoying place, but it is a cheap and quick fix. otherwise it could be a gasket problem, but thats a big job - so i hope its just your thermostat.

[Fully]

just got back from the radiator joint and they reckon it is a head gasket
he pressure checked it and it seem to be fine, when they flushed it last week it apparently had some oil in the radiator.

so now i have to blow this car up!

anyone have a rough idea of cost on a head gasket?

cheers!

Jezza

[NORTI]

head gasket kit was around $140 when I did Bens VN.

My checks would be... pretty much what has already been said.

A. Check for any leaks.... if your losing coolant, Find out where from & fix it! lol, check hoses etc, for cracks & tight seals. Obviously leaving it running over concrete or something should show any leaks that drip. & High pressure ones can be seen after reaching operating pressure.

B. check that cooling system was bled correctly, air pockets will cause temp rises.

C. Check thermostat. Better yet, its cheap, & not a hard fix (well on series 2... its a piece of piss ) so replace it & the thermostat gasket.

D. Head gasket blown.... or worse the head. Check for milky oil, oil in radiator, check for sweet smelling white smoke from the exhaust. All these things can tell you about a blown head gasket/ head.


Bens VN (series 2 Calais) was a water pump to inlet hose that blew the nite he got the car, once that was fixed, the build up of pressure from the damaged hose caused the head gasket to blow (& WOW did it go!) 4 days later.

But I fixed it, & I still know the new owner... & all sweet ever since....


so HTH & Good Luck!

D.


edit : I think he got quoted around $350-$400 at the time to fix it.

[mongoose3800]

I smell a rat here! If they were concerned about your head gasket when the replaced the radiator why didn't they tell you there and then rather than waiting until you came back. You know it is entirely possible that they did not fill or bleed your system correctly and have caused damage to your engine! If there was oil in your radiator there would be water in your oil as well and you will have a milky build up under your oil cap. Did they put the 3 cooling system tabs in that GM recommend? Don't let them take you for a fool!

[steve_sarge]

just got back from the radiator joint and they reckon it is a head gasket
he pressure checked it and it seem to be fine, when they flushed it last week it apparently had some oil in the radiator.

so now i have to blow this car up!

anyone have a rough idea of cost on a head gasket?

cheers!

Jezza

I would also take a punt and suggest that you check for the simple things too.
I was losing water in my old VN quicker than it was going in. All was good in the radiator / heater department so I thought I should look into the head gasket side of things.
I am good mates with the Service Manager at my local Holden Dealership so I bought the gasket set through him . As it turned out, I quite simply had a FU#%$ED inlet manifold gasket. Cheap to fix and the only fiddly thing I came across was the bolts on the inlet manifold. They have some hard to get at angles, and as these need to be torque tightened, I would suggest getting some assistance from someone with the correct tooling.

My opinion to all out there is: Get personal with your ride where you can, as you appreciate that the "big things" are actually not Ben Hur afterall.

Take the test and give it a shot. If you end up with the same problem that I had, you are one lucky driver.

Good Luck Jezza

[adam69]

If there was oil in your cooling system then ,there should be some there now also.
It is possible to have oil in your radiator and not have water in your oil.
Get a second oppinion.

[Fully]

well cars at the mechanics till thurdays day, he found the leak (steve_sarge is on the money), it was the inlet manifold gasket, so hopefully all is well after it is fixed.

would this affect the performance of my car at all? as the car has been running pretty average, not as much acceleration and is using about 14ltr/100kms which is too high for my liking.

cheers!

jezza

p.s. he said about $300 for the inlet manifold gasket?

[steve_sarge]

well cars at the mechanics till thurdays day, he found the leak (steve_sarge is on the money), it was the inlet manifold gasket, so hopefully all is well after it is fixed.

would this affect the performance of my car at all? as the car has been running pretty average, not as much acceleration and is using about 14ltr/100kms which is too high for my liking.

cheers!

jezza

p.s. he said about $300 for the inlet manifold gasket?

Is this price fitted I ask???
That shouldn't be way over the top (price wise) it does sound a bit steep though.
If you are replacing your inlet manifold gasket set, you MUST also change the front and rear "Rubber" valley seals too. In the process of changing / replacing the Valley seals (front and rear), there is a Blue gasket goo that needs to be applied to the valley seals. If the mechanic is doing the work, make certain that the front and rear seals are indeed replaced in the transaction and not overlooked.

To your other question, the fuel consumption, mine used to miss on a couple of cylinders due to running on water, so it isn't unreasonable to be getting less economy. I would probably advise giving your plugs and leads a once over too when the work is done to ensure they are in good nick.

Good luck

[fazz1977]

My intake manifold gasket fitted cost me about $230 at Robert's Automotive in Frankston, Vic.

[Roman Hans]

check that there is no air in the system check water pump check to see that there is no build up or blockages in your pipes and in the radiator

[aussieghostrider]

Thermostat is stuck open causes overheating and hose to crack/blow under pressure loss of coolant,thermostat sits at back of engine just above inlet manifold behind throttle body so it could be that...look there at the hose when engines been running for 10 mins and see if it leaking.

Also get your coolant temp sensor replaced as well this sits at back of throttle body near thermostat and its probaly stuffed as well and this would give you crappy fuel economy plus get your o2 sensor replaced if it hasnt been done for a while...
To get all that done by mechanic would cost no more than $150

if thermostat hose is leaking then it would look like inlet manifole gaskets leaking.Do you get alot of steam or water out your exhaust if so then it would be inlet manifold...

look here...
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...n.php?p=355223