96 VS Overheating Problem

[FstStig]

Hey Guys,

I' am new to this forum, but am a long time Holden Fan. I have just recently purchased myself a 96 VS Commodore which only had water in the Radiator at first. I flushed the Radiator out and put in Long Life Coolant. However there were still some leaks which i have fixed by replacing parts and hoses etc. I have had my dad to help me to make sure everything is nice and tight, but not to tight. But I' am still having an Over Heating problem. The car is not using any coolant what so ever. There are now NO leaks. The Fan kicks in on the Second bar before it hits H. Would anyone be able to hand over some advice as to what might be causing this. I' am thinking the water pump, my dad doesn't as it isn't making any noise.

Once again any help would be much appreciated

Cheers

Mumbo Man

[hako]

Its normal for the fan to kick in at halfway and then to hi speed at 3/4 (the fan is 2 speed). So its possible your car is not overheating. When the waterpump fails it will leak from the bleed hole under the pulley but you say you are losing no coolant so that should be OK.

[FstStig]

No the fan isn't kicking in at half way. It is only kicking in on the 2nd bar before it reaches dead Hot. So it is over heating, but you are right the water pump would be leaking if it was stuffed. It will normally only stay at half way or a bar above half way.

Any other advice? Could i need a new relay switch for my Fan?

Cheers

Mumbo Man

[hako]

OK - so thats higher than 3/4. It could be a faulty coolant temp sensor or a mis-reading gauge. The usual symptom of "overheating" is when the engine boils - either with the engine running or immediately after switch-off. The engine will also radiate a lot more heat than you'd normally expect when you pop the bonnet. What I'm getting at is that you need more evidence than the gauge gives that the engine is overheating and from your description that the car uses no coolant then I'd presume its not boiling....if it did boil you would lose coolant.

[FstStig]

Hey,

Thanks for your reply. I will do some more research tomorrow and do some tests to see what is really happening with the heating problem. Would it make a big difference if i bleed the Thermostat? I wasn't told to bleed the Thermostat first so was just wondering if it will make the world of difference to that first before flushing?

Thanks for you advice

Cheers

Mumboman

[Harvs82]

Yeah I'd probably bleed the system just to be safe. Might also be worth checking out the coolant temperature SENDER (the one that controls what you see on the temp gauge) and the SENSOR (the one that controls when the cooling fan(s) come on). You can replace both for around $35 or so, with genuine new parts from Holden. I'd have a crack at that and see how you go after that.

[FstStig]

Thanks for that, Where are the Sender and Sensor located? I would like to try and have this fixed by tomorrow as I have places to go the next day and the weekend booked out. Dam cars lol. Thanks for all your help guys

[Harvs82]

Thanks for that, Where are the Sender and Sensor located? I would like to try and have this fixed by tomorrow as I have places to go the next day and the weekend booked out. Dam cars lol. Thanks for all your help guys

If you look under the thermostat outlet on the top of the engine, (where the top radiator hose connects) you will see a small brass connection with a rectangular black connection and a green wire heading into the wiring loom, this one is the temperature SENDER, the rectangle connection just slides off and then you unscrew the little brass thing. The coolant temperature SENSOR is located just under the SENDER, and it is much bigger, again brass coloured, and it has a large black connector on it.

[FstStig]

Harvs82 and hako, What can I say, but thank you so much for all your quick responses, thanks to you guys i can now go out there tomorrow and hopefully resolve the problem at hand. Will let you know how everything goes with it.

Cheers again guys

Mumbo Man

[FstStig]

Hey Guys,

Just thought i would give u some feedback. I replaced the Thermostat and the Thermostat housing today and i no longer have a over heating problem I must say i have rather enjoyed Working on the Project of fixing the overheating problem in this car and learning alot along the way.


Thanks for all your help guys

Mumbo Man

[Harvs82]

Hey Guys,

Just thought i would give u some feedback. I replaced the Thermostat and the Thermostat housing today and i no longer have a over heating problem I must say i have rather enjoyed Working on the Project of fixing the overheating problem in this car and learning alot along the way.


Thanks for all your help guys

Mumbo Man

Good work. No problems mate, thats what we are all here for. If you haven't got yourself a Gregory's manual for the V6, go out and grab one, it will be the best $40 or so that you have spent on your car. Mine is basically held together with gaffa tape as its been used that many times! Most good auto stores have the Gregory's range of manuals, so even if they don't have the VS one, you will be able to order it in.

[122]

hey mate, had the same problem with my vr. it was overheating 'badly' only sometimes though and wasnt losing any water either. turned out to be the same as yours, faulty thermostat. runs like a dream now

[FstStig]

Hey Harvs82,

Thanks for the Tip. Will go out and get that book when i get paid next. Sounds rather usual to have on hand when need be. 122 Ah that's great that you have sorted yours out as well. Holden down here very good and quick with getting parts in. I had mine in on the same day which was awsum.

[OI 53 XY]

haii guys gotta recond motor about 5000kms ago wen im driven the temp go up wen i sit at the lights it goes dwn again

new therostat n cap

[lyndon_breeze]

themostat might be the problem, might not be opening fully

[Micky888]

[QUOTE=Mumboman;876820]Hey Guys,

I' am new to this forum, but am a long time Holden Fan. I have just recently purchased myself a 96 VS Commodore which only had water in the Radiator at first. I flushed the Radiator out and put in Long Life Coolant. However there were still some leaks which i have fixed by replacing parts and hoses etc. I have had my dad to help me to make sure everything is nice and tight, but not to tight. But I' am still having an Over Heating problem. The car is not using any coolant what so ever. There are now NO leaks. The Fan kicks in on the Second bar before it hits H. Would anyone be able to hand over some advice as to what might be causing this. I' am thinking the water pump, my dad doesn't as it isn't making any noise.

Once again any help would be much appreciated

Cheers

Mumbo Man[/QUOTE
I have a 96 VS S2 and i have overheating problem its common i think its got something to do with the way they designed it. It has a small radiator and it doesnt draw enough air into it to cool it down (bad air intake) you might be able to an extra cold air intake that might help

[Harvs82]

Hey Guys,

I' am new to this forum, but am a long time Holden Fan. I have just recently purchased myself a 96 VS Commodore which only had water in the Radiator at first. I flushed the Radiator out and put in Long Life Coolant. However there were still some leaks which i have fixed by replacing parts and hoses etc. I have had my dad to help me to make sure everything is nice and tight, but not to tight. But I' am still having an Over Heating problem. The car is not using any coolant what so ever. There are now NO leaks. The Fan kicks in on the Second bar before it hits H. Would anyone be able to hand over some advice as to what might be causing this. I' am thinking the water pump, my dad doesn't as it isn't making any noise.

Once again any help would be much appreciated

Cheers

I'd start with checking a few of the easier and cheaper options first. Maybe try replacing both the thermostat and the radiator cap, around $12 each. The thermostat could be stuck semi shut, and the radiator cap may not be allowing the system to pressurise correctly, which will allow the coolant to boil at a lower temperature than it should. The water pump could be causing a lack of circulation, but only if all the impellers have rusted off, which could be a possibility if the system only had water in it for a long time.

The other two options are to replace the temperature sensor and sender units. The sensor unit is about $25, and this is what the ECU uses to control when the fan comes on. The sender produces the reading that you see on your temp gauge, its about $8 to replace this part. It could be giving an incorrect reading on the gauge.

It is also worth noting that the temperature gauge moves around heaps on the VS models, which is NORMAL. Anywhere from half way to 2/3 up the gauge is NORMAL for when the fan comes on.

[Rusty88]

Hey guys I have a very similiar problem on my 96 VS, first I was leaking coolant, so the water pump was faulty and that was replaced and fixed that issue.
But I found that sitting at lights the temp would rise to a bit above 3/4 then the fan would kick in but the needle doesnt really go down until I start moving again. (is this normal? if not read on :P) The tapering part of the hose connector that runs to the engine doesnt exist so once the hose has actually slipped off, so my question is.. if / when I replaced the radiator (which is what I was told would be the best because the cost differences between that one part and the whole radiator is very little) would that also fix my issue or should I go ahead and try replacing the coolant temperature sensor and sender and radiator cap?

Ps, I'm currently on uni holidays at home in Darwin and my car is in Sydney cause I go to uni in Wagga so I won't get to see it until I go back down about mid Feb but this issue has been bothering my mind for a while now and I was looking for some input on this problem..

Thanks heaps guys!

[VS_Pete_1]

If you look under the thermostat outlet on the top of the engine, (where the top radiator hose connects) you will see a small brass connection with a rectangular black connection and a green wire heading into the wiring loom, this one is the temperature SENDER, the rectangle connection just slides off and then you unscrew the little brass thing. The coolant temperature SENSOR is located just under the SENDER, and it is much bigger, again brass coloured, and it has a large black connector on it.

I added this pic. The shining one is the coolant temperature SENSOR
Hope that helps if you need to replace them one day.