Over heating problem

[peanut_finger]

I have a V6 Vt series 1 and have a major overheating problem that i cant solve.

The car runs fine all the time then on a medium to long trip will suddenly spike and over heat to the stage where i get the "hot hot hot" warning on the dash.

I have blown a heater tap and replaced it due to this overheating problem. I have also changed the themostat hoping it may solve he problem

I dont believe it is a inidcation problem as the engine extreamly hot.

I suspect it may have something to do with the heater box as there were new hoses running from the heater box to the heater tap when i brought the car, it also has a bad mustard smell in the car and the air conditioning degassed itself not long after i brought it.

Does anyone know if the heater box can cause the car to over heat inconsistently, will changing the heater box and the seals fix the problem?

I have also drained, and flushed the radiator but the problem still persist.
does anyone have any suggestions to what the problem may be?

[pablo]

Are you sure you have vented all the air from the system through the bleed valve on top of the thermostat housing? The heater is not intended to play any part in cooling the engine. Your radiator may be partially blocked!

[Jesterarts]

^^^ I'd be looking in the possibility of a air bubble in the thermostat... it will cause those exact symptoms....

Make sure you run run the car with the heater on so make sure any air in the heater core and pipes gets though the system and out the bleed on the thermostat housing.

Good luck with it!

[Promotec]

Hows your water pump check for any play in the shaft with your belt off this may give you an indication, are you loosing any coolant, a new radiator off ebay, $179 Waterpump $45, complete hose set $79, coolant $20

Around $320 sounds alot better than $1600 through overheated motor cracked head/s
and being without your car for 1-2 weeks.
Then you know its all good for years to come, some might call it overkill, dedicate some of K-Ruds upcoming tax bonus to ensuring continuity and reliable transportation.

A motor never has the same integrity after a major hemorage like a bad overheat.

I know I have had one recently.

Regards Chris

[peanut_finger]

Thanks for the advise guys, I did vent the air from the bleed valve above the themostat. I have flushed and changed the coolant twice and bleed the excess air out of the system both times. I agree the symptoms match a air bubble in the system but i am 95% sure i have all the air out of the system. Can the air get trapped anywhere else?

[Jesterarts]

Does the engine actaully feel exessively hot or does it seem like the temperature is reading wrong??

[peanut_finger]

No, the engine is excessivly hot. far hotter than a normally running engine.

[locoman]

Is it losing coolant anywhere? any drips on the drive way etc, if you can smell coolant then you have a leak somewhere.

cheers

[v8_stato]

i have the exact same problem with my vr v8 statesman

[Jesterarts]

ok... do the coolant hoses going into and out of the engine feel really hot too?

Be carefully checking this... because if your engine is running really hot and the themostat is working properly... the top one will be farkin hot.

If there is a issue with water flow out of the engine.. top one shouldn't be very hot... more warm...

If you have collant flowing in and out of the engine... and you actually have coolant... I'm not sure... maybe the engine is running lean for whatever reason? Faulty O2 sensor? or MAF?

Though I don't think it would explain why it happens all of a sudden on longer trips...

Hmmm... interesting to hear what the final cause is...
Good luck