QuestionOne of my children's car keeps overheating, it's a 1992 Tracker 4x4 1.6 liter 4 cyl,automatic, with air. 6 months ago I had a new head, valves, and ect. replaced and recently a new waterpump and belts, but it still overheats, even with the thermostat out. Also had the head removed and reinspected to make sure the gasket was not blocking any coolant flow holes between the head and the block. I have run out of ideas and so have my repair person.
AnswerHello Nick,
Forgive me for not answering sooner, but I was out of town on a firefighting assignment, and nowhere near a computer.
Have you had the radiator checked for flow, and restrictions in the fins?
Grass, dirt, and leaves can get sucked up between the radiator and the A/C condenser, and you can't even see it, but if it blocks the air flow, then it can't cool.
Also, if it overheats in town, but cools ok on the highway, the fan clutch could be bad.
An easy check for coolant flow is to remove the thermostat, reinstall the hose neck, unhook the radiator end of the hose, have a garden hose running into the radiator fill neck or where that removed hose connects, and start the car. If it doesn't pump a large flow of water out the upper hose, then the tubes are restricted internally, or the water pump is bad. Lower radiator hose sucking flat is a remote possibility, and shouldn't happen unless the tubes of the radiator are plugged inside.
If the coolant flow is good, as well as the air flow, then a cracked head is a distinct possibility.
Van
