Questioncontinuing overheating?
i have the new thermo, thermo housing, radiator and hoses installed. however, it still appears to be running hot. maybe.
i get in, start car, gauge is on cold. i drive 3 miles at 55mph and gauge moves all the way to right below the red hot markings on gauge.
i figure i will hold a meat thermometer on the housing after a short drive but don't know what it should be? what would be hot? since my gauge does not have numbers what is considered hot? at what temp is overheating?
also, i know possible culprit could be water pump but it seems to be working? what should i do next
AnswerAny time I receive a car with an overheating complaint I first determine if it really is hot and to do that I first find out if it "boils over" meaning does any coolant blow out the overflow pipe. Then I remove the thermostat and look at the number stamped on it. A 190 degree thermostat is too hot for these old British cars except maybe in the far north. A pan of water on a stove top and a meat thermometer is all you need to test one. If it is stamped 165 degrees you will see it start to open as early as 20 degrees before the stamped rating. Normally it will start to open at 145 degrees and it should be fully open at the 165 degree point.
A meat thermometer or one of those thermal guns will tell you if the temperature is higher then the rating of the thermostat. If you see 200 + on the housing you do have an over heating problem. I like to see from 170 to 185 degrees depending on what thermostat is in the car.
You are wasting time and money chasing ghosts if you don't test it before tossing money at it.
If it truly overheating then test to see why. (the dye in the radiator etc)
Then if all that is correct, I check the lower hose by just squeezing it to see if it could easily be collapsed while driving. Check the belt tension if the fan and water pump is belt driven.
In all the dealerships i worked in we did not have the equipment to test radiator flow so we had to sublet that test to a radiator shop.
Howard
