So after having some overheating problems a short while ago, I replaced the head gasket, thermostat, t-stat housing, upper radiator hose, and...problem solved. Yesterday while driving home the lower heater hose sprung a leak and I overheated. I was very close to home, so I put warm water in radiator after she cooled off some, drove her home and parked. I noticed how bad the heater hoses were, irregular bulges and rotted, so I replaced them both, all the way up to the firewall (spliced/clamped). The hoses under the dash are still nice and I believe the heater core is good, so I left those alone. After the repair I filled the radiator, ran the engine and watched for trouble. No trouble. Drove into town (15 min) parked it (20 minutes) drove home (15min) and overheating when parked at home. Opened the radiator to check the level and no visible coolant up top. Both sets of heater hoses are hot and so is upper rad hose. Forgot to check lower rad hose though. The repaired heater hoses are not leaking. Any ideas?
I would recommend replacing ALL hoses on the cooling system and flush out the entire system with prestone flushing agent. Then refill the rad, burp the system and see if it over heats. Also as mentioned above did you machine the head so it was flat?
Overheated one day after having a cat installed and noticed that the already-leaking head gasket totally failed and was leaking like a waterfall, so I replaced the head gasket. After replacing the gasket, it was still overheating so I replaced the thermostat, upper hose and housing. Then all was good. The head was square and was reused without machine work, however it's been driven a lot since then so it seems like a brand new problem.
Could just need burping. Sometimes when you fill it up after draining it and run a while, there will be an air bubble in there and you may need to top it off a couple times until all air is purged out. Just carry a gallon of coolant with you and top it off everytime it cools down. 3 or 4 times should do it.
Lower hose could be collapsing. Rev the motor and look and see if the water pump sucks the hose enough to strict the flow. If so, then you need the enforcement spring inside the hose
if the car overheated the thermostat is junk.....replace have seen this problem constantly lately JUNK METAL!
Is the radiator cap holding pressure at normal temp? I'd replace it anyway when you're replacing all the other stuff. Hope you didn't overheat it and blow a head gasket again. I'd also install an overflow/recovery tank if you don't have one.
When you refilled the radiator and started the car did you wait for the thermostat to open before you drove it to town?
Yes, I did replace the cap too...I forgot. Anyway, the t-stat fried. No, I didn't let it warm up before I drove it to town. No, I don't have overflow. Gonna also change lower rad hose w/ t-stat.
you need to burp the the radiator when ever you service the coolant system. there will be air trapped behind the t-stat. you need to run the motor with radiator cap off and watch for when the t-stat opens. you will see it suck up the water in the radiator. thats when you top it off then put the cap on. then when the motor cools off you want to recheck the level and top it off.
I'm waiting for my lower hose to arrive and will put it all back together again Thursday. IDK if there is a vent hole in t-stat.
A few things. First, are you mixing the antifreeze 50-50? Straight antifreeze does not cool well. Second, is the radiator cap good? The radiator cap actually builds pressure to help transfer heat out through the block and heads. Higher the pressure cap, the better the transfer. Be careful going too high with old hoses. Third, is the radiator clean or is is clogging up? Forth, if you have a clutch fan, check it with a cardboard paper towel roll. Put it against the fan and crank the engine. If you can hold it, the clutch is bad. It should eat the cardboard up. Forth, Check your timing. P.S. NEVER TRUST A THERMOSTATE. If you take it out, and it runs fine, install a new one. But do install a new one. You engine needs it. A thermostate is a 2 way street. It not only speeds up the warm up, but it also shuts the flow off and lets the coolant in the radiator get cooled. Good luck.
