WTF, Im STILL overheating!

[Blue3kGTSL]

In the SL, no front mount here...

Last week, i noticed my temp starting to rise with A/C on...(30 Minutes of driving)

"No big deal" I said, i just figured it was alittle rusty and in need of a change.
Was running about 50/50 then. So i drained it out and flushed it with some flush that said to run it for at least 3 hours with that and water, so i did.

I then drained that out and put back in water, about 20% of antifreeze, 8oz's of Water Wetter (the amount it called for), and then some stuff that is supposed to protect against rust (not much put in, maybe 8oz diluted mixed with water).

Yesterday, drove to my girlfriends house and it was doing fine...running slightly cooler WITH the A/C on.. (25 min drive).. got there and turned it off and went inside for about 10 mins. Then we got in and when i started it, it was HOTTER than when i got out!..but then the t-stat opened and it went back to normal and was ok all the way back home

Today..Drove the same way again but not to her house and about 25 mins into the drive it started getting hot so i turned off the A/C (Normal driving)..was ok for a few mins then started to rise again. (Crap..i gotta drive at least 5 more mins...) But i noticed when i floored it (WTF?? ) it would drop back to normal temp..so when it would start getting hot, i stomped on it and it dropped down instantly and i let off again in that cycle. Finally, i made it to my destination and it was dripping some from the catch bottle.

After about 2 hours i had to drive 15 more minutes at least and i made it there..
6:30 i left and had a 45 minute drive back home..I thought i would be ok because the outside temp dropped from the 95* high.

30 mins into the drive..guess what starts to happen.. Your right! It started getting hot again. Did the same thing i did earlier with the flooring cycle but i still had 15 mins more to drive... 5 mins away from my house i had to pull it over. I shut it off and turned on the heater for a while.

When it was sorta cool again i limped it back home.

With the summer just beginning...i KNOW its gonna get hotter...probably the 100*s, i cant keep pulling over every 10 mins..

So now, i dont know what to do

Some things i noticed:
-No leaks, anywhere
-0.9 Radiator cap (could be my problem?)
-When i was changing my fluid, my driver side fan wouldn't come on, even though the passenger one flipped on 2 or 3 times (Could this also be part of the problem or is it not supposed to turn on just idling?)

So please 3si, FIX MY RIDE!!

Lol, sorry for the long read.

[runner4053]

You could pull your t-stat out and do the boiling water test. I'll be doing the same thing today.

Mine is overheating within 5 minutes of driving with a new water pump. (just one fan though)

[Blue3kGTSL]

OH! i just remebered...I changed spark plugs and wires right the day it overheaded with the 50/50...could i have also messed up something there?

Originally Posted by runner4053

You could pull your t-stat out and do the boiling water test. I'll be doing the same thing today.

Mine is overheating within 5 minutes of driving with a new water pump. (just one fan though)

I also thought of this..could it be my t-stat failing?

[billbrown72]

okay....you named the common culprits.....even a minute leak from either the cap or a pinhole that you cannot see will cause overheat after u drive for a while with it getting hotter after it sits turned off...
how bad was rust?....
try taking thermo out some times after running rusty and cleaning they will mysteriously go bad, also even a brand new out of package can be bad from auto store......
most likely problem is radiator after being gunked up with rust for a while had created its "own flow" and kept car cool and after you flushed it has blocked up causing overheating probaly if it cannot be solved with another couple of good flushes, new cap and or thermo its time for a new radiator...
one of your fans will come on with a/c while the other is strictly temp on/off..
plus its been in upper 90's low 100's down here.....
buy some baddass flush and do a couple times......
also run car to temp then shut off and really look and i mean really look front and back..
if you see a tiny spray or a wet spot in fins then its a pinhole......black pepper will get u by till new radiator if there is

[Blue3kGTSL]

aw crap, while i was on the phone with you i forgot to ask..should i run more water wetter?
and i can run the car without the t-stat in with no bad affects?

I also thought of making some ducting somehow...
but crap..i have work a 2 tomorrow..how will i get to that???
I am off weds and thurs though..
Friggin 1g bumper with barely any airflow

[billbrown72]

my vr4 with 13t's hasn't even attempted to overheat in this hot as hell weather so rule out the bumper...
yes in hot weather right now will not hurt without thermo...
a pinhole leak somewhere can be a bitch to find and can aggravate the crap out of you...
i am running 4 bottles water wetter with a 20 anti to 80 water ratio but am going 4 bottles water wetter to rest distilled in a couple days...
this is my normal mix with the 20 anti in colder months...
doing this gives my radiator 2 good flushes a year and have had no overheating to date except when a leak as in above....
leak-cap-thermo------to new radiator in that order from least expensive to most usually will fix the issue.......
murphy's law on radiators and coolant systems is if they are not flushed regular once you reach the point of rust and do flush won't be long before start having overheat problems or they get worse!

[Blue3kGTSL]

Ill probably try to remove t-stat then see what happens from there...maybe add more water wetter but the other bottle was for the VR4

Oh well..just have to use my 20% discount i get at advanced, again....lol

I dont know about the people before me..but i flushed the radiator last year around this time and it was pretty damn rusty..wasnt so bad this year. (3rd owner. First was a doctor who barely drove it. Second was a mechanic who dropped a washer in the intake during a tune up, lol. They replaced the motor...dont know if the radiator was EVER replaced though)

And im thinking its time for a new water pump because of 60k on the motor...but my dad thinks water pumps are supposed to last forever and never heard of a 60k...lol

But i dont see the point in dishing out 120 on a new radiator after the fact that when i get the vr4, its going up in storage until my younger brother can drive. (Even if i have to go over to that place with a baseball bat and bust some skulls, bill lol...I WILL get my VR4 back THIS week!!!! ...WHO said to send my intercooler piping to get ceramicoated!?!?!?!?!!!)

[billbrown72]

crap forgot one thing....take radiator cap off-start motor and let come up to temp as you sit there with a hose topping off as needed....if you flushed you could still have some air in the system causing to over heat.....try this first....takes about 15-20 min....to pruge air out if in system!

[Blue3kGTSL]

Originally Posted by billbrown72

crap forgot one thing....take radiator cap off-start motor and let come up to temp as you sit there with a hose topping off as needed....if you flushed you could still have some air in the system causing to over heat.....try this first....takes about 15-20 min....to pruge air out if in system!

i did sit there when i refilled..it didnt really go down until i turned on the A/C...then i filled it up..

[Blue3kGTSL]

Going pull the tstat out now..hope this works