Eastep

searched and im still not sure.My car has been running in the red. First i thought because there was coolant leaking, then eventually rushing out from under the hood, it might be a cracked radiator. The PO claimed to have just replaced the upper hose and T-stat because they were leaking/not working (the hose does look new-ish) so i believe him, then i find a hole in it after i replaced my rad today.(ductaped the hose for now) Anyway seeing it wasnt the radiator causing the engine to run red, I tried the squeeze the upper hose and feel for a rush of water while the car is running trick and no rushing water. I also get a squeal like a loose belt usually when starting the car, and then occasionally while idling in traffic and at speed. Both these symptoms combined with running red lead me to believe that is the pump. NOTE: Ive not driven the car since the radiator replacement, as im affraid no /not enough water has been sucked through the system yet and dont wanna hurt my baby

JohnKoaWood

The pump on my N/A went, started leaking from the impeller shaft, do you see any fluid leaking (other than the normal leaks we all have)?

Eastep

nothing from behind the plastic cover. Ive still not removed the cover or even seen the pump to inspect it so, i guess a leak is possible

DarylJ

Belt squeal is likely from something else, but, the water pump is driven by the cam belt. Check the tension. It might be so loose that its slipping.

JohnKoaWood

Running in the red could be caused by an air bubble as well...

Eastep

how do i check/fix the air bubble ? and how do I check the tension on zee belt?

DarylJ

You can bleed the cooling system. Run the car to temperature with the front end as high as you can reasonably get it, and then open the bleeder screw on the top of the water neck that goes to the head right on the top front of your motor. You should have some air/coolant come out. Keep on going until you get nothing but coolant, refill to a proper level, and do it again.

If you have a cooling system pressure tester, you can speed this up by using that to start to force out most of the air. Or, fill the system as much as possible, and the press a garden hose up against the expansion tank fill to seal it as much as you can and, with the bleeder open, SLOWLY let some more water in. It will pressurize the system enough to force some air out.

As far as the belt, if you don't have a tensioning gauge, you can go for the "twist it 90 degrees" method. You're looking for the cam belt, which is behind the balance shaft belt (which should be much looser). Find the longest span on the top of the belt and twist. It should go about or just shy of 90 degrees. If it goes more, it's loose.

But re-reading your post, you replaced the radiator. So the most likely suspect is air. You can't just fill these up, you need to bleed them. Chances are good you'll do that and be fine.

One quick way to tell if you have an air bubble is that often times you'll have cabin heat when you drive, but it will blow cold when you are at idle. Not that it matters....if you replaced a radiator and didn't bleed the system you need to.

krystar

probably alot of air. use both hands and squeeze the upper radiator hose. you should be able to hear just liquid moving, no bubbling or gurgling.

u can also try undoing the bleeder screw entirely, squeeze the hose, plumb the bleeder hole with your finger, then letting the hose expand. repeat process unless liquid comes out the bleeder screw. then you're pretty close. replace the bleeder screw and proceed with engine warmup and bleed hot

Jfrahm

With overheating and belt squeal I'd be worried about a spun water pump impeller, now hitting the block.
Air in the cooling system is easy to bleed out.

Clean the end of your overflow hose.
Take off the radiator cap
Fill the reservoir to the full line.
Put your wrench on the cooling system bleed, actually break it loose and then snug it a bit.
Put your right palm over the water filler neck
Left hand on the wrench
Overflow pipe in your mouth
Blow - crack bleeder - close bleeder.
inhale, repeat.

Do this until you only get coolant out the bleeder. Snug the bleeder, top off the reservoir, put the cap back on. Drive the car with the heat full on, get it nice and hot, crack the bleeder once more just for good luck. Rinse out your mouth if you get any coolant in there. Do not swallow coolant. It's poison.

However if you have a spun water pump impeller or seized water pump, sort that out first.
-Joel.

Eastep

when i refilled the system, i filled the tank with a garden hose by sticking it in and leaving it on till it was full/over flowing, then cranked the car over to get it through out the system until it was full. ive not driven it since i replaced the rad so idk if its still over heating or not.

DarylJ

It will.....that won't get the air out. Bleed it with whatever way you like that was suggested above. They all ought to work.

FYI, make sure you use the right coolant (safe for aluminum engines) and you really should be putting distilled water in there, especially if you are on well water or have hard water. I only use the hose for the bleeding. I will no longer do that, as Jfrahm is a fricking genius.

chris_v

Heres a quick (and silly looking) racer water bleeding trick. Jack up the driver side front of the car, open the bleeder screw, fill up the car with water (coolant), pinch off the small overflow hose at the fill hole, then get your face on the hole (literaly)creating a seal and blow! All the air will rush out the bleeder screw, keep blowing till only coolant flows out (dont pass out) and hand tighten the bolt closed while you are still blowing till its closed. Tighten bleeder screw rest of the way, put cap on overflow, lower car, done. It works.

krystar

and would such a maneuver be called a "blow job" in the paddocks? hahaha

Eastep

I mean i like my car and all but I think its too soon to start blowing it... I dont even know its name


seriously neat trick, thanks.


Note: I drove the car about 25 miles , the first 10-15, the needle stayed in the middle, the rest of the way it fluctuated between the first bar after mid> red. once it hit the edge of red, it would cool back down (im guessing the Tstat opening), but once in traffic (the last 5 miles) it stayed in red. I pulled over , filled the car with 2 coolant bottles worth of H20, let it set cap open for a few then capped it back and the car ran in the mid or cooler the entire 25miles back home (knock on wood)

theykallmekem

most likely air in the system. i just PMd you lol.

try to warm the car up and blast the heater up to full blast then flush. the thermostat should be open so you can get a good flush and hopefully the air comes out