Overheating Troubleshooting
12-03-2012, 09:02 PM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
Overheating Troubleshooting
Driving along in the 89 N/A this evening when I notice the temp running a little warmer than normal. Kept creeping up at a light, but initially came down to normal again when I left the light. Didn't stay normal for long, though. Within a minute or two, it had crept up enough for me to pull into a lot and have a look. By the time I got it shut down, needle was just nudging up against the red.
Opened the door and stepped into a puddle already running from under the front of the car. No steam coming up from under the hood. (Stupid me, honestly don't recall if the fans were running or not after shut down.) Look behind the car and see a trail of fluid from the street to my parking spot. Under the hood, no obvious signs of failure. In fact, the only oddities were my coolant reservior overflowing and just a little steam coming from, oddly enough, the cam gear housing behind the distributor cap.
Already close to dark when all of this happened, so limited inspection with limited lighting. Will have a better look tomorrow, but again, no obvious burst hoses and it appeared that most of the residual fluid was local to the front of the engine.
For what it's worth, it started right up to pull up onto the flatbed and again to pull her into the garage. No odd noises and great oil pressure.
Thermostat? Cooling fan relay? Possibly head gasket?
Inputs greatly appreciated.
Thanks much in advance.
Opened the door and stepped into a puddle already running from under the front of the car. No steam coming up from under the hood. (Stupid me, honestly don't recall if the fans were running or not after shut down.) Look behind the car and see a trail of fluid from the street to my parking spot. Under the hood, no obvious signs of failure. In fact, the only oddities were my coolant reservior overflowing and just a little steam coming from, oddly enough, the cam gear housing behind the distributor cap.
Already close to dark when all of this happened, so limited inspection with limited lighting. Will have a better look tomorrow, but again, no obvious burst hoses and it appeared that most of the residual fluid was local to the front of the engine.
For what it's worth, it started right up to pull up onto the flatbed and again to pull her into the garage. No odd noises and great oil pressure.
Thermostat? Cooling fan relay? Possibly head gasket?
Inputs greatly appreciated.
Thanks much in advance.
12-04-2012, 10:35 PM
#4
Pro
Thread Starter
Took a look around today and it looks like the water pump is indeed the culprit.
Pulled all of the plugs and checked the oil for signs of a blown head gasket. All looked well.
Noticed some coolant residu/spray in a few areas at the front of the engine, so I pulled the belt covers to have a look. Pretty messy in there with coolant everywhere and pooling up at the bottom covers. So it looks like I've got a water pump project in my future. Might as well do the belts, rollers and seals while I'm at it.
I do have a request of the gurus:
When I first popped the hood last night, the reservoir was overflowing. Now it appears to be about empty. Can someone explain the mechanics of this? Understandably, a certain amount of it ended up in the parking lot, but I wouldn't think all of it did, especially since the overflow line is pretty much at the highest point of the reservoir.
Thanks.
EJ
Pulled all of the plugs and checked the oil for signs of a blown head gasket. All looked well.
Noticed some coolant residu/spray in a few areas at the front of the engine, so I pulled the belt covers to have a look. Pretty messy in there with coolant everywhere and pooling up at the bottom covers. So it looks like I've got a water pump project in my future. Might as well do the belts, rollers and seals while I'm at it.
I do have a request of the gurus:
When I first popped the hood last night, the reservoir was overflowing. Now it appears to be about empty. Can someone explain the mechanics of this? Understandably, a certain amount of it ended up in the parking lot, but I wouldn't think all of it did, especially since the overflow line is pretty much at the highest point of the reservoir.
Thanks.
EJ