linderpat

just finished among other things the timing belt/ water pump job. The car is running great, but I took it for a longer drive today and it is running hotter than normal. Usually the guage is about 1/3. This afternoon, it was over 1/2, almost to 2/3. It did not get hotter, but stayed around there. Also, my A/C condenser fan is not comming on. Running the a/c will overheat the car without that fan.
Any thoughts?

The Forgotten On

Temp sensor in the radiator or the fan relay. Otherwise your fan has just bit the dust and it is time to replace, but most for me it was the temp sensor that caused me the same issue.

MainePorsche

Though I'm certain for S4's, that fan should be fused. If is, don't want to overlook.

linderpat

Could the elevated engine temp be due to an air bubble in the system from when I refilled? If so, how to test for it and get rid of it? There is nothing that I can think of that would cause this. What about the water pump itself - mine is a new one from Roger. Are there any examples of the new pump being defective? Any additional thoughts? Thanks.


PS, as to the A/C condenser fan, yes it is fused, and the fuse in my CE panel is good. Maybe a relay?

Five-8

Ed..did you change the thermostat to one with a higher temp rating?Don't think this explains the A/C fan issue, but could account(at least partially)for higher temps than you are used to seeing.

Cheers,

linderpat

Not on purpose. I just ordered and installed the regular from Roger, and assumed it was a regular one. It looked just like the one that came out.

LT Texan

Is that hot????

ROG100

Most of my early cars run at 2/3 in the TX heat. Never trust the gauge and use an IR gun at the top inlet point on the radiator and the bottom outlet to see the exact temps.

ROG100

BTW 1/3 is way to cool

linderpat

well, it's a noticeable difference from what it was. All else being equal, it should be in the same range. I don't like the fact that the temp now runs hotter than it did. So if my guage read low before, and was inaccurate to the low side then I could actually have a more serious problem if the guage is still reads to the low side - in other words, the engine could be hotter than what the guage shows.

The Forgotten On

Replace the gauge temp sender too if you are worried about your gauge being inaccurate, they are pretty inexpensive too.

Bertrand Daoust

Ed,

When the car is fully warmed, does both coolant hoses (upper and lower) are at the same temperature or very close?
Or is the lower one is quite cooler? If this is the case, the coolant circulation isn't good.

It is possible that there is some air stuck in the system.
Have you tried to run the heating system at full warm for a while?

Sometimes, it is a question of time before all the air gets out and the system return to normal operating temp.

The best way to know the exact temperature is like Roger said to use a IR gun.

Good luck.

SMTCapeCod

Check for lingering vac leak, modest lean condition elevating running temp.

linderpat

Thanks Bertrand. Both hoses hot, so I know the t-stat is open and the coolant circulating. Ran it for a bit tonight with cap off and heater on, and it stayed steady at the halway mark. It was a cool evening. Still it was a bit of an improvement over yesterday.

no vac leaks. In fact it is as tight as a drum, and the car is running great.

Mrmerlin

Ed what does your IR gun say the inlet and outlet temps are?