Diagnosing an Overheat?

[MatthewAlan8]

Okay so I made a post a while back about my car overheating. Turned out to be the radiator cap not holding pressure but I was also told my intake manifold was cracked.

Now about 2 months later, my car began to overheat again. The car overheats and I check the radiator cap and it's cold. The heater does not work anymore and it was still overheating after putting an entire jug of coolant into it.

My brother in law thinks it's a cracked head (not sure if he means gasket or just the head). His reasons were that he saw that I was losing fluid. He said it wasn't coming from the hoses and it wasn't coming from the radiator but I was losing a lot of fluid (water) from the exhaust pipe. He was only looking at the car for about 15 minutes and it was a cold day. Isn't water (condensation) common? He said it was a LOT of water.

My friend, who also knows a bit about cars and repairing them said that he thinks it could be the heater core. I have not noticed any fluid on the passenger side of the floor, but the other symptoms fit I guess.

Obviously, due to cost I would prefer it to be the heater core because my friend can repair it but what do you guys think? Does it make sense to be either of them? Both? What is most likely?

Thanks.

 

[duggyd123]

if its your heater core more than likely your passenger side floor board will be damp if not wet. you could also have a bad lower intake plenum gasket thats bad. there are notorious for goign out of older fords. you may also have a bad head gasket do a cylinder pressure bleed down check on your rear cylinders and see if it matches the listing in a chilton book

 

[MatthewAlan8]

Thanks, I have a feeling this is going to get spendy...

 

[RangRayy]

possible thermostat failure same thing happened to me couple months back and bc of thermostat failure blew a head gasket. put some of that sealer stuff in the radiator and damn near did the trick.

 

[marragtop]

Start by putting a T-stat in it. Cheap and easy fix. Also, when it overheads, are the hoses collapsing or do they look ok?

 

[duggyd123]

hes losing coolant thou so not a thermostat trust me i know thermostats now on our trucks threw trial and error

 

[MatthewAlan8]

Spoke to a mechanic and he is saying he thinks it could be the water pump but there's no way to really tell if that's what it is until it's installed. He gave me an estimate of $425 for the job.

First, is he truthful when saying there's no way to know if it's a water pump until it's installed?

Second, is that a good price for the job?

 

[duggyd123]

when the water pump goes it will over heat almost immediately. you be able to drive maybe 5 minutes.

 

[jremington59]

Can you hear the bearings grinding in the pump? Is it leaking coolant? You should also be able to wiggle the fan back and forth and even see it while it is running.

The first thing I would do is take the thermostat right out and see if it overheats. If it sticks shut it's not going to allow the fluid to circulate and the radiator will stay cool. I sure wouldn't just throw a pump on without some symptoms showing the pump is bad.

Try taking off the top hose at the radiator and remove the cap. Put a garden hose into the end of the radiator hose and use a towel to keep as tight a fit as you can around the water hose. Turn on the water and see if the radiator starts overflowing out the cap. If it does, and the thermostat is removed I'd say it's possible the impellor in the pump crapped.

 

[MatthewAlan8]

It starts overheating after driving about 5-10 minutes and when it overheats, it overheats big time.

What do the bearings sound like? I'm pretty much a beginner with this stuff and I've learned a lot but not when it comes to the cooling system.

I do believe it's leaking coolant, but that could also be from a cracked intake manifold that I have. However, I can keep the coolant levels up and that hasn't been an issue.

 

[jremington59]

It will grind and you'll lose fluid out of the pump. You may also see shaking on the fan from the bearings being gone.

 

[MatthewAlan8]

I don't hear any grinding in the area or see vibration.

 

[jremington59]

Did you look at your oil and see if it has antifreeze in it? If you don't, pull the thermostat and see if it stops overheating. And make sure the radiator is full and there's also fluid in the rez. It doesn't take long for heat to kill a motor.

 

[FU MONSTER]

I agree with some of the guys. I would start out with a thermostat(less then $10). if that doesnt fix it then.look at the water pump.if its bad it sometimes leaks a little through the "weep" hole on the bottom. I have also been told that if it's bad it can sometimes make some sort of howl.never heard it though. It's not too bad to change yourself.Its a lot of bolts but it's doable with a little car knowledge.good luck

 

[marragtop]

Replacing the t-stat is part of normal maintenance and a 20 minute $10 job. Start with simple stuff first. I'll bet any amount of money that the mechanic that wants $425 for the pump will also do the t-stat since that may be the only problem. Have you checked the upper and lower hoses for obstructions or collapsing?

 

[duggyd123]

water pump is easy to repplace all you need is a 3/8 drive ratchet and a 1/4 inch ratchet a 10mm socket in both size a couple extentions, the fan clutch removal tool(you can rent it from auto and advanced) the bolts are easy to find

 

[MatthewAlan8]

Replacing the t-stat is part of normal maintenance and a 20 minute $10 job. Start with simple stuff first. I'll bet any amount of money that the mechanic that wants $425 for the pump will also do the t-stat since that may be the only problem. Have you checked the upper and lower hoses for obstructions or collapsing?

I can't even get to the thermostat. I tried about 3 months ago when it first started overheating and in the SOHC engine it's really in a bad spot. It looks much easier in the OHV engine.

In a miraculous change of events, I tried the whole "maybe there's an air bubble" routine and it must have worked. I turned on the car with the radiator cap off and shook/squeezed the hoses a few times. I drove it and it wasn't overheating so I decided I'd really test it out and I took it on the freeway. No overheating.

I have a pretty bad coolant leak, and it's most likely from the cracked intake manifold. Anybody have any write-ups on those? I have a buddy that has tools for working on cars (all I have is a little tool-kit).

 

[jremington59]

Where did you come up with it having a cracked intake manifold?

I'm not trying to be a dick, but if you can't change a t stat you hadn't better get started with manifolds yet.

 

[MatthewAlan8]

Where did you come up with it having a cracked intake manifold?

I'm not trying to be a dick, but if you can't change a t stat you hadn't better get started with manifolds yet.

I was told this by the mechanic that worked on it about 3 months ago. I wasn't saying that I was planning on doing to manifolds. I have a friend that can work on it but I'd like to have an idea about what he's doing before he does it so that I could possibly be of assistance and/or learn.

 

[jremington59]

If you go to the search and type in "changing intake manifold" it will give you quite a few pages of information.