Spring Gremlins!!

[Knukle Head]

Alright, so I started Nina up and all sorts of gremlins start to appear; abs cycling, the abs and tcs lights came on and the pass seat wont move .. but the one I am most concerned about is a new over heating problem. It is the most concerning and hardest to figure out.

First: I can drive "normally" for an hour in stop and go traffic with out one hint of over heating...

But: When I start driving the car hard and then let the car idle, (like at a red light) the temps start going up. The moment I start moving, the temps go back into the normal range.

Actions taken so far: Bled the system, Changed the thermostat, bled the system at every bleeder, presurized the system and checked the bottle and cap (all functioned fine)

My Fears: Head gasket leak that only occurs once the engine gets heat soaked, presurizing my coolant system. I really dont want to take this engine out, change a head gasket and not be 110% sure I am fixing the problem..

::sigh::

If this is a head gasket I am going to rebuild the motor right and I will prob not be back on the road till next spring. But let me be the first to say, I am going to need a 12 step program, if I go through all of that and the problem still exists.

Your thoughts .....?

 

[Briank]

Sounds like you still have some air in the system, you got all 4 bleeders right?

 

[cparsons]

But: When I start driving the car hard and then let the car idle, (like at a red light) the temps start going up. The moment I start moving, the temps go back into the normal range.

This sounds a lot like what I was having. But mine was fixed by bleeding coolant system and/or replacing the thermostat. See my recent thread here.

 

[Doc308]

Re: the overheating, did you check to see if your fans are working? Check the fan fuses. If the temp goes down when you're driving ,fresh air is automatically cooling your radiator w/o the fans. Once you stop, you need the fans to work to maintain normal temps.

If both the abs and tcs lights always come on simutaneously, it may be a bad wheel sensor.

 

[alverman]

just a thought :
after you did all you could to get all the air out of the system and in case your front fan did not start, let your engine idle until you see the temperature going above when you would expect the front fan starting to work (about halfway the scale), set the inside temp to "max" and see if the fan starts working then. Maybe open your hood to make sure you hear the radiator fan coming on and not the condenser fans... :wink:

 

[davidf]

Theres 4 bleeders? I installed my radiator last year and only bled the one on the radiator. Zero issues.

 

[Briank]

Theres 4 bleeders? I installed my radiator last year and only bled the one on the radiator. Zero issues.

You must not have drained the whole system and parked nose up when you changed it.

4 bleeders: Rad, heater core, water pipe at the front of the engine bay, and one on the engine.

 

[Knukle Head]

Pretty sure I got them all
Two in the engine bay: one by the thermostat one on the hose that goes into the firewall

Two in the front; one on the radiator one on the way to the heater core..

I also took it to my mechanic to double check my bleeding ..
all air was out.

 

[titaniumdave]

This is the hot ticket for checking for a head gasket leak, from NAPA on line:

http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(...yword&N=0&Nty=1&D=block tester&Dn=0&Dk=1&Dp=3

BK 7001006 Leak Detector Kit / Engine Block, Test Tools Inc.; Test For Cracked Blocks, Leaky Gaskets, Cracked Or Warped Heads
Product Line: Balkamp

This will allow you to detect hydrocarbons in the coolant, indicating exhaust gas blowing/seeping past a headgasket. This way, you will know for sure.