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ea82 cooling help


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so heres the problem. my car was starting to run warm on freeway driving but would kick down when the needle was about 3/4 up to about 1/4. i thought it was my thermostat being sticky so i replaced it the other day (195 degree). now it runs at about 1/2 to 3/4 on the gauge. but really starts to get warm when my cars struggles up hills. and will cool back down if i coast it as long as i can. i am not leaking coolant from my water pump or weep hole. coolant might be dissapearing but im not 100% sure. my heater also doesnt work but i do have pressure in my upper radiator hose when car is running. im at a stand still for what to do next so i am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. thanks in advance.

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Your radiator cap may be leaking slightly. This will prevent preassure build up and will cause it too run hot. I usually start with that... replace cap if old, assure seating surface where cap seals is clean and smooth, (even if you need a new radiator you will have a new cap to start with)

 

If that isn't the problem.... sounds like radiator plugging up.

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i just got a new cap for it but it didnt do the trick, what about the overflow cap? does that make as much as a difference as well? i have been missing that for a while because im a doorknob and left it off and closed the hood and took off in a hurry, who knows where it is now :banghead:

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you can give the radiator a quick check for clogs by touching your hand to it and moving up and down along the coils.. they should all feel evenly warm. A good block flush can help as well. i dont know if there is a way to hook a hose up to the block and flush it out while you are doing the same to the radiator (as GeneralDisorder suggested above) but i think you could remove the thermostat and hit pressure from a hose into the housing?? am i right, or would that not be of any assistance? to be honest, im just trying to help with ideas and tips. The subject is one that is discussed frequently, and you seem to be receiving a lackluster response.. but if you patiently search using different terms, you can read the threads that i have been passivley reading, (that have given me these vague concepts im swinging at you) and read them with more interest and "motivation" if you will... you can find all the info you need. search block flush, back flush, coolant flush, who knows.

 

Good luck, i wish i could be more specific.

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ok so today i read everyones posts. i realized the thermostat gasket was leaking (damn gi joes). i replaced that, and in addition i took out the radiator and flushed it with a garden hose and it wasnt plugged up at all. i checked for fin rot and there was none. that radiatior seems in good condition. it is still doing the same thing. i double checked the weep hole and water pump all is fine. is there a slight chance the headgasket might be going? i have not been burning off coolant on starts or normal operation. who knows maybe my radiator is bad.

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I think I found a raduiator injury time-related. I had 4 clogged fines below the a/c condensor and the 2 above it as well - exactly where my radiator atayed open to the air. Alot of highway seems to have done it in. Even tho I don't need a heavy duty, I am going for the 2 core all metal, maybe rows of fins caved in over the years perfectly enough to stop flow, due to the very air smashing into it for 13 years. I stay local, no probs. Is it the same for you? (it is the second highway sube that has done the same thing for me)

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Mine got way worse, I could maybe get 10 minutes out of it before it was to the point of boiling over. The Radiator was completely plugged. I think whoever had it before me just ran recycled fuilds. You have to stick to news stuff, it is alot less corrosive, or atleast that is what the radiator shop says. Hopefully i get it back together and running this weekend.

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Yeah - old coolant is the #1 cause of corrosion. Coolant should be changed bi-yearly *even* if it tests good. The zinc and other anti-corrosive properties actually "wear out" like the metal tabs on the hull of a ship. Even if the hydrometer says it's good, it needs replacement. I've seen a cast iron engine block with aluminium heads pull nearly 3 volts from bad coolant. In severe cases galvanic deterioration has been known to eat holes through the water jacket.

 

GD

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The problem with the "block sealants" they sell is they aren't designed for a flat four engine. The last step of the process is to drain all the coolant and let the "stuff" cure for like 72 hours - it needs air contact to cure. But with the flat four, it's near impossible to get all the coolant out. You have to pull the drain plugs out of the engine block, and even then because all the passages are flat, the coolant just doesn't want to clear out. This obviously isn't a problem with an inline four, or a V style engine as the cylinders are up high where just draining the radiator will drain out the passages where the leaks are at.

 

That, and the stuff is at best a temporary solution. If the gasket is far enough gone that a small hole has started, others will follow and the existing ones will just keep enlarging. I've tried the stuff with zero luck in the EA82 on two occasions now. Just clogged up a heater core on one, and didn't do anything at all on the other.

 

On the other hand - I'm out of work right now - I have the tools, the time, and I just did another EA82 HG last week with the same problem. Runs like a top. PM if you want to work something out. The parts are only about $40 for both HG's, cam o-rings, and manifold gaskets.....

 

GD

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i cant believe i didnt mention this before.. its also a good idea to degrease the fins with something along the lines of simple green.. but you inspected it. weer they dirty? if they were clean, if you could hold it up to the sunlight and still be inpressed with the amount of light showing thru, then youre cool, but a very very greasy dirty radiator will NOT cool as well as a nice clean one.

 

I mean, you said no fin rot, so i imagine you checked the fins fairly well.. but my window AC, and smoking in my room, (and my cat with all her fur..) taught me the importance of making sure ANY fins on ANY coil of ANY sort are as CLEAN as possible!!

 

so just a thought. check the condition of the AC coil too.. if air doesnt flow thru it well, it wont hit the radiator very well either.

 

EDIT

 

DOH, i went and posted.. and failed to notice page two of the thread. sorry, didnt see you concluded the radiator was not your problem.

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