Camelwagon

Well I dont think it is overheating like i said, since the rad cap isnt even warm after freeway driving. Would a clogged up HC cause overheating?

Ok I drove it to work this morning, and again it "overheated" when I had the heater on on the freeway. I got to work and popped the hood and the rad cap was not even warm, let alone hot. No boiling or anyting in the overflow container. The 2 heater core hoses were nice and hot though, so I dont know wats up. That definitly tells me that the engine is not really overheating. In fact it might even be running pretty cool since I'm still hardly getting any heat in the cabin when i have it on full blast. I'm gonna get a new rad cap today and maybe new sending unit.

So where was it boiling, into the overflow container? After you shut the engine off?

Thats what i mean, how can I leave it on to the batt but only to run when I start the engine and not drain the batt. Thanks.

No boiling or anything, the overflow container coolant is ok to touch even, not that hot. Ya I might try a new guage and sending unit. Thanks.

So how can i do it just to the battery without the switch?

Ya Mine are hot all the time too... unless those valves dont work.

You know, come to think of it, I dont know if the 2nd fan even works at all. So it should come on when? Thanks... i'll have to check that...

Ya I used distilled water. It overheats mostly when I have the heater on, which is weirdddd. I'm thinkin a short in some wires or something.

How do you make 2nd fan come on continually? My GL is overheating and I want to make the 2nd fan run all the time also, like the main fan. Can I hook it up to the battery or what? Thanks lots...

Well its still overheating but not as bad. I dont think the rad is plugged cuz when I flushed it and put the garden hose on the top, water gushed out the bottom pretty well and freely. Same when I put the hose on the side petcock drain hole... so I dont know. Can I make the 2nd fan come on all the time continually? How? I might just do that. Well I'll try to replace the temp guage sensor first... Thanks.

I have that noise too and where its coming from is these 2 solenoids in the pics below. One is more in the open right on top of the thermostat, and the 2nd one is under the air intake nozzle. They have to do with vacuum stuff... You can see they are both hooked up with wires and connectors and you can disconnect them and the noise will go away, not sure if your car will run without them or not though. Try it. And they have vacuum hoses going to them.

I forgot to say that it didnt overheat last night either, but then again I only ran it for about 10 mins and I didnt drive it.

So is there a specific chemical for cleaning out heater cores or just any slush cleaner will do? Ok well I did all you guys said today, I disconnected the core hoses, put a hose with water pressure thru one hole at a time, then disconnected all the hoses to the rad and ran the hose with water pressure thru there. Then I ran some flush chemical thru it and let it run for 10 mins with the heater full blast and it worked!!!!!!!!!! I had HEAT in the car, the heater put out pretty good heat, way better than last night before I did all this. Tomorrow I'm gonna disconnect the core hoses again and run the garden hose thru there again to get all the flush chemical and water out. If I start the engine without the core hoses connected, will it get rid of all the water in there? Anyways I'll let you guys know wats up tomorrow. Laterz...

So what does the core clog up with, just rust and stuff from the radiator? I'll try the hose pressure and the wire thru it. So do I stick the wire thru the holes where the hoses come out in the engine bay? Ya I dont know if I wanna take out the rad. Maybe I'll disconnect the lower hose on it and do another flush, would that help? I didnt do that the first time around. Thanks guys.

So if I blow water thru the core with a hose, can I apply water pressure or just normal hose pressure? Will it damage anything? Thanks. Ya thats the thing - I gotta drive it this winter. But it overheats in the cold too, or it says it does. I tried takin the sensor out but its really stuck on there, I'll try some more.

Is it easy to take the radiator out and clean it? Its so dumb that the drain valve is like half way up the radiator, that is the stupidest idea a car company could ever come up with...................

Well all I've done is replaced the coolant, did a flush and replaced the thermostat. So is it easy to get to the heater core? Probably not huh? Gotta take out the dash and stuff? I'll try blowing air thru. Thanks...

Dang it my GL is still overheating pretty bad, especially when I have the heater on. I replaced the thermostat and that didnt help. It all looks normal, theres coolant in there, not leaking. It doesnt smell like burning or anything. Seems like at night when I have my lights on it overheats more, not sure if theres some short or something. Should I try replacing the sending unit sensor? And another thing, when I turn the heater on, theres no heat really, its actually somewhat cool rather than warm, even on full blast, its not warm at all let alone hot. Whats up with that? That makes me think that the engine isnt really overheating. Could it be the heater core gone bad and not putting out heat? Or maybe the coolant hoses that go into the dash are bad or something? Ughghg. Plese help, winter is coming soon. Thanks.

Ya I think I agree with you Zye. As for Bobby, hm not sure about headgasket, I'm not losing any coolant from the reservoir or the radiator, no white smoke... and if it was a headgasket, wouldnt the coolant be going down instead of overflowing since the engine would be burning it? Thanks guys.

OK this is what my friend says about rad caps and pressure... and i quote. "With the cap off, there is no backpressure created by rising water tempurature. What you have is like a bucket of water jumping out of the bucket. You have convulsions brought about by HOT AIR BUBBLES in areas where water is supposed to be. The overflow is air escaping when it comes to the top. It pushes the water ahead of it out of the way. 'Normal' overflowing only makes up the difference in water state at different temperatures. The size of the Overflow Container is designed to accomodate 'normal' overflow. When it exceeds that, there's another problem. And, no overflow occurs until pressure in the radiator exceeds 14-17 psi with the cap in place. When the cap is not in place, there's no backpressure at all. At least, normally. A properly operating system can run with the cap off and not spill a drop of water, if not run for long enough to exceed normal operating tempuratures. I can only suggest you study fluid dynamics." So what do you guys think of that? Not sure if I agree with him cuz when the engine is started cold, the coolant will rise and overflow cuz its building pressure and stuff, even though its not hot and not at normal operating temp. I dont know, i'm very confused.

Cool, thats what I thought. This other guy was telling me that it was from bubbles in the system. but i didnt see any bubbles coming up or anything. Thanks.

I took off the radiator cap and started my Suby and let it run and in about 1 minute the coolant started rising and overflowing out of the rad, is this normal?? Shouldn't it go into the overflow container? Thanks.

Hm thanks. So does it have anything to do with the cold idle screw? Where is that screw? And how do i adjust the choke? Thanks.

I checked and I only have green connectors under the dash, no black or brown. Where are they supposed to be at? Thanks.