more overheating probs.

[Robuilt]

well somethin like a week ago, i swapped out my radiator because the car was overheating. turns out the used radiator i bought was crap too. today i swapped in a new radiator. no leaking....finally!i filled the system with antifreeze/water, bled the system to remove air pockets, and all seemed well. i took the car for a slow 3-4 mile city driving cruise. never got hotter than half way.i was pleased.i decided to take a drive to a neighboring city to run an errand. well about ten miles into the trip the car started getting warmer. once it hit 3/4 i pulled over because i started getting concerned. i turned off the car and sat inside for a few minutes. within those minutes the car started steaming bad. like never before. popped the hood and steam was comin from the engine, not the radiator. no water leaks either. steam seemed to be coming from the intake and passengers side head, and rear engine compartment on the passengers side. by this point im shittin bricks ya know.we sat there for about 15 minutes and the needle was in the red. a few more min pass and the car cooled off a bit. i started it up to see if it idled rough and threw white smoke to see if a head gasket was blown. nothin. she idled fine, purred like a kitten. i decided (foolishly or not) to drive it. immediately the cars temps dropped to below half way. i made it home with no over heating. i popped the hood and i could still hear minimal steam sounds coming from intake area. its dark now but im really confused.im really hoping its just more air pockets but what do u all think?

[KissMyWhtSS]

Do you think you're leaking coolant? Any signs of coolant boiling out of the radiator cap, etc. Have you tested your thermostat to ensure it's opening at the correct temperature? Are your fans kicking on?

[Robuilt]

fans come on. almost cut off a finger checking, lol. you do the math. brand new cap (zero leakage) and brand new thermostat. my buddy told me to think about maybe the possibilty of freeze plugs or heater core.my heater doesnt blow warm air. does that count for anything?

[PipesTA]

Are you sure you properly bled out all of the air in the coolant system? You will have overheating issues if there's air trapped in the system.

[Robuilt]

i really hope so but seriously doubt it. i dont have that kinda good luck, lol.im off these next four days so ill be workin on the car and doing all the small projects ive been wanting to do to it.i will conquer this! lol

[PipesTA]

I'd bet you still have some air trapped in the system. Follow these steps to make sure you get all of the air bled out:

Overheating is systemic to these cars when they have not been serviced correctly. If overheating, dumping coolant, etc. are problems after a coolant change or water pump replacement, follow these steps and see if that solves the problem. You willl need 50/50 mix of water and whatever coolant is used in your engine. Maybe a coupla quarts in a plastic pail and use a small glass or measuring cup, and a funnel to keep from spilling it everywhere. (Note: do NOT mix coolant types, i.e., orange with green.)

1. Wait till the engine is cold, and pull the radiator cap. Check the cap, has the seal deteriorated? If so, replace the cap.

2. Pack a whole bunch of rags around the distributor to protect it from any chance of leaking coolant on it. Poke the rags everywhere and watch out for the belt!

3. Loosen both bleed screws about 1 turn--they don't have to be real loose to bleed air.

4. With the radiator cap off, engine off and engine is COLD, fill the radiator reservoir to the top--don't overfill it. Watch for coolant coming out of the bleed screws. If solid coolant comes out, then close the screws--easy does it, just lightly snug will seat the screws. If the coolant is already to the top of the radiator neck, then skip this step.

5. Close both bleed screws.

6. Cap still off, turn on the engine and let it idle.

7. Watch the coolant level go down, as it does, fill to the top of the reservoir, just below that little overflow pipe in the radiator neck.

8. Open the bleed screw closest to the throttle body, but only a bit, and see if any air bubbles come out. Look for actual solid coolant, refill the radiator if the level goes down a bit in the radiator neck. If a slight solid stream of coolant comes out (look very closely--doesn't take much), then close the bleed screw (make sure no bubbles, just a solid stream). DO NOT loosen the bleed screw closest to the radiator and farthest from the throttle body (if you do, the coolant level in the radiator will instantly rise and coolant will go everywhere). Make sure that the coolant level is just below the overflow pipe in the radiator neck.

9. Watch that the coolant does not overflow the radiator neck as the engine heats up or there will be coolant spilled everywhere, so do this quickly. The engine should stay cold and the thermostat does not have to open.

10. As soon as you are sure that the radiator reservoir is filled to just below the overflow tube, install the cap and tighten it.

11. Turn off the engine.

12. Check the level in the plastic overflow reservoir with the installed dipstick. If needed, fill it to the HOT mark.

13. With this done, pull all the rags from around the distributor and wipe all the leaked coolant from everything.

The final step is to drive the car for a few hot and cold cycles and then fill up the overflow tank as needed till the coolant is at the COLD mark when the engine is cold.

[KissMyWhtSS]

Check your passenger side floorboard for moisture. I believe that's a sign of heater core being clogged

It wouldn't be a bad idea to do a full coolant flush (should help any trouble with your heater core being clogged) and putting a perfect mixture of 50/50 in it, and I'd probably pick up a bottle of water wetter.

[sinistr]

are you sure you put the hoses back correct , not that i would know from personal experience or anything i mixed up my overflow hose and my oil cooler hose ... i put the oil cooler line where the overflow was and vice versa .................................................. .......