Radiator and Cooling Fan Issue

Does anybody know any good replacement fans? Are these anygood?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-01-02-03-CV-IMPALA-HEAVY-DUTY-RADIATOR-A-C-FAN-MOTOR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el111 6QQhashZitem254c9ee7eaQQitemZ160199272426QQptZMoto rsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Also both of the fan's went out last year and instead of buying the whole assembly I went on to autozone and purchased 2 fans and cut the olds and zipped tied the new fans in the shrouding. Would this contribute to over heating? Should I have just went out and bought the whole new assembly? How about the radiator, what is the best way to clean one out? It is full of rust looking sludg. Thanks for any help

Gordon , the fans could be causing your problem but most likely it's the " gunked up " radiator you described . You can take it to your local garage and have it flushed . If it's leaking you can take it to a radiator repair shop and they can repair it . Or the last option would be to buy a new one from a local auto parts store ( Autozone , Advance , etc. ) . If the fans run , as they are supposed to , then likely they aren't the problem . Did the overheating issue come after you replaced the fans ? The fans , shown on Ebay , are listed as " Heavy Duty " . They should fit but I really can't say for sure ? If the Ebay listing shows the dimensions of the new fans then you could measure your original fans to see if they match . More info would be helpful .

The car was having over heating issue last year when one fan went out, so I replaced it by cutting the old one out and then a few weeks later the other one went out and I replaced it. I am sure the fans on ebay would fit, but I am more worried if they would push enough air. It seems to over heat when the ac is on. I know I need to flush out and clean the radiator, I will do it tomorrow. But could the car overheat if the condensor fan is too small or maybe low on feron?

The Ebay fans are listed as " Heavy Duty " which implies they should ( at the very least ) match or maybe exceed a " normal use " fan . The overheating , when the a/c is on , is because of the added load being placed on the engine by having to operate the a/c compressor . Both cooling fans should be of equal size as the original fans . Being low on freon shouldn't affect the cooling unless the compressor is trying to seize up and putting an additional load on the engine . You have two fans , one is for cooling the radiator and the second is for cooling the a/c condenser .The a/c condenser fan runs only when the a/c is on but it does help cool the radiator , to some extent , when running .

need help 1999 dodge 1500 runnin hott , changed the termostat and flushed the radioter. still runs hot

als water pump is not leakin

Bret , are your cooling fans operating ? Is the engine showing physical signs ( boiling over, etc. ) of overheating or are you going strictly by the gauge reading ? If there's no physical signs of overheating , it could be your gauge is reading incorrectly .Also after flushing the radiator , are you sure you got the cooling system completely filled with no air in the system ? Need more info .

Oldblu,

How do you go about removing air bubbles from the cooling system? And would you know why people recommend using distilled water? Would regular tap work?

Gordon , most modern vehicles have a bleed valve , usually at the highest point in your cooling system . Since your thread was placed in the Impala section , I assume you have an Impala but not sure of the year ? If you look around the cooling system of your car , you should see where it is located . You could go to Autozone ( or store of your choice ) if you can't locate the bleed valve . I'm sure someone there can point it out for you . As for why some people recommend using distilled water , the idea is normal tap water has lots of chemicals ( used at water treatment plants to clean the water) that can be harmful to your car's cooling system . That thought probably has merit but few people I know use the distilled water and , even though in the long run it may cause some damage , not many stick with the distilled water over a long period of time . They will use it as long as they have it but there always comes that day when they're out of it and say WTF , I'll get some later and go ahead and use the tap water . Once they do that , they seldom go back to using the distilled water . The tap water is more convenient and it's already paid for ! Hope this helps ? Keep us updated ! Good luck !

I have a 2003 impala 3.8l v6. This is not the first time I will be flushing the radiator out. The first time I used the preston super flush. But it looks like it either didnt clean it all the way as there is more sludge build up. Today I bought the super flush and super cleaner and I will be back washing the cooling system this afternoon. I do know about the bleed valve on the highest point of the cooling system. But I did not know that is all you needed to do to remove the air bubbles. But i did snap the bleeder valve off last time I was messing with it, so I guess I need to pick up a new t-stat cover as that is what it is located on top off. I will let you know how it goes when ever I do the cleaning. I just hope it solves the over heating. I do dont want to purchase new cooling fans for the car.

I have alot of experience with these 3.8L cooling systems...the dexcool must be at 50-60% with distilled water...If not you will have problems with corrosion and sludge..

the dexcool must say GM approved,,,,IF NOT it is not correct....[compatible with ALL coolants is NO good ]

REMOVE THE THERMOSTAT BEFORE FLUSHING THE SYSTEM..

using the acid flush,,,then draining the entire coolant system,,,then adding baking soda mix with tap water to neutralize the acid and then drain and flush out the entire system////on the heater core force out coolant water with water pressure/ air pressure..

with everything drained/blown out,,add the dexcool and distilled water with a 60% dexcool ratio...replace the coolant cap if old..


mixing coolants///dexcool with silicate coolant will rapidly get you back to this damaged coolant system...]

when filling remove the upper radiator hose and fill using that hose this will keep the air from being trapped .....after its filled to the max line on res bottle start engine and open the bleed screw slightly,,,when closing screw easy does it not too tight..

REMOVE THE THERMOSTAT BEFORE FLUSHING THE SYSTEM..

THIS ENGINE HAS A CAPACITY OF 3.25 GALLONS APPROX..

the normal radiator drain will not remove all coolant ...

Over the weekend I drained the radiator and filled up with water and the super cleaner by preston and drove around for about 2 hours in the hot afternoon. The next day I drained all the water and cleaner out and flushed with water. Then I added the super flush by preston and ran the engine till warm. I drained all of that. Both times I drained and flushed I had what looked to be rust lookings rocks and mud look stuff come out of the radiator. The overflow container was pretty much half full of rust looking sludg and the overflow line was plugged with about 3-4 inches of harden sludge. After all was cleaned out I then tryied to blow out all the water. Then I proceeded to fill back up with radiator fluid. It held less then 2 gallons before being full. Is this normal? J cat said it should be about 3.25 gallons. Could the radiator be that plugged that it is not holding the amount fluid that it should? J Cat what is the acid flush you metioned? If the radiator is that plugged should I purchase a new one or take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it? Would they be able to make it like new?

Over the weekend I drained the radiator and filled up with water and the super cleaner by preston and drove around for about 2 hours in the hot afternoon. The next day I drained all the water and cleaner out and flushed with water. Then I added the super flush by preston and ran the engine till warm. I drained all of that. Both times I drained and flushed I had what looked to be rust lookings rocks and mud look stuff come out of the radiator. The overflow container was pretty much half full of rust looking sludg and the overflow line was plugged with about 3-4 inches of harden sludge. After all was cleaned out I then tryied to blow out all the water. Then I proceeded to fill back up with radiator fluid. It held less then 2 gallons before being full. Is this normal? J cat said it should be about 3.25 gallons. Could the radiator be that plugged that it is not holding the amount fluid that it should? J Cat what is the acid flush you metioned? If the radiator is that plugged should I purchase a new one or take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it? Would they be able to make it like new?

the 1.25 gallons that did not come out is traped in the engine.
did you remove the thermostat ? this is important so that maximum flow is created to loosen up the goop...I guess you indeed have a damaged coolant system...

also distilled water with the dexcool is the correct way [OEM].
Make sure you blow out that heater core or you'll have no heat...most times the goop settles there,,,

try draining the engine of coolant if its necessary..if not then you must use 2 gallons of dexcool because over 1 gallon of water is traped in the engine,,,,that will give you 60/40 ratio which is the best ...

if this does not change the issues you have then you might need the radiator serviced/replaced..

I did remove the thermostat. I guess I will find out if what I did helped out any later when I get off work as that is when the car gives me the most trouble. I bet I need to remove the heat core and flush it out. I am sure it is plugged up. Is there an easy way of removing it? I know when I break sometimes I can hear water slushing around from the passenger side dash. But I was never sure on what it was. Maybe it could be water trapped inside the heater core? This car likes to keep me busy!

I did remove the thermostat. I guess I will find out if what I did helped out any later when I get off work as that is when the car gives me the most trouble. I bet I need to remove the heat core and flush it out. I am sure it is plugged up. Is there an easy way of removing it? I know when I break sometimes I can hear water slushing around from the passenger side dash. But I was never sure on what it was. Maybe it could be water trapped inside the heater core? This car likes to keep me busy!

remove the hoses for heater core at engine then force flush with a water hose fwd/rev and then with air pressure blow out ...this is not removed from vehicle when cleaned out...

these vehicles trap most crud in the heater core on a well maintaied system,,,your heater core must be really bad....but where you live who needs max heat ? but where I am no heat your toes will freeze solid...

Thanks JCat and Oldblu for all you're help. The car still overheats, so that sucks!!! I think when I get paid I will go ahead and purchase the heavy duty fans that include fan and shroud all in one. As I mentioned before that both fans went out (last year) and instead of replacing the whole unit I just cut the old fans out and zipped tied 2 16inch (I think they were 16inch) fans in place of the other ones. I was also going to remove the radiator and take it get cleaned out (maybe it is still gunked up inside). It is only going to get hotter in houston and I need to solve this problem.

Thanks JCat and Oldblu for all you're help. The car still overheats, so that sucks!!! I think when I get paid I will go ahead and purchase the heavy duty fans that include fan and shroud all in one. As I mentioned before that both fans went out (last year) and instead of replacing the whole unit I just cut the old fans out and zipped tied 2 16inch (I think they were 16inch) fans in place of the other ones. I was also going to remove the radiator and take it get cleaned out (maybe it is still gunked up inside). It is only going to get hotter in houston and I need to solve this problem.\


I re-read your posting/issues with this overheating...

did you replace the thermostat,,,with a high quality type...?
replace the radiator/coolant pressure cap,,,,if the system cannot hold pressure you will overheat ,,,this also means any leaks/head gaskets etc...

so a pressure testing of the coolant system is now recommended.

I do not currently have a thermostat installed and the cap is fairly new. Do I need the radiator cap to be a curtain psi rating? I belive I have a 16PSI one installed right now. Well then my next step would be the pressure test.

I do not currently have a thermostat installed and the cap is fairly new. Do I need the radiator cap to be a curtain psi rating? I belive I have a 16PSI one installed right now. Well then my next step would be the pressure test.

pressure testing is next....thats good the thermostat is out ,,,very hot by you now...the other thing would be is purging the air out of the coolant system by using that small bleeder valve...