Radiator Problem Please help

[ruberpoliceman]

ok i just went ahead and replaced the water pump and fan clutch now everything is working fine. dont know if that is your problem or Kevn but i guess it wouldnt hurt to check on it. by the way i have an 86 305 civi.

[kevn83]

Thanks for the advice. I pulled the rad. and most of the acc. off the car... I will be replacing the water pump. and maybe the alt. , all belts, hoses, and rad. The gasket you mention from fel-pro... is this the part number? 9354PT-1 I got that number from autozone. I just want to make sure I get a good quality one. (plus that one is only $9.99 for one. The description is not good enough on the site to confirm that is the one you are talking about). If thats not the part does autozone have it listed on their site/do you have the correct part numer? once I get the heads off I will be taking them to a local auto machine shop.


I just want to start getting all the gaskets together so I can put it all back together without having to make numerous trips to the parts store/waiting for parts if they have to be ordered. Thank You very much.

[PeteA216]

I just pulled off my radiator and put a water hose to the inlet and seemed as if everything flowed fine and yet while the car is running it will build up pressure in the lines and shoot (very violently) water out when the cap is removed, even after only running for 5 minutes.

I know this is kind of late in the posting here, but a radiator is supposed to build up pressure. That's what the overflow is for, and that's also why the radiator cap says not to open when the engine's hot because it will spray violently at you. The engine should normally be somewhat warmed up after five full minutes of running even at idle. Lets say you idle at 600 RMP for 5 minutes. Thats 600 revolutions per minute, 1 detonation in each cylinder for each revolution. So 600 revs x 5 minutes is 3,000 revolutions. Then multiply 3,000 by 8 for all 8 cylinders firing and you get 24,000. Thats 24,000 firey explosions happening inside your engine within a 5 minute period of idling. Thats why it seems to heat up so quick. Plus your thermostat only lets a small amount of coolant to flow until the engine reaches it's set temerature (normally 195 degrees Farenheit). If you drive for that 5 minutes, then the engine will most likely reach it's peak temerature by the end of those 5 minutes depending on the outside temperature, thus fully pressurizing the radiator.

[ruberpoliceman]

This i know but this is a much higher pressure than normal. Also after replacing everything it ran fine for a about 50 miles then my oil light comes on and it overheats. Now after this i fill it with oil and run it about ten miles and the oil light comes on and overheats again. It seems as if oil is leaking out somwhere around the front passenger side of the engine but i cant really tell, the valve covers are new so its not from those.....any body got any ideas? More on why its overheating i believe i know the problem with the oil situation. Also my heat is not working but im suspecting that this is the heater valve, i say this because the vaccum line wich comes from it was disconnected but also it seems as if there is another line disconnected behind the dash because i can hear air sucking

[inafogg]

IMO your putting off what needs to be done!!you got water in the oil
you got low oil pressure.you got too much pressure build up in radiator
what more info do you need?? how about a compression test.do that &
when you find that its low start pulling the HEADS off.you got plenty
of good input here stop putting off the inevitable.IMO

[bobss396]

Engine bearings and antifreeze do not mix well. By now they must be etched up and on their way out. Time to pull out your fattest credit card and grab a crate engine for it, or put the whole works out of its misery.

Bob

[inafogg]

very true bob!! trying to flush a system thats not fixed yet is just making it
worse & he may have waited too long already

[kevn83]

well I hope thats not the case. I have most of the car apart. I am going to be taking the intake off today and hopefully get the the head off soon (this weekend). It still does not look like there was water in the oil. At this point thought I am sure that must be some in there. The car has not been run for about 2 weeks (since the problem was first discovered.)

But at least now I know. it would have been nice to know that piece of info sooner. When I flushed the sys. I was still not sure that the heads were blown. I should have though. Rookie mistake. I am prepared to yank the motor if need be. I am trying to take this problem and learn as much from it as I can.

I am still pretty new to doing major repairs on cars. So I am learning as I go. the last big project I did was a engine replacement in a buick.

I hope there are no problems with the bearings, at this point I will take my chances, and in the future I know not to flush the sys. and to drain the oil sooner. and also to replace the radiator as soon as a problem is detected. any other info on this repair would also be appreciated.

[inafogg]

hey kevn did you do a compression test

[PeteA216]

It seems as if oil is leaking out somwhere around the front passenger side of the engine but i cant really tell, the valve covers are new so its not from those.....any body got any ideas?

The engine I blew did that exact same thing after I wrecked it... never did figure out why.

[bobss396]

Well, I'm DONE with this thread, looks like there are two problems being discussed and I'm not into sorting out what is what.

Moderator, could you lock this topic and have the two members start two SEPARATE new ones?

Bob

[ruberpoliceman]

To the "blown engine" guys......there is no water in the oil and the oil light was just doing its job, there was low pressure because the oil was simply low due to human error of not refilling after changing valve cover gaskets and re-adjusting valves...stupid yes...but human.....anyways i started a new thread any help is much appreciated

[kevn83]

I started a new thread "88 caprice head replacement"