92 sidekick overheats now has no heat

[Toby W]

I've been dealing with this for a while now, my fan/alternator belt has been slipping and causing overheats as a result, normally tightening the belt and blowing the heat at full blast has helped, recently it started overheating and I have cold air blowing from the vents, I've tried just about all I can think of, anyone have any suggestions as to whats happened?

[Cobra_Sam]

Originally Posted by Toby W

I've been dealing with this for a while now, my fan/alternator belt has been slipping and causing overheats as a result, normally tightening the belt and blowing the heat at full blast has helped, recently it started overheating and I have cold air blowing from the vents, I've tried just about all I can think of, anyone have any suggestions as to whats happened?

Why would the belt be slipping ? Have you taken the belt off and tried to turn the alternator and water pump and everything else by hand to see if it turns ? You may have a bearing gone bad causing the belt to slip.

[Toby W]

Originally Posted by Toby W

I've been dealing with this for a while now, my fan/alternator belt has been slipping and causing overheats as a result, normally tightening the belt and blowing the heat at full blast has helped, recently it started overheating and I have cold air blowing from the vents, I've tried just about all I can think of, anyone have any suggestions as to whats happened?

yes we checked to see if both were freely spinning, and they were. the belt continues to slip, but retightening it every few days has helped so long as I blast the heat. now the heat isnt working so it overheats no matter how tight the belt is.

[Cobra_Sam]

Originally Posted by Toby W

yes we checked to see if both were freely spinning, and they were. the belt continues to slip, but retightening it every few days has helped so long as I blast the heat. now the heat isnt working so it overheats no matter how tight the belt is.

There is no reason then why the belt should slip. It could be a few things like the fins have corroded off the waterpump impeller and you are not getting water circulation. Have you checked the water pump and thermostat ? and how many miles are on the car ? does the car start real good and run the way it always has ? I ask this because timing is a big contributer to overheating, if the timing is 1 tooth out it will overheat.

[Toby W]

Now that you mention it, there is a distinct possibillity that the timing could be just a tooth or so off, due to me attempting to change the water pump,( I inspected the one that was in there and it still looked good and spun real tight). But the car starts well (59,000 miles) and still runs well despite the overheating. What I cant seem to undertsand is why my heat, which was working perfectly a day ago has suddenly gone cold.
Shouldn't there be an excess in heat due to overheating?.
Thank for your help Cobra_Sam

[Cobra_Sam]

Originally Posted by Toby W

Now that you mention it, there is a distinct possibillity that the timing could be just a tooth or so off, due to me attempting to change the water pump,( I inspected the one that was in there and it still looked good and spun real tight). But the car starts well (59,000 miles) and still runs well despite the overheating. What I cant seem to undertsand is why my heat, which was working perfectly a day ago has suddenly gone cold.
Shouldn't there be an excess in heat due to overheating?.
Thank for your help Cobra_Sam

With the car overheating so many times you may have damaged something else. Check if the heater hose under the hood going to the heater is getting hot. Have you tried puting in a new thermostat, they are cheap and easy to change.
All the best
Sam

[Toby W]

Originally Posted by Cobra_Sam

With the car overheating so many times you may have damaged something else. Check if the heater hose under the hood going to the heater is getting hot. Have you tried puting in a new thermostat, they are cheap and easy to change.
All the best
Sam

my latest experiment has been to completely remove the thermostat and I have discovered I am now getting some heat, not as warm as before but its definately blowing hot, also the temperature is running below normal now, I am going to try putting in a new thermostat this afternoon and see if that solves the problem, I will let you know how things work out, thanks again for all the help!
-Toby

[chigger_ns]

Check your water pump (replace it!) You should remove it, and check the impellor. It may be spinning on the shaft (which you cant see from the out side)