97 running very hot [Resolved.....Finally!]

[Eslhockey92g]

1997 ls 4.3 4x4 4dr

After i have done the intake manifold gasket my blazer seems to be running very hot. It would normaly sit between the bigger dasher on the cold side and the 210 mark. In the middle of that. no matter how im driving , what season always sat there. Only when im travinlg some very steep hills of pittsburg it would jump up to 210, but quickly drop. w/ or w/o a/c on. Now my car is running at 210 avg w/o a/c and if i turn the a/c on it will jump to half way in the between dasher of 210 and the red on the hot side in a matter of secs when im driving normal. and if i contine to drive w/ a/c it steped in the red and my check gauge liek came out, at that point i shut it off and let it cool down and got home. Take in note this is all after the intake manifold job. When i did the job i put in a new tensior, idle pully, rad cap, t-stat and flushed the system w/ new dexcool. I check the dexcool lever every morning, and the rad and overflow are full and nice and orange. When the car gets past 210, it really dawgs down(no power) and i can hear gurgling(Air) in my heat core. But only when its hot. 3 days ago i tossed a fan clutch at it after closly follwing the last guy on here w/overheating problems in hope that was the key...... It wasnt. It did help a lil, It hasnt got in the red yet. But still geting way to hot for my comfert. Im kinda stumped now to what it could be, cloged cat, head gasket water pump. I was going to put another t-sat in. The one time i have had 2 bad ones in a row go in. there cheap and easy to pop in. just getting stumped and its really starting to get under my skin. I feel like there somthign wrong EVERY day w/ it. and when i fix one thing there gonna be somting else thats going wrong. So i dont want to toss any more parts at is if there not gonna do anything so any ideas guys, Thanks in advance

note- driving it harder speeds everything up. W/ a/c on and about 3/4 gas till about 70mph it was on the last big dasher before the red zone

[old_master]

The gurgle sound is air that is trapped in the cooling system. You need to "burp" or "bleed" it out. That's what's causing your overheating concern.

[Rick Norwood]

I agree with Old Master, burp this thing.

Make sure that you didn't install the T-Stat upside down or anything else that is obvious. (Don't be insulted, it happens to the best of us.) Put your T-Stat in a pot of boiling water to check to see if it is opening. You could also try putting a 180° T-Stat in it instead of the 210°.

If all else fails, you might try getting a Reverse Power flush on the Rad.

[Eslhockey92g]

none taken. I was preety sure it was a 180 t-stat, And yes haha it is in the right way. Im just gonna toss a new rad cap and t-stat at it and hope for the best. if not then the radiator is coming out.

Also i was talking to some other people they were thinking possible blown head gasket.. My oil is good and the car runs good so i dont think it could be.

And will drving around take the air out of there or is the easiest way the way blazerlt's "how to" in the FAQ the best way?

[Rick Norwood]

BLT's "how to"

You did properly dilute the fresh Dex-Cool, 50-50 mix right? You're not running straight Anti-freeze are you?

[muddog321]

If the air removal does not solve all , I have had the best luck with buying 3' of both 5/8 and 3/4 heater hose, then using them to first reflush the heater core in both directions using only a hose and holding it to the heater hose so not to blow the core, then reconnecting and all that seems to do it - if you tie the heater hoses you removed from the firewall UP, no dex cool will be lost (or very little).

[Eslhockey92g]

Originally Posted by Rick Norwood

BLT's "how to"

You did properly dilute the fresh Dex-Cool, 50-50 mix right? You're not running straight Anti-freeze are you?

I ran stright water in the system for about 10-15 min till nothing but water came out of the radiator, then i draind the rad and i got about 3/4 of a gallon of dexcool in. Ive done it that way 3 times before and never had a problem. Im gonna try to flush the core real good and new t-stat and see what happens

[Eslhockey92g]

Just put in a 195 temp stant t-stat. When i took it out the antifreeze was almost water wooooops. I guess not enough dexcool. I feel preety stupid i know better then that, But when i checked it at the rad neck it look very orange. Any way i flushed and back flushed the heat core, and did the BLT on getting the air out. Burnt my hand a lil. It was like foaming then BAM just a stream of orange. I guess thats when the t-sat opens and i have no more air,,,,,, i hope. When i was filling it i use stight anitfrezze to hopfully balence out the water. I got about 1/2 gallon of dexcool in. SO ill drive it around and let u guys know what happens

[Eslhockey92g]

nothing. It does the same thing. It idle for like 25 min and was perfect. right inbetween the half way mark on the cold side and 210 I took it out slow and it climbed to a lil under 210. i gave it some gas, it jumped a lil over 210 and didnt come back down when i slowed down. I turned a/c on and it jumped up to the middle of 210 and 260 in about 2 min. I turned a/c off and it stayed there. i have no idea what it is now. When i was driving i didnt hear any of the gurgling so i guess i got the air out. but my temp is still kickin my butt.

[Rick Norwood]

I know you said you put a new fan Clutch on it, Are the fan blades installed in the right direction? The fan should be marked with the word "FRONT" on the hub, that side should be toward the radiator. The Shroud is installed correctly?

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so insulting, I really am trying to help you. Do you hear the fan working?

[AJT1961]

Sounds unlikely, but I'd be suspicious that perhaps the new fan clutch isn't working well. I'm in Philly area which has been having the same weather as you, and it seems that my new fan clutch has been engaged the past few days around 80% of the time after warm up. The loud fan woosh-sound is REALLY noticeable particularly during acceleration after sitting at a red light or stopping for a stop sign. If you're not hearing that sound a lot these past few days, that new clutch might be your problem.

[Eslhockey92g]

Originally Posted by Rick Norwood

I know you said you put a new fan Clutch on it, Are the fan blades installed in the right direction? The fan should be marked with the word "FRONT" on the hub, that side should be toward the radiator. The Shroud is installed correctly?

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so insulting, I really am trying to help you. Do you hear the fan working?

I understand complety. It is put on the right way. It does kick on for about 30 sec everytime the first time i start it up and drive. The only other time is when it hit the middle mark on the hot side. It did kick in once it went past the half way mark, but as soon as it got on the mark or very slighty past it, it shut off. I live about 30 min north of philly, So were having the same out side temps AJT for the most part. Mine is hardly on. SO possible bad fan clucth. But that wouldnt explain why it never did it before. I never had this problem even in heat, this hot and that was with a bad fan clutch, blown manifold gasket, And brown dexcool. Pending how much money i get for my birthday im gonna let a garage deal with it.

[BlazerLT]

Keep on burping it.

Let it sit overnight and then check the coolant level in the rad when dead cold.

Also, did you replace the rad cap?

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by Eslhockey92g

I understand complety. It is put on the right way. It does kick on for about 30 sec everytime the first time i start it up and drive. The only other time is when it hit the middle mark on the hot side. It did kick in once it went past the half way mark, but as soon as it got on the mark or very slighty past it, it shut off. I live about 30 min north of philly, So were having the same out side temps AJT for the most part. Mine is hardly on. SO possible bad fan clucth. But that wouldnt explain why it never did it before. I never had this problem even in heat, this hot and that was with a bad fan clutch, blown manifold gasket, And brown dexcool. Pending how much money i get for my birthday im gonna let a garage deal with it.

Don't give up just yet. Do like BlazerLT says, keep burping it. Check it in the morning while it is stone cold, before you start it.

You can also get a radiator Pump from Auto Zone (for free) and check for leaks and pressure drop. This will help to find/eliminate bad gaskets, head or intake.

You also said that the water was almost clear when you pulled the T-Stat. I think what you were saying (without knowing it) is that the water was not mixing with the Anti-freeze, which tells me that your water pump might not be pumping. This would seem to explain why it is o.k. at idle and overheats under a load. Can you tell if the coolant is circulating in the Radiator?

At high speeds, most fan clutches really don't do anything but spin along for the ride, the air passing through the rad at 60 MPH cools the rad.

[corning_d3]

I'm not seeing the signs of air in the system. Usually if there's air, you can rev the engine and the temp will drop. He has the opposite reaction. Also, you said that mostly water ran out of the engine when you put in the new t-stat, right? I'm leaning towards a bad/clogged waterpump also. BTW, how much RTV did you use on that intake gasket?? It's possible to block coolant flow if excess RTV gets into the coolant ports..