Overheating Problems

[dwillms]

I'm having overheating problems with the 86 ex-i I just purchased. Fans are on, changed thermostat and gasket, flushed and refilled coolant. Coolant looks fine, no oil in it. Coolant doesn't seem to be circulating, rad cap never gets warm, etc. Would it be water pump or rad? Thanks for the help,

-Dustin

[Vinny]

have the system pressure tested to make sure the system is holding pressure. Check the cap as well. 18 year old caps dont hold pressure like they should for sone strange reason.

['A20A3']

It's either the cap or your water pump.

[86LXItooFAST4me]

not having the cooling system air bled wont make it hot will it? i know our systems are pressurises. if its F.I. you might wanna try resetting your ECU as well. there is a hole on your water pump by the pully to check and see if its bad, there isnt any water coming out from there is there?

[shepherd79]

resetting ECU won't do crap.
since you changed almost everything, you have left with two possible choices.
radiator cap (should be cheap at any autoparts store) or water pump (not very expensive if you go with generic brand).
some people on this board had problems with generic brand water pump. they say they had to replace is after 15-30K miles. i had and have generic water pump and i never had any problems, and it has over 60k on it.

[86LXItooFAST4me]

resetting ECU won't do crap.

lol, i didnt think it would. i was thinking of the sensors with the fans and what not. MYBAD

[dwillms]

All the fan wiring was rigged together by the guy I bought the car from, but fans run, so I know that's not the issue. I'm thinking water pump, could it be the rad cap? I always thought if the rad cap was shot, it just wouldn't hold any pressure and would leak coolant out the top of the rad, but I guess it could just release pressure and not let the coolant circulate.

Could it possibly be any sensors at all? I also bled air out when I refilled the coolant, so that's not the issue.

-Dustin

[86LXItooFAST4me]

try just replacing your cap and go from there. they are only $5-15 bucks so either way you cannt go wrong. you probly need a new one anyway. they go bad all the time.

[nswst8]

I have a Autozone RAD CAP on mine. its only a few bucks at most. "CST 13lb"
A bad cap can cause overheating problems that can be very costly. Change that cap.

[justin89]

vinny is right you should have your cooling system checked.this way you are able to know if you have a leak or not.oh,and while the car is running look at the tailpipe to see if steam is coming out of it.you should be able to get close enough to smell the exhaust.if it has a sweet smell to it that means that you are burning the coolant, which means possibly blown headgasket.

[accordlxi2.0]

plus air in the system is'nt good either.