Topic: coolant problems

[Hockey1]

hi folks, new to the forum. quick question. i have a 90 yj 2.5. i just had a new water pump put on. the mechanic said that i should change the heater core cause the fluid was nasty. (just bought it, it had sat in storage for 2-3 years) i told him that it threw alotta heat.
well, drove it home in 15 degree weather ( 4-5 miles) freezing my ass off! it has no heat at all. the engine was really hot, like it had an air bubble. tried to burp it. nothing. reverse flushed the heater core back and forth till water ran clear. still no heat. im getting a new t-stat in the morning. what else should i look for, i even bypassed the heater core altogether, to see if it was blocked. still ran hot. im sure its something simple. sorry its so long.

[lanulos89]

try thermostat, now that you bypasses the heater core you will get absolutely no heat at all man.  report back what happens with new t stat

[Jesse-James]

Sounds like a stat to me too.

[Jeffy]

You need to make sure all of the vacuum lines going to the heater controls are working.  If not you don't you won't get any flow through the heater core.

[Erik]

have you put your hands on the hoses runnign to and from the heater core to see if coolant is actually flowing into the core?

[Hockey1]

the hoses feel warm but not hot. its going to get flushed in the morning at a radiator shop. its still about 15 degrees outside and i dont have access to a garage. im gonna have them flush out everything. i bought a 180 t-stat, do you think that will help at all with performance. or should i stick with 195?

[Jeffy]

Wait so what's the problem?  Is the engine overheating?  You say it runs hot, but what does that mean?  Is it getting up to operating temperature?  What does the temp gauge read is the big question?

What I'm now wondering is if it's cold enough to have the radiator too efficient at the temp.  If that's the thermostat won't help and could cause other problem to mask the existing one.  Might have to cover the grill to allow for the engine to heat up and be hot enough to run the heater.

[Tall Boy]

old trick is boil some water, put it in a container, and tie the thermostat to the end of the string and put the thermostat into the hot water and see if it is opening with the hot water after some ten minutes goes by. Take it back out of the water and let it cool to see if it is closing too.

[Hockey1]

sorry if i wasnt clear. it started with no heat. so i flushed the heater core, still no heat. thats when i noticed it was overheating, hissing, boiling noises, lots of steam. the gauge doesnt work so i dont know the temp. it seems like its blocked internally somewhere, maybe the new water pump is bad? if i let it idle for 5-10 minutes it gets HOT! i didnt know if it was the head gasket or what. guessing gets expensive!

[Tall Boy]

if your water pump is working,water will be flowing through the radiator. Take off the cap,turn the motor on and let the engine idle, when the thermo opens the coolant will flow through if there is proper circulation. Coolant will leak out the radiator fill mouth until the thermo opens though so do not be surprised to see it leaking for a little bit. It'll steam too. It should take around 15-25 minutes at idle for the coolant to flow though so have a smoke while you wait. It should flow from passenger side to driver side. milky oil will be a head gasket, and weird colored smoke.  the exhaust will smell different too.

[Hockey1]

well i took it to a radiator shop where they flushed everything. found the problem. cracked block! he said that there was pipe dope filling it in. i know this sounds crazy, but i only put less than 50 miles on it since june. that was getting it back and forth to the garage. he said he didnt notice it till after the flush.

i can honestly see me going to jail, if i had the guy i bought this from in front of me , i would wig out!
 so if anyone is interested in buying it let me know. i dont have the money for an engine swap.

[Tall Boy]

Ouch. Small claims court can get up to $5,000 in California. Do it.

[chardrc]

he said that there was pipe dope filling it in.

whats a pipe dope filling?.. im probably just being stupid in asking this but im curious.


ouch  that sucks... if it was a few months down the road i might have been swamping out my motor anyways and i could give it to you... but im not there yet.

[chardrc]

ow i see. its that stuff used to make stuff leak free.. that cheap son of a.....

[Hockey1]

i gave it some thought and im thinking of selling the ax-5. and just saving up for a 6 cylinder. with a matching tranny. im just physically ill thinking about this.
all i know is that i live in a very small town, ill see him eventually!