Maybe overheating? Kinda stumped.

[Komzorz]

So I replaced the water pump, thermostat, and all hoses when I did the timing belt. Bled the system, no leaks, it was still overheating. Had a bum fan clutch, so I replaced that too.

It was fine for a while, but it ran at one tick past upright on the gauge. Then the gauge started flicking around so I went under the hood and the new belts had gotten a little loose so I tightened those.

The gauge has been flicking around more since I pulled the cluster to change the SI board. But it didn't really flicker after I tightened the belts, it just went from cold all the way to red and pegged. My left radiator hose is kinda cold / cool while the other two on the right get pretty darn warm.

The engine drives fine. Do they normally ping or do something when they're getting too hot? It seems kinda impossible that my system can still be overheating. I just went and opened the bleeder screw again and got nothing but water out of it. It's filled up properly.

Any help? This is my only car right now and I"m kinda worried. How can I confirm if the car is okay or not?

[jlevie]

You could have a problem in the gauge, cluster or coolant temp sensor/wiring. The first thing to do is to get an independent measurement of engine temperature off the thermostat housing. The easiest way to to that is with a good quality IR meter.

[Komzorz]

That's a good idea. I can put my hand on the housing and keep it there while the engine is running. It's pretty warm but it's not burning my hand. Is that a good sign?

[Komzorz]

Coolant light came on less than a mile from my house, got here and parked it. Coolant gushing from some place in the front of the motor.

Apparently, something is wrong. I have no idea at this point. I have no car.

[b*saint]

Possible air bubble in front of the thermostat or bad thermostat??

[KenC]

Well first point is pin pointing the leak. These cooling systems aren't complicated so it should be easy to get you in the right direction.

[Komzorz]

Okay I went back out there after I brought all my stuff in. It appears to still be dripping from the left lower hose at the radiator. The right side is much drier so I think that's where the leak came from.

I checked my oil and didn't see any milkshake at all. Do synthetics still do the milkshake? Also I wasn't smoking so I think the motor is fine.

At this point I think my radiator is clogged, because that's the only part of the system I haven't replaced. Is the lower left radiator hole where the water goes in or comes out?

[Komzorz]

Pulled the radiator. I was under the impression that it might have been difficult to do with the hood on, but it was actually very easy.

Turns out one of the pulleys gouged a hole in the lower hose when I took it around the corner, so it probably was just a little too long.

That doesn't solve the overheating issue though, I'm going to try and run a bunch of water through the radiator tonight and see what comes out of it.

[DaveSmed]

Double check your motor mounts, they can cause the PS pulley to eat up lower rad hoses.