Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 01:33 pm, by: Mark Ribbans(V8gtsoarer)
Hi Guys,
About a month ago my car over heated twice in a week. I immediately pulled over, let the engine cool and added some coolant. Since then i the car is running fine but seems to using a bit of coolant (top up once a week) and the temp guage sits at about 1/4 when it used to sit at 1/2 all the time.
Just wondering if anyone had any ideas? I'm thinking it may be related to either my radiator cap or perhaps the thermostat? Where abouts is the thermostat found on a 1UZFE? Is it easy to get to?
I'll probably replace both when i do my serpentine belt shortly.
Finally, can anyone briefly explain the radiator setup in these cars? I just seem to fill up a plastic bottle at the top and not really know what happens below. Why is there a plastic bottle above the radiator? Thanks!
Probably it's better to pour the water into the tank itself. If you got a leak somewhere and not enough water in the radiator, the vacuum will draw air in through the leak, rather than the overflow bottle.
Perhaps your thermostat could be faulty too. I don't know exactly where it is. I've recently had a new toptank installed, and whole cooling system flushed. The guy told me it was 80% clogged hehe, just had slimy mud or some crap inside, he showed me. Still, the temp stayed at half mark, he was impressed with that. If it is seriously clogged though, it may be that there's no proper water flow through the block, and water is sitting still somewhere around the thermostat giving you a wrong reading, whereas in fact your engine is cooking. Best to get it fixed asap!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 02:08 pm, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
Mark, do you sometimes get a smell of glycol and lose coolant without knowing where it's going to? I say this because this happened to me and in the end it was the transmission coolant pipework that had the leak. As it was internal it just boiled off when the box got hot and boiled off through the vent, hence the smell. It wasn't long before I needed a transmission o/haul, very costly.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 02:20 pm, by: Mark Ribbans(V8gtsoarer)
Thanks Guys, I'm ordering parts now.
Peter i never even knew that bolt on top of the thermostat housing existed! (or even where the theromostats lived in these cars)
Dave, YES! I do have that glycol (coolant/overheating?) smell, noticed it just yesterday but wasnt sure where it was coming from. Please tell me more, this sounds serious!
Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 06:43 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
My V8 was losing coolant slowly - tried all the stuff mentioned above, but it turned out it was losing water from a the water pump transfer gasket. Changed the water pump while it was all apart even though it looked OK. Thats probably worst case though - hopefully your's is simpler and cheaper.
Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 07:17 am, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
Mark, I was losing coolant on a slow steady basis. Couldn't see where it was going, no signs anywhere. Didn't find out until I had my tranny checked out as it would really jump into 1st at take-off. Rusty parts inside the tranny showed it had been leaking and mixing in with the fluid then would boil off as the box warmed up and the fumes would come up from the vent. Had an external cooler fitted when the transmission was done; $3000 all up it cost me.
Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 11:08 am, by: Mark Ribbans(V8gtsoarer)
Thanks Matt, i'll check this out - hope it not the water pump either!
Dave, do you know how I can check if i have this problem? I had my transmission fluid changed about a year ago. I dont suppose there is any evidence on the tranny dipstick?
Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 11:20 am, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
Mark, if you're still losing coolant and you can't see any evidence of a leak anywhere then it's either into the engine or transmission. A transmission shop should be able to tell or advise. Be careful though because they may want the work and tell you anything. The thing is the coolant boils off in the box so you might be better off leaving the car for a while to see if coolant finds its way in then drain the box to check for evidence of coolant. I'm not sure where the vent is but you may be able to check and see, whilst the engine is running, if that's where the glycol smell is coming from.
Previous
