Tuesday, January 03, 2012 - 02:43 pm, by: Alistair Moorby(Aldmo87)
Hi guys,
Just picked up a Soarer TT for $6000.
Getting everything done like suspension bushes, drive belt, new wheels, AC compressor.
Now the car is overheating a little bit.
So it gets up to temp OK in about 4 mins but then after about 15 mins of driving the temp starts to creep up above the half way point, the highest it has been is 2 notches up.
My mechanic has already changed the thermostat, not sure what to do next. I am bringing it to the mechanic tonight.
He wants to check out the fan on it. Make sure it is spinning faster when the engine spins faster.
Apprantly the last owner had a radiator flush and they told him the reason the guage was up a little was due to an air bubble.
Any ideas what to do next?
New radiator or just a flush?
Happy to replace the radiator and waterpump it's just the parts are so hard to come by.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012 - 02:49 pm, by: Aiden Cheese(Chillpen)
Get the cores cleaned. It cost me about 65 dollars from red devil and I went from overheating on slight inclines to never seeing the bar move again even going up 20-30 degree hills in the middle of a summers day at 25km/h (high rpm slow air flow).
The cores were 55% clogged said red devil, and i've never see my temp bar go up since.
I'd dare say that yours will be similar.
A flush doesn't do jack really unless you do it often.
I took the radiator out myself and used my charade to take it to them before work and picked it up at lunch time.
Edit: It could be other things, but if you're not leaking fluid, i'd bet it's your cores and they're pretty cheap to clean.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012 - 08:53 pm, by: James Tims(Timzy)
Mate I had a similar issue to you not to long ago, had the radiator flushed etc changed everything but the radiator and it didn't do anything. These radiators have been in these cars for 15 plus years, I ended up replacing mine, cost me $220 brand new from a radiator guy in Brunswick that cut open the top of my old radiator and showed me how clogged up it really was. Save yourself the time and effort and trust me just buy a brand new radiator fully installed. You won't regret it and it will never creep over half way again
Tuesday, January 03, 2012 - 09:08 pm, by: Alistair Moorby(Aldmo87)
Thanks James, I might do that if it's only $220.
Do you remember the name of the place in Brunswick?
Might just pick one up and get my mech to install it, seeing as he is also doing the timing belt etc.
Did this guy happen to stock water pumps as well? Just thinking it would be good to get the entire cooling system done at once, that was I don't have to worry about it.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 11:43 am, by: James Tims(Timzy)
Come to think of it, the guy was my mate's father, but I'm sure he won't slug you for too much more, just tell him that your a friend of mine and he'll remember the car and he definitely won't slug you, most likely will charge you the same (I hope), the price included installation. He didn't do water pumps I don't think purely just radiators.
He doesn't speak the best english, but best bet is to give him a call, bring your car down and speak with him. If you can speak Turkish that's a bonus but if not no stress
Did an excellent job on mine and yeah Danny I told you about this when I got it done, I texted you remember
The name of the place is - Serkan Radiator 213 Sydney Road, Coburg VIC 3058
Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 07:56 pm, by: Daniel Clarke(Dieseltrain)
Most likely radiator . Drop in a new one and all should be goood .
As for the fan , the soarers are designed that if the clutch fan fails it actually locks up so it will be noisy but flow alot of air as it wont spin frely when it revs , a good safety feature that will never leave you on the side of the road
Friday, January 06, 2012 - 07:16 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Water pump could be on the way out too? Usually they start leaking before they get to the point where they aren't shifting water around properly, but not always.
Friday, January 06, 2012 - 02:14 pm, by: Gary Rollason(Garyr)
If you're getting your mechanic to do the timing belt make sure you replace the water pump as well. You need to take it off to replace the belt so may as well replace it at the same time.
Sunday, January 08, 2012 - 05:13 pm, by: James Tims(Timzy)
The guy I recommended Alistair will check your old radiator firstly and if it looks like it can be fixed he will put it into acid to completely clean it out. I'm telling you check him out He took mine out first and showed me it and I had the option of dipping it into acid, but it looked pretty clogged up so just paid the extra and got a brand new one. Best decision I've made on this car yet
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 08:01 am, by: Alistair Moorby(Aldmo87)
I dropped it off this morning to that guy you recommended.
Not sure its the radiator anymore, it overheated on the way, I pulled over and the fan wasn't spinning faster or anything. Tried revvin the car from the throttle cable and the fan stayed at the same speed.
Is it supposed to go faster when the car gets hot? Or does it just stay at the same speed all day long?
He is changing the coolant to red aswell (got the cheap green at the moment)
Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 04:49 pm, by: James Tims(Timzy)
Yeah mate no probs absolutely top guy! Make sure you put the red in ASAP, get some from Autobarn or wherever and premix it yourself, you end up getting more bang for buck. He told me run it with water for 3 days and then after that disconnect the top hose and flush it through with water followed by the red coolant.
Red coolant is the best one, it copes better with our engines and toyota's oem one is also red.
Glad you got it done and he saved you a fair bit as well by the sounds of it
Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 11:50 pm, by: David Ward(Djwtoyota)
Hi Alistair, I think you'll find that the general consensus is to use the genuine Toyota long life red coolant not just any red coolant. The colour doesn't really matter it is what the product is that matters. The genuine toyota product (Red long life) is dearer but far better for the future life of your engine and cooling system and its cooling efficiency. It's also highly important to mix it to the correct concentration as well.