I'm much better at filling radiators now since i blew a headgasket or 2 being impatient and not getting enough coolant in the system.

Hey Ddgonzal,
Yeah I stated that backwards. What I meant anyway is that there is a leak between the two systems. I've printed out the tech article on changing the HG - thanks! Also got a few manuals.

By the way the shop did a pressure check on the cooling system and foudn that the radiator cap is very leaky. He said that was probably a good thing otherwise the leak could have gotten worse. Not sure if that's right or not. So at some poitn I need to replace the cap. I think he also added the dye to the coolant and checked for other leaks but didn't find any.

As for the fan/radiator business. I wouldn't mind adding a fan, not replacing the stock one. I'm not sure if one can fit in front of the radiator or not. The problem is I sit in traffic a lot and the stock fan just doesn't provide enough cooling alone, especially at idle. Also, a second fan would add to the coolness factor right? LOL

Oh and trust me, from now on I will be keeping a much closer check on the coolant level. And thanks for the tips B210sleeper. I'll try that when it's all ready to go again.
Michael

Electric fans won't automatically solve overheating if you don't have any coolant, a 3 row radiator won't help either if there's no coolant. I have both, when things work properly, the car stays cool ( at the middle or slightly higher all the time )

I've done this to make sure the radiator is filled enough...
Fill radiator body till water covers the tubes.
Start car with radiator cap off, let engine warm up, water starts flowing in radiator, rev engine a bit... add a bit more to cover tubes. close radiator cap, make sure the overflow tank is 1/2 filled. Rev engine a bit more. Turn car off. Let it sit (wait for it to cool off, with out electric fan this takes a while). This is when it sucks up water from the overflow tank. Do that a couple times and the engine should have enough coolant. It's important tocheck the level of the overflow tank when the engine's warmed up, otherwise you might overflow it when the engine heats up.


I haven't had to bleed the engine block.

Quote:Actually it means just the opposite -- combustion products are leaking into the cooling system. Yes, head gasket problem.

Just remove the head, scrap both surfaces absolutely clean, double-check the head for flatness (they almost never require milling) and put a new gasket back on. See Changing Head Gasket.

Quote:It will be easier to tell when the engine is still together. Do a compression check, but more importantly a cooling system pressure test. While the cooling system is pumped up to 14 lbs, listen for the leak and pinpoint its location. Put a hose to your ear and move the other end into the valve cover, into the intake and exhaust. Also check out the intake manifold cooling passages i.e. coolant goes through the intake gasket (and so does hydrocarbons).

Quote:The most reliable system by far is the stock fan. If it fails, the charge lamp on the dash lights. If you don't have the fan shroud, get one off the wreckers. This system cools better than most electric fans.

Quote:Sorry to say this is a pipe dream. The best advice may be: don't let the coolant level drop ... and keep your eye on the temp gauge just as you frequently check the rear-view mirro. if the temperature rises unexpectedly, pull over before it overheats (boils over).

Quote:Many hours/cooling cycles. My experience is that it's usually the next day, after two trips. I once drove 125 miles before the level dropped and the temp spiked. So we pulled over, let it cool off then topped it off.

Quote:The right and left sides of the car as always relative to how you sit in the car. Sit in the drivers seats. The left-hand side of the engine will be on your left hand. The block drain plug is below the intake manifold, seemingly high up on the block.

Update:

Maybe I shoudl have left the thermostat alone. I have a feeling it was stuck open on purpose so the car would run extremely cool. Since replacing the tstat the car overheated pretty bad and now isn't holding coolant. Took it to a shop and they said the coolant is heavily contaminated with hydrocarbons meaning the cooling system is leaking into one of the combustion chambers, meaning blown head gasket or cracked head I suppose. I'm guess the previous owner knew about this which is why the tstat was stuck open. Damnit!!! SO it's time to pull the head and figure out what the probem really is. I sure hope it's jsut the gasket!!

So by the way, anyone know of a good electric fan swap and/or radiator upgrade? I never want to have an overheating problem again once this is fixed. Being in TX it doesn't take much to overheat. Thanks,
Michael

Thanks guys. By the way, I drove it in to work this morning and it runs much better now that the thermostat is closing when it's cold. A couple of weeks ago it didn't even get above 160 for most of the way to work which probably isn't good for the engine. I wonder if my milage will go up at all now that it's running at the right temp all the time? I guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks. At this point I'm getting about 28-29mpg with about 30% highway driving. I'd like to get over 30mpg at some point. Damn I wish I had a 5-speed!!!!
michael

Quote:It's perfect -- assuming you bought a 180 degree thermostat. They are available in 160, 180, 195, etc temperatures. 180 is probably the best for a street car, as oil is designed to work best at this temp. 160 is better for hp (assuming you retune the carb jets, etc), while 195 requires a high-pressure cap which might cause the cooling system to leak.

The temp sensor in your a12 is beside the thermostat housing, right on the cylinder head,sticks out the right hand side, with one yellow wire on it. I'm pretty sure it's yellow anyway.
-Donnie

Hi Donnie,
Thanks for your help. The thermostat I bought has a little hole built into it for that purpose I guess. After driving it several times I'm convinced that it's full due to the fact that I didn't drain the block after flushing it. I think I'll remove some of the coolant and add antifreeze without water to get the mixture ratio back. Oh and thanks for the info on the drain plug. I'll use it next time! At some point I'll go through my manuals to find where the temp sensor is. It's got to at least be in the FSM.
Michael