Ok guys, here we go. So recently my car had been acting up. I start her up let her idle or drive around and everything is fine. Even extensive drives and no heating issue? But when I climb any kind of mild hill or bigger my temp gauge gets up to 3/4's and then I get to the top of the hill and it goes back down. I have not let my car overheat. EVER. I just recently got a second job as a delivery driver and I need to get this fixed asap because the area I will be delivering is full of hills. I dot have money to replace things if I'm not sure. I've already changed my thermostat and led my coolant several times because coolant light was on. Now the light doesn't ce on and hasn't for awhile. My coolant level stays the same. There is no oil in I and no coolant in my oil so I don't think it could be a seal. So maybe clogged rad or water pump? I have a t2 rad I could throw in. My car is an 86 na. It should bolt right in correct?

Either way could anyone with any ideas to why my car Is getting really hot on hills let me know. Any ideas will help.
Thanks guys

 

It is possible that your t stat is not working proper maybe take it out and see what happens if it runs cool then replace it ,.. just make sure that it is the correct one .. Won't cost anything to try just a gasket .. You could check the t stat in hot water to make sure it is opening all the way ..

 

Still running the stock fan/thermoclutch?

If so, I'd guess the thermoclutch is bad and the fan no longer spins up as it should.
You'd be fine at idle and just grannying around because you're not stressing the engine and there's movement-induced airflow.
Ask more from the engine however and a bad clutch won't provide the extra CFM needed to cope.

The fact that the temp drops as soon as the load is reduced would indicate that the cooling loop itself is fine, it's the added help of the fan that's not present.

 

see that's the weird thing. I hear the fan kick on and it moves a lot of air when it does. Always kicks on during a cold start. Hmmm my car did stop going up to 3k rpm and now just goes to 1500 until it gets warm? Could this have anything to Do with it. Is there anyway to check? I think I'm just going to pick up this Godspeed rad with a 2 Spd Taurus fan on it and just get rid of the clutchfan altogether.

 

Do u have the two filler caps for you coolant

 

Not to aound dumb but I honestly though I only had one where my rad cap was? Where is the other and what could not having it cause?

 

do you mean a rad cap cuz if so my radiator doesn't have one?

 

Ok guys I have some more info. I popped my filler cap off and watched the coolant from cold start til it got warmer and the coolant got to the top of the filler
neck and I put the cap back on. No bubbles. But it also doesn't look like
the coolant is moving or if it is it's not going very fast. I then proceeded to take a drive. It's only 50 degrees. My cars temp was a tiny bit over half on the gauge and it seemed to go down when moving about 30-40 but
notucj. At stops it would go back up. Now it's idling a little above a 1/4? Couldy thermostat be sticking or fan be working intermitently? I've been letting her idle for ten minutes and it's staying steady jus above a 1/4. Thanks for any help guys I really need it. This isy daily driver

 

I'm moving towards plugged radiator.
How often do you change your coolant?

Test your fan too though, just to be sure.

Warm the engine up. Go out and romp on it and get the needle to halfway up. Then turn the engine off and open the hood. Try and turn the fan. Resistance should be high.

Go driving and let the engine cool off... Then shut it down and try spinning the fan. Resistance should be much lower.

 

I got the car at 73000 miles and have changed the coolant twice. I'm at 80000 miles now.
Ok so you want me to start it leave it in park and rev up to 4k then shut it off?

 

No... I want you to pull over and shut it down when the temp gauge gets to halfway up... Immediately go under the hood and attempt to rotate the fan.