Ok guys if you all payed attention to my water pump faliure you will probably know that I bought a new one from Napa also a thermostat, both hoses upper and lower.


My car is working ok now but still the temp guage rises to half guage on a warm day around here. 100F I also switched water pump hosings since mine was a bit erroded my spare was in better shape so I tried that one and have coolant(with antifreeze in the proper ratio). The last thing I can think of that is fuked is the radiator which does look pretty bad I might admit so I am getting my spare and slapping it on there to see if that will cure this finally.


Things done so far: New pump, thermostat, hose, two new belts, dual pully, switched to another clutch fan from my parts car.

If anything else can be replaced can you all let me know.

Thanks,
Santiago

 

how do you mean the rad looks bad?

elaborate! your cooling will suck BAD if you rad does..

 

well I am guessing it is the original and the plastic covers are bad looking like old and there are many fins that have bent over the years. I tried correcting some of the fins but I will be doing that for like 6 or 7 hours if I want to do it right.

My spare looks better that it since the other car is an 88 and had about 4k less miles that mine.

This is what I am guessing was causing my previous problems because the new pump held off the heat for the normal temp. days like 80-90F but when it is hot my babe gets hella hot like if I was racing and I am not

Any thoughts?

 

any "water" stains on the rad at all? do the fins seem strong and clean? or brittle and dirty?

 

bent fins and perhaps clogged radiator would affect cooling. straightening out the fins and pressure-washing the radiator may help

 

there is a small stain where the wter level sensor goes so I guess that is leaking or needs a new O-ring when I was trying to fix the fins they moved easily so I am going to say they were soft. My hole car is usually dirty since I have a dirt driveway and south Texas is a dusty place to begin with What does that info about the fins mean?

 

if there is any stains on the fins, or the fins look brittle, its time for a new rad..

my cavalier has a bad rad.. there is some stains on the fins, and to the touch, the fins are weak..

my rx7 has a clean and strong rad though.. no stains on the fins, the fins are clean, and appear to be strong..

we had a western star truck at work, and it needed a new rad (badly)

after we removed the rad, i ran my fingers along the fins, and they all flaked right off thats how brittle they were.

 

Oh damn well I know that the fins did not have stains but they were easy to mess up. I guess I will compare it to the spare or start looking for a replacement that is affordable for the moment.

I remember hearing about a thermosensor what is that? is it the one on the bottom of the radiator? also there is a splug on the rear of the water pump housing what is that for? Damn I should have brought my Haynes to work.

 

Yeah I have run the Zerex coolant flush twice so I am guessing that most clogs are gone by now.

 

i wouldnt go purposely bending your fins to check.. just gently rub your finger across a section that alread has been bent.. GENTLY. see how it feels..

radiators (up here anyways) arent ridiculosly expensive.. the pain is changing it (and then having to flush the cooling again and crap.. lol..)

i wish i could get pics of my cavalier's radiator to show you..

but if there isnt any stains on the rad, then it should be ok..

take some compressed air, (not a TON of psi, but some) and blow out the rad.. if its dusty as you mentioned, there is probably debris in the rad fins that would hinder cooling.. blow it out a bit, see if it makes a difference..

 

I know that they are kinda soft and easy to bent because I tryied to straighten out some of the ones that got bent before with a knife. I will try the compressed air thing tommorow that is when I am checking all this out.

 

Don't forget you should not be using aftermarket thermostats, only OEM ones.

Aftermarket ones tend to be ones that fit, (and fit a dozen other cars besides a rotary powered one) but may not function as they should.

And you do have the upper and lower covers on that force the air flow through the rad and oil cooler right?

 

Hmm I guess I will need to go get one at the dealer I god a Napa thermo.

I do have all the covers in place and the fan shroud too.

Hey Mark what is that sensor called on the rear side of the water pump housing and on the bottom of the rad. ??

 

Bottom of the rad is the water temp for the ECU

And something else that occured, since you are using an aftermarket thermo, you do have it facing the right way, right?

 

ALWAYS use the stock thermostat. i wouldnt use anything other than an OEM thermo from all the horror stories i've read of overheating issues.. they usually involved "why isnt it staying cool? i got a new thermostat!"

 

I know I am suppossed to use Mazda thermo but I did not want to wait for it to come from an on-line vendor or go for a rapping at the local dealer.


Mark I am pretty sure I have it facing the correct way. I put it in the same way the other one was in. I hope that was the way it goes and it was not a different type or something.

I guess I am going to Mazda

 

worth a try.. how much does an OEM thermostat run you guys down there in TX?

 

Probably like 15 or 16 dollars to like 6 from Napa oh well my cheap *** is paying for it now.

Santiago

 

i would change the thermostat to an OEM one, and see if it makes a difference and take it from there.

 

Thanks guys


Santiago

 

Which way is the thremostat suppose to face on a rotory? Mine didn't have one so I installed a new aftermarket but it still overheats.