levi

I have a 1998 GSR that I did an engine swap after my last one sucked up some water, I took it for test drive a few days ago and noticed that it started to overheat. The next day I changed the thermostat as a 1st step. Same problem, the car can start and sit for like 15 minutes the temp gets to 50% fans kick in everything looks good, as soon as I start driving the temps start to creep up and get to maximum, the last time I seen the temp start to rise I accelerated and noticed right away the temps dropping back down to normal, but as soon as I started to slow down again the temps stared to raise back to max!
I have a Mishimoto rad that I picked up 2 years ago so I don’t think it’s the rad, it seen less than 10,000km before the engine blew, I looked to see if I see any bubbles coming into the rad and I see none, at this point I’m wondering if it’s the water pump or if in fact the rad is bad or faulty cap? Also the GSR came with 2 rad fans but I’m running the car with only one, could that be the problem? Another note, due to mice making a nest in the interior blower fan inside the car, I removed it and at this point I don’t have a fan, but I made sure that I turn the temperature gauge to hot and the interior heater core does get hot so I don’t think its an air pocket.
I’m clutching at straws, any help would be appreciated.

Spike

iTrader: (5)

Check your rad hoses to see if they get hot. because once the thermostat opens, the lower hose should become hot. The second fan is for the A/C when it's turned on. It's very well could be the rad not flowing at all.

Having the blower motor out will not do anything except not blow air into the interior.

levi

The lower hose after about 5 min of running starts to get hot, after the thermostat opens.

Spike

iTrader: (5)

That's good, because if it was not getting hot, the thermostat would be sticking. I've had a brand new OEM one do that on me last year.

It could be your water pump but there is no real way of checking, except for leaks.

D.T.P

iTrader: (3)

Rad cap should be pressure tested. Or if you have an extra one laying around try it.

levi

I got another rad cap same problem...I did another test and after about 10 minutes of diving again it would creep up and overheat, I pulled over popped the hood and just left the car on to see if it will cool off, the fan was on for about 5 minutes and the temp was still in the upper portion just about reaching max. I also noticed that the AC condenser that is in front of the rad is just caked, I wondering if this is blocking air from flowing over the rad, I'm going to remove it today and see if that helps any, after that I'm going to replace the temp gauge sensor, Uhhhh......

levi

OK quick update, I pulled out the rad and drained it.. after I took off the cap I found this gunk all in the rad pictures attached.. what the hell is this??? I'm 100% sure the rad is covered in this.. I also assume that this crap is in the coolant that is in the engine, can I flush out the coolant from the engine somehow to get rid of all this carp??

Spike

iTrader: (5)

Yes that will most likely be all throw out the engine. To flush it out, pull the upper and lower rad hoses from the rad, and use a hose and put into the upper rad hose and turn on the water to flush all the crap out. You will need to remover the thermostat to do this tho.

Use something to catch all the old coolant that you can seal up and then bring to a shop for them to get rid of it, don't poor it down the drain or sewer.

levi

So the car is up and running.. finally after 2 years, I did a rad flush ran the car for 15 min drained it, flushed it again and then put in 50/50 mix, the rad must have been just caked inside. Thanks for all the tips.

Spike

iTrader: (5)

Glad to hear it's all fixed now.