Overheating festy

[perucho]

^ how do you fill the heater core first? I'd like to do that, just in case, when I replace the radiator this weekend.

[Lil-Red]

I removed one of the hoses... it was the closest to the dist. then i used the hose going to the maniold and filled that one also. I just looked and i think that is the way i did it. from what i understood from the guy, it was that the pump couldnt keep up with filling the core and cycling thru the engine. Maybe my pump is going bad, but no leaks, and no overheating. Like I said, i had to do this with my Ranger...it drove me nuts until i was told to do this. Hope it pans out

Brian

[TominMO]

Took the radiator cap off, started the car, saw the coolant moving. As I reved the engine, the fluid raised and then slowly drained down the radiator. I'm assuming the pump is working properly and that the radiator is clogged. Since the car overheated before and there used to be oil in the coolant, I'm sure it will need a new head gasket shortly. I hoping to swap the engine before I have to do that. Anyway, I'll replace the radiator and see how that goes.

Right; if the pump was not working, the coolant in the rad would just stay there and not get hot enough to expand out the filler hole. New rad and dealer thermostat are in order. New hoses too of course, including heater hoses, and filler cap; keep the old parts as spares. If you get the new rad, make sure it's a dual-core one for the automatics, as they cool more. Especially since you are going to do a swap.

BTW there is no need at all for a cooling fan on a radiator, except when the engine is idling for awhile. If the car is moving at 10 MPH or more, there is plenty of airflow across the rad to cool the coolant. I drove a Subaru for years without a fan (it had a new radiator with 50/50 coolant/distilled water in it). If I had to idle for a significant time, like ten minutes, I just shut the motor off. I took the fan off because it gave greater access to the front of the motor. I could change both timing belts in about 1/2 hour this way,for example.

[TominMO]

^ how do you fill the heater core first? I'd like to do that, just in case, when I replace the radiator this weekend.

There should not be any need to "fill the heater core first". Just do this:
park the car so the rad filler opening is uphill, i.e. the highest point in the cooling system;
with the engine off (and cold), take off the filler cap and fill the rad as much as possible;
turn the heat selector on the dash from cold to hot;
turn on the motor to circulate the coolant;
keep adding coolant, since it will go down. Shut off if it starts coming out,but I don't think it will until it's full. Possibly you may have to repeat if it gets too warm too soon.

Having the rad filler opening uphill will act to get bubbles out of the system, very important.

[TominMO]

I had the same issue when i put my stock engine back in. I had to fill the heater core with anti-freeze first, then procede to fill the rest of the system. Funny, but I had an 84 Ranger that needed the same thing done. One mechanic told me that it needed to be "primed". I thought that a pump would pump, but I guess not.

The easy way to prime the pump, which simply means putting coolant in it so it has something to pump when you start the motor, is to do this:
Attach a radiator hose to the pump. The other end is not connected to the radiator. Pour coolant into the hose. Pump is primed. But I have to say, that when I stuck a new water pump on my old Subaru, I didn't need to take any special steps to prime the water pump; just poured coolant into the rad and that took care of it. But it's something to be aware of, if you find the coolant is not circulating.

Priming also needs to be done for the oil pump when building a new engine or putting in a new oil pump, since it will be dry.

[pwgus]

jesus....this has gotten complicated!

[Lil-Red]

^^^ naw, just seems that way. i just like to see my self type

[perucho]

Ok, I went to the JY today and found a 90 L automatic so I took the radiator with me. It is an all brass aftermarket radiator and looks fairly new and clean. Replaced the one on my Festy and what a difference! Even when I was cleaning it water was flowing much better than the older one. Oce I installed it and started the engine I could actually see the coolant moving in the radiator fairly fast. Now I need to get a thermostat. One down, many more to go.

[TominMO]

Ok, I went to the JY today and found a 90 L automatic so I took the radiator with me. It is an all brass aftermarket radiator and looks fairly new and clean. Replaced the one on my Festy and what a difference! Even when I was cleaning it water was flowing much better than the older one. Oce I installed it and started the engine I could actually see the coolant moving in the radiator fairly fast. Now I need to get a thermostat. One down, many more to go.

An excellent happy ending!

[perucho]

I took the car for an hour drive this morning and the water temperature barely got to the bottom of the normal range. I definitely need to get a thermostat but at least no more overheating. By the way, when I filled the radiator, the only thing I made sure was to have the front of the car higher than the back on my sloped driveway.

[TominMO]

I took the car for an hour drive this morning and the water temperature barely got to the bottom of the normal range. I definitely need to get a thermostat but at least no more overheating. By the way, when I filled the radiator, the only thing I made sure was to have the front of the car higher than the back on my sloped driveway.

That's good. Did you have your heater on too, to make sure it circulated there?

It's not uncommon for the temp to be where you see it on the gauge. I replaced my non-tach cluster, which had a temp gauge reading just like yours, with a tach cluster, and the temp moved up to just below halfway.

[perucho]

That's good. Did you have your heater on too, to make sure it circulated there?

It's not uncommon for the temp to be where you see it on the gauge. I replaced my non-tach cluster, which had a temp gauge reading just like yours, with a tach cluster, and the temp moved up to just below halfway.

Yes, I also turned the heater on and started the car, topped off the fluid, and put the 13 psi cap on the radiator.
The gauge cluster I have now is the orange-number tach cluster from an LX. I also replaced the face on the heater/air controls to match the orange lettering.
I'm not too worried about the thermostat now since it's still fairly warm (today was 98 deg F), but want to get one before it starts to cool down.

[TominMO]

Sounds like you're on the ball.