1992 Festiva Overheating

[Kirk33]

Hi - My Festy runs very warm even after a 15 min trip and always the fan is running by the time I stop. On long runs I have to reduce speed to around 70kph just to keep the temp needle out of the red.
I have removed the thermostat (which was not corroded at all), flushed the rad several times, checked the pump which seems ok and made sure air passes through the rad ok. The car has only 120,000 on the clock and is in good condition generally.
I am baffled by this am concerned that continual hot running will cause damage to seals or other expensive repair jobs. Does anyone know whether this is a common problem and if so what is a likely cure?
Many thanks
Kirk33

[doylerl]

Your sensor may be bad. It tells the gauge what to read. They are less than $10 at advance auto.

[Kirk33]

Yes that's a fair point - but, on a couple of occasions when I've been climbing long hills, the gauge has edged into the red and when I stop I can hear the gurgling in the pipes, indicating that all is not well...

[Papabug]

I suggest you stop driving it before you warp the head. Is the fan on when it's "gurgling?" Are your belts tight? Remove the radiator cap and start the car, since you removed the thermostat the coolant will/should circulate constantly. Carefully look in the radiator and see if it is.

[Kirk33]

Yes the fan is on when it's gurgling - but it's only done that twice during long hauls up hill. After every trip I have taken to sitting in the car for a couple of minutes to allow the fan to finish its job, and I always slow down or stop if it is getting very hot which is why nothing has blown yet. As long as I don't go over 60kph i can drive all day, but it takes a long time to get anywhere! Have checked the circulation as you suggested and there is good water flow from the right (where the top hose joins). All belts are tight. Wondering if there could be some kind of localised blockage near the sensor? Unfortunately I use the car every day for work so can't afford to take off the road. I'm loathed to take it to a garage who mightset about replacing the cooling system bit by bit at great expense until it is cured!

[JohnGunn]

I suggest you stop driving it before you warp the head. Is the fan on when it's "gurgling?" Are your belts tight? Remove the radiator cap and start the car, since you removed the thermostat the coolant will/should circulate constantly. Carefully look in the radiator and see if it is.

I would agree with Papabug. If at all possible stop driving it. The cost of not doing so may not be immediately evident, but in time it will cost you more that you can imagine now.

Here are some mechanical things you can do to immediately improve the cooling of your engine.
1. Remove the grille. Every little bit of extra air is important.
2. Clean all the grease off of the engine, particularly the side of the engine that faces the front. The radiator is offset to the left to allow freest passage of air to that part of the engine. That's not likely to be the result of accident. Clean it down to bare metal, or paint in the case of the oil pan. That coating of oil and dirt works just like a thermal blanket around a hot water heater. Not what you want your car to become.
3. See if spraying brake kleen through the radiator fins shows that it is removing dirt from them and do the whole radiator if it does.

Other ideas:
1. Check the timing of your engine. If too retarded it would cause your engine to work against itself and increase wasted energy in the form of heat.
2. I have heard several people on this site say that replacing the radiator, even with a used one in good condition, has made a dramatic improvement in the efficiency of the cooling system.
3. How is your mileage? I've heard tell of blocked cats, which I suppose could cause heat build up. But the 120,000 you mention for the car, even if in miles, would say that this is not likely to be the problem.
4. Replace the coolant with the best that Prestone makes, unless you have recently done that.
5. Rear wheels rotating easily?
6. Front pads dragging, because of stuck calipers?
7. Oxygen sensor reporting fuel/air ratio correctly. Any sign of black powder in tail pipe?

All this being said, I still believe that a properly functioning cooling system should be able to handle the amount of heat generated under all normal driving conditions. That would suggest to me making sure the cooling system is clean and open, that the water pump is working properly, that the thermostat is in good condition, and that the fan comes on and goes off at the proper temperatures. Most of your attention should be given to these items.

Second thought:
Coolant flow through the radiator must be at least doubled by removing the thermostat. That suggests there is a "major" blockage in the flow of coolant somewhere else in the system.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA