festiva overheating after 15 miles

[miami man]

my 91 has some engine problems and has a major oil leak so am going to have to decide on an aspire engine swap or repair the old engine. a 1,000 repair job vs a used low milage moter in your case and mine it is buying water pump timming belt and oil seals and putting it on a worn out moter. could buy a aspire moter with 67,000 miles on it for about 220.00 with a 60 day warenty on the moter itself.

[mrstan]

Festiva cooling issues

Hi again guys!
My Festive is a 92' with the stock 4 cylinders and stuff in it. It is a manual 5 speed. I found that the engine drips water from the passenger side of the engine on the ground. I believe that it is a water pump. Any thoughts on that? I thought it was a head gasket before with it overheating and stuff. What do you guys think? The car runs fine until it is low on water and then overheats. I put more water in the radiator, and it goes back down and the fan turns off... Do you guys think it might be a cracked engine though? I will buy a water pump and try that.. I can not say that I have seen the water-pump drip so much water though before. It is not pouring out, but is dripping at a quick rate.. and as long as the cap is on the radiator.. if it is off, it seems to not drip (I guess from there being less pressure).
Thanks for any input you guys might have on this matter.
Thanks!
Stan :?

[b3 madness]

Mrstan,

You started this thread over a year ago and have not taken the time to do the water pump yet? If you continue to drive while losing coolant then you will be in for more costly repairs down the road. Fix it now before it is too late.

[Dave G]

Still driving after a year of this stuff? Does that mean it's not leaking very much? Try some stop-leak - might work...

[philiow313]

Replace the water pump now. I'd also recommend a compression check. Overheating and cooling down repeatedly will most definetly cause a warped head, if not cracks or blown headgasket.

Think of it this way... if you take a glass full of ice water, and pour it into a empty glass hot from the microwave, what will happen? The hot glass will probably break. Think of that hot glass as your engine when you pour cold water into a hot engine like that, over and over.

Fix it now before it becomes a bigger problem.

[gottafesty]

I found that the engine drips water from the passenger side of the engine on the ground. I believe that it is a water pump. Any thoughts on that?

:scratch:
Like the others said. You are abusing the engine by overheating and then cooling so often. Change the water pump and I hope you didn't warp the head (or worse) in the process.

[gottafesty]

Still driving after a year of this stuff? Does that mean it's not leaking very much?

In his first post he said

My Festiva is overheating after only 15 miles.

I can't believe he's been adding water every 15 miles for a year. :shock:

[mrstan]

Hi Guys,
No.. have not been driving for a year in it. I put it on hold for the greater part of the year. The water seems to rain out of hte pully end of the motor where the water pump is at. I only start it up to see where the water is coming out of. I just bought a water pump to put in it because I think that is the culprit. I also bought a timing belt to put in at the same time since I will have the case open. I do not think the timing belt has been replaced before, and it has 150000 miles now.
I have not been driving my festiva this year though because I was thinking it was a cracked head making it overheat. Now I am thinking it is just a water pump though after reading the posts in here and seeing the symptoms that you guys have described.

Now I hjave the pump, and just need the time to puyt the crazy thing in. One questions though for you guys...
If the waterpump is dripping lots of water out of it onto the ground, could it be possible for the water stuff to get into the oil then? I am not sure what is under the timing belt cover yet, and thought I might get a good opinion from you guys!
Thanks!
Stan Skaggs

[Dave G]

Still driving after a year of this stuff? Does that mean it's not leaking very much?

In his first post he said

My Festiva is overheating after only 15 miles.

I can't believe he's been adding water every 15 miles for a year. :shock:

Doh! Never mind :roll:

[philiow313]

Hey Stan. Water should not normally get into the oil from a leaking water pump.

Do amke sure to get as best of a 50/50 water coolant mixture when you fill her back up, and check your timing pulleys for looseness or noise when you are in there. It'd be a good idea to replace them while you are in there.

[gottafesty]

If the water is dripping out the weep hole then it shouldn't be in the oil. I haven't had my water pump off so I don't know what the gasket is like. You can run the engine for a couple of minutes and then check the oil. If it's creamy then it has water in it. Also, you could just change the oil and examine it that way. If you get 6 quarts of liquid out of the engine then you've probably got water in the oil.

[gottafesty]

btw, I'm glad you haven't been driving. Sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion.