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by Ruh Roh on October 16th, 2008
Antifreeze needs to be changed and your radiator flushed every year or so. also the overflow bottle needs to be filled to the line on the bottle. Have you already done these 3 things?
by WORLOCK83 on December 19th, 2008
COULD BE THE WATER PUMP THAT HAS PERISHED. NO CWATER CIRCULATION.
by Bull wears a COAT of many colours on December 16th, 2008
When you changed themostat to thermostat did the car run any cooler?
All of the suggestions are good. In addition, are you losing coolant? Could be a gasket leak. If you are losing coolant and don't see any on the ground it could be leaking into the cylinders and going out with the exhaust.
by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on November 4th, 2008
Changing the thermostat won't help if the radiator needs to be bled. Try removing the thermostat completely, AS A TEST (not permanently). If the engine still runs hot, then you need to flush the cooling system. Bleeding the radiator is only part of a normal flush.
Comment on Darryl61's advice:
>>Removing the thermostat entirely will usually cause more overheating than running the correct thermostat. A thermostat not only lets water flow through the engine block, it also keeps the water in the radiator long enough to cool it down.<<
That is completely backwards. The purpose of the thermostat, in both air-cooled and liquid-cooled engines, is to allow the engine to WARM UP before the coolant (air or liquid) begins to flow.
Without a thermostat, a cold engine would take much too long to warm up, even in warm weather. Most damaging engine wear occurs when the engine is COLD. Cold oil can't flow freely in tight spots, including the main bearings and connecting rod bearings.
Second, short trips (under 10 miles) prevent the oil from reaching full operating temperature long enough to burn off water condensation, fuel, and other contaminants that lead to "sludge", "varnish", "acids", and other deposits.
Water that condenses in the cold oil mixes with sulfur in the fuel to produce acids that damage engine parts:
"Sulfur is present in all fuels and affects all engines. During combustion, fuel sulfur oxidizes, then combines with water [in the engine oil] to form acid. Acid corrodes all engine parts, but is most dangerous to valves and valve guides, piston rings and liners." ~Source: http://sos.finning.ca/resources/understand.asp
The engine and oil need to reach operating temperature as quickly as possible, and then remain in the mfr's operating temperature design range.
With no thermostat, or a broken thermostat (when they break they remain wide open), the coolant will constantly flow at maximum rate. This prevents the engine from warming up quickly or at all.
More info here:
http://mr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR11778.html
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Edited
by DudeLer 2 on October 31st, 2008
its probably the motor that runs the fan for the radiator. bad motor.
by Darryl61 on October 16th, 2008
This is a pretty short time period to experience an overheat condition. As another answer stated, check to make sure that the new thermostat was not installed upside down. This happens fairly regularly, and can cause quick overheating. Flushing the radiator is considered regular maintenance, but shouldn't cause the problem described. Is there any vapor coming out of the tail pipe? This type of overheating condition is usually indicative of a blown head gasket.
by prof. mes solzhenitsy on October 16th, 2008
No one can change "THEMOSTAT" in the world!
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You're reading I have a 97 VW Golf and I was told the radiator needs bleeding. I changed the themostat out and it still runs hot after 4 miles.
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Comments
Yes, they told me I need to bleed the lines.
by Long Shot on October 16th, 2008
radiators have hoses. when you flush the system, it will flush the hoses also. Bleeding the lines refers to removing air from your brake lines, I ve never heard that term applied to a radiator.
by Ruh Roh on October 16th, 2008
That was my term. They said get the air out. So just bleed the hoses? I guess the highest one.
by Long Shot on October 16th, 2008
antifreeze is water based, will sink, and will naturally bubble the air out of the system. you can see it in the filler hole. a clean system will allow all cavities to be filled with antifreeze. some times it takes a few sec ( less than 10) to filter thru. you can start the car, without the radiator cap on, for less than a min, let it pull the antifreeze thru. You can see the fluid drop in the radiator if you look. Stop the motor and allow it to settle, it should come back up almost to the top. fill it all the way to the top put the cap on. ( Only done with a COLD motor, saying just in case...)
If your antifreeze is slowly disappearing from the overflow tank, youre having to add often, you may have a blown head gasket that is allowing it to leak into the oil system. What color is your oil?
by Ruh Roh on October 16th, 2008
Thank you very much.
by Long Shot on October 16th, 2008
Welcome. check the overflow bottle every couple days, as long as youre still having the over heating problem. if it continues to over heat, deposits may have formed in the radiator, not allowing it to recirculate correctly. You can try flushing it again before going to the expense of buying it a new one. ( And dispose of antifreeze quickly ! dogs like the smell and taste and it will kill them !)
by Ruh Roh on October 16th, 2008
Radiator shop also has a large tank to dip it in, dissolve the deposits. and check if you got the thermostat in upside down.
by Ruh Roh on October 16th, 2008
Dogs like antifreeze too. I had one that liked gas, he drank some and ran around and around and then he fell out. My wife said he was dead but I think he just ran out of gas.
Thanks for your help.
by Long Shot on October 16th, 2008