Cooling help please part2

[AutobahnSHO]

Car has been good since last thread
http://www.carspin.net/index.php?topic=29977.0

So a few days back I turned on the heater and noticed the temp gauge get higher than normal. Played with shoving from cold to hot and back and it went back to normal.

This morning car heated up and no amount of adjusting the heater fixed anything. Pulled off when it got to the top. Wife came and I stole her car to get to work, she waited till it cooled off and started driving but it heated up right away again. She let it cool then drove it the rest of the way home. (only like 3-4miles to home total from where I left it.)



-There was some coolant coming out of the radiator cap, didn't notice any anywhere else.
-reservoir was normal (3/4 full)
-no warm air ever came out of heater this morning
-everything else seems to be running fine.

Any ideas??? Do I need to take it to a shop? (or small duplex neighborhood says "no car repairs" but if it's just a thermostat.........)
Thanks in advance.!

[FoMoJo]

Enough coolant?

[Soup DeVille]

Thermostat.

[AutobahnSHO]

Think the thermostat is stuck closed so never sending to the radiator????
Why woudln't the heater work at all??????

OH both fans were on when I popped the hood, so they work.

[FoMoJo]

The heater doesn't work when there's not coolant circulating in it.

[MX793]

Bubble in the system?  A friend had the same symptoms in his WRX and that's what it ended up being.

[AutobahnSHO]

Bubble in the system?  A friend had the same symptoms in his WRX and that's what it ended up being.

That's what it was last time- in the heater again?????    SIGH.

[Speed_Racer]

If you keep getting air your coolant, there's a gap somewhere in the system. Take a look for tears or bad fittings along the lines.

[Secret Chimp]

Take the cap off, run the car until it comes up to temp. The top hose should be hot and you should be able to see coolant flowing through the top tank toward where the hose attaches. If coolant's not moving and the top hose isn't hot, the coolant level should still suck down some if you blip the gas with the cap off. If it does, then it's probably the thermostat. If it doesn't, your water pump impeller is gone.

Also come on pulling off only after you peg the gauge? Turning the heater on never saved anybody from an overheating situation. It's a bandage to keep you rolling.

[AutobahnSHO]

Also come on pulling off only after you peg the gauge? Turning the heater on never saved anybody from an overheating situation. It's a bandage to keep you rolling.

I was running the heater before it started to get warm. Didn't pull over because there wasn't anywhere safe to do so. (4lane road, no shoulder)

[Soup DeVille]

Think the thermostat is stuck closed so never sending to the radiator????
Why woudln't the heater work at all??????

OH both fans were on when I popped the hood, so they work.

Could also be a stuck heater bypass valve, but that in general wont cause your temperature gauge to fluctuate.

[AutobahnSHO]

so, crazy enough, I turned the car around to point up a 2% or so hill. Popped the cap, it was down some, put about 1/4 gallon in. I *guess* it leaked out when it was overheating.

Start it up, it indeed rose about 1/2 inch every time I blipped. So I let it run a while till it got to full temp (cap still off) and only poured a little more in, temp stayed right where it was supposed to. Then it started to overflow a tiny bit, so I shut it off, capped it, went for a short drive, on some really hilly low speed neighborhoods, no overheating, even with a/c on.

And the heater worked again. ?!?!?!?!

Noticed the alt/ power steering belt is frayed and missing small chunks, so drove to Autozone, then groceries, still no overheating, even up big long steep hills.

So weird. (to me)

[Eye of the Tiger]

Just driving to Auto Zone isn't going to fix the belt. You actually have to go inside and buy a new one, then put it in the car.

[AutobahnSHO]

Just driving to Auto Zone isn't going to fix the belt. You actually have to go inside and buy a new one, then put it in the car.

Oh. Well we did the first two steps then....   

[Rupert]

Tstat.

[mzziaz]

Hgask

[AutobahnSHO]

Thread resurrection!!!!!


Ended up parking on a hill and opening/closing heat, refilled radiator, no problems since October, knock on wood!!!

[AutobahnSHO]

Took Impreza to Fort Gordon to do some minor maintenance.  It had sat unregistered from Feb to September (long story, wife lost title, had to resend to Utah several times), needed a new battery.

1- It's been making a grinding noise in the rear from braking, pads look good I'm assuming it's just rust.
2- rotated tires, all look good
3- It's been making a lot of muffler rattling, I tightened a hoseclamp around the offending heatshield. Weird that it doesn't look like anything is missing, bent or broken- but it's after the y-pipe before the cat. And lose as lose gets...

4- As I was finishing my drive in this morning it approached overheating again. I drove ok for the highway drive (60deg weather) but as I puttered down the 2miles of 25mph street (no stops) it got 3/4 hot. I turned the heater on and as I got around a corner into 35mph zone it cooled down some, I think the acceleration helped?? 
-Maybe there is a blockage in the cooling system?? It only seems to go down in temp at higher revs. ?!?!?!?!

Sigh.!

[Eye of the Tiger]

Is the cooling fan coming on?

[shp4man]

Modern cars need a vacuum cooling system refill. This involves a vacuum pull down and refill. So sorry, but it's not 1985 anymore. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Modern cars need a vacuum cooling system refill. This involves a vacuum pull down and refill. So sorry, but it's not 1985 anymore.

Screw that. Jack up the radiator cap a few extra feet, and drive a new car underneath it.

[shp4man]

Screw that. Jack up the radiator cap a few extra feet, and drive a new car underneath it.

Won't work.

[MX793]

Maybe something with the water pump?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Maybe something with the water pump?

Water pump must have VTEC.

[MX793]

Water pump must have VTEC.

Wondering if there's something going on with the impeller.

[AutobahnSHO]

I will check on the fans- they should turn on when car is turned on and A/C is on, right?

[Eye of the Tiger]

I will check on the fans- they should turn on when car is turned on and A/C is on, right?

Many cars will have two ekectric fans, one for the radiator, and one for the AC evaporator. They will cycle on and off, as needed.

But you said before (a year ago) the fans were working:

Think the thermostat is stuck closed so never sending to the radiator????
Why woudln't the heater work at all??????

OH both fans were on when I popped the hood, so they work.

[AutobahnSHO]

10minutes into my drive, cold air coming out with heat all the way up. Temp gauge spiked almost to the top. Pull over, fans are both running (a/c off), coolant reserve has overflowed some...

Argh!

[MX793]

Sounds like a blockage or another air bubble.  Did you pressure test the system to make sure you don't have a leak somewhere that's allowing air into the system?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Sounds like a blockage or another air bubble.  Did you pressure test the system to make sure you don't have a leak somewhere that's allowing air into the system?

+1, or water pump took a vacation.