EastBoundJoe
Member
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Hello again, the midget over heats every 20 minutes or so when driving. After stopping you can hear the fluid bubble in the over flow tank (this is a 1275 engine) and see a small amount of white smoke coming from the oil filler cap (hot or burning oil). When the previous owner drove it to my house he had to keep refilling the radiator with fresh water because it would evaporate while driving.
I know there are several causes to an over heating engine, such as:
• Low coolant level
• Restricted radiator
• Stuck Thermostat
• Late Ignition Timing
• Loose Belt tension
• Bad water Pump
• Exhaust Blockage (not in this car)
I installed a new overflow cap, the previous owner installed a new thermostat, https://eastboundjoe.tripod.com/imagelib/...&target=tlx_new
I put the thermostat in hot water today and it opened up before boiling point. When running the car I felt the upper radiator house (connects to the thermostat), squeezing it I felt no real pressure. When taking off the upper house it was not filled with any fluid, next I removed the thermostat and to my surprise I found antifreeze in the block https://eastboundjoe.tripod.com/imagelib/...&target=tlx_new
I though that the whole system was running off of water because that is all I have (and previous owner) been putting in the system lately. I suspected that the thermostat was stuck because the water and coolant have not mixed, but the thermostat opened when sticking it in hot water (not sure how high the temp was). Not sure if the coolant from the block is reaching the radiator. There is no squealing coming from the engine belt when running so the belt should be tight enough. There isn’t any water or antifreeze leaking from the water pump.
I’m thinking there could be a restriction some where in the radiator (the DPO gave me a spare radiator) I’m going to have the radiator cleaned out by an HVAC buddy of mine then re-install and see if that helps anything.
Your thoughts? Any Ideas of how to trouble shoot this sort of problem?
I know there are several causes to an over heating engine, such as:
• Low coolant level
• Restricted radiator
• Stuck Thermostat
• Late Ignition Timing
• Loose Belt tension
• Bad water Pump
• Exhaust Blockage (not in this car)
I installed a new overflow cap, the previous owner installed a new thermostat, https://eastboundjoe.tripod.com/imagelib/...&target=tlx_new
I put the thermostat in hot water today and it opened up before boiling point. When running the car I felt the upper radiator house (connects to the thermostat), squeezing it I felt no real pressure. When taking off the upper house it was not filled with any fluid, next I removed the thermostat and to my surprise I found antifreeze in the block https://eastboundjoe.tripod.com/imagelib/...&target=tlx_new
I though that the whole system was running off of water because that is all I have (and previous owner) been putting in the system lately. I suspected that the thermostat was stuck because the water and coolant have not mixed, but the thermostat opened when sticking it in hot water (not sure how high the temp was). Not sure if the coolant from the block is reaching the radiator. There is no squealing coming from the engine belt when running so the belt should be tight enough. There isn’t any water or antifreeze leaking from the water pump.
I’m thinking there could be a restriction some where in the radiator (the DPO gave me a spare radiator) I’m going to have the radiator cleaned out by an HVAC buddy of mine then re-install and see if that helps anything.
Your thoughts? Any Ideas of how to trouble shoot this sort of problem?