Hi, I have A 79 ke55 which has has an overheating problem. I have replaced the thermostat which does open, new waterpump and new radiator and hoses all around. The heater core has been bypassed and I have run a flush through te engine. After replacing the coolant I find i still have an over heating problem. Is there anything else I'm missing? Any help would be great. Thanks guys

Faulty sender?

Edited August 28, 201016 yr by phatke30

The gauge reads normal but when I stick a thermometer in the radiator it reads over 100 degrease. Also after driving for abit and turning the car off it try to keep running then when I try to start it again it is hard.

Does it use water at all??

 

Do a head gasket check by starting it from cold with the radiator cap off and see if bubbles come out.

 

Check the timing and make sure it is correct.

 

Was it running fine a year ago and this has slowly crept up, or did it start when you did some work on it??

Does it use water at all??

 

Do a head gasket check by starting it from cold with the radiator cap off and see if bubbles come out.

 

Check the timing and make sure it is correct.

 

Was it running fine a year ago and this has slowly crept up, or did it start when you did some work on it??

this has been going on for some time. it holds water and pressure. and there is no bubbles in the radiator. is there anything else i am missing?

It may be possible you put the thermostat in facing the wrong way? It's always worth to check.

lol i thought the same thing and double checked that lol

Only other thing I can think of besides head and head gasket issues is a blocked radiator. Which it could well be if someone has used stop leak in it.

nah mate its a brand new radiator which i just changed a few days ago. Somone told me that there could be corrosion in the water ports in the head/block. But I'm not too sure about pulling apart the engine, mainly because of timing lol

It would be a pain to have to strip the engine to clean the rust out of the block.

 

Retarded timing will give you all those symptoms- runs hot, runs on when switched off, hard to start...

its only hard to start when its hot. how do i know if the timing is out?

Timing light would be best, but if not you can do it by hand.

 

First check when it is firing-

 

Take the cap off the dizzy.

 

Turn on the keys to get ignition lights.

 

Rotate the crank pulley with a spanner until the pulley timing mark comes around to the cam cover marks. The dizzy should spark as the 8deg mark reaches the TDC mark. If it is around 10deg before, that is fine. If its retarded it might only spark at 6deg or 4deg.

 

To alter it-

 

Make sure you know which way the dizzy turns. Loosen the clamp bolt so you can just turn it a mm or two.

 

Put the crank pulley on the 8deg mark.

 

Turn the dizzy until the points just open- you will see the spark and probably hear it.

 

Don't lose its original orientation, keep it firing the same cylinder it was. (one or four) If its retarded you should end up with it turned against the direction of rotation a few mm.

 

Good luck-