jackbyo Posted October 7, 2010 Author Report Posted October 7, 2010 wow that's a serious amount of rusty shit there! i flushed out the block through the drain tap and it came clear fairly quickly. I changed the thermostat, put the coolant back in and turned the car on... went all the way to hot in 2 minutes again. But again the radiator cap and hoses were all cold, while the block itself was really hot. so is the thermostat housing and all that area. once it got hot i tried squeezing the top radiator hose but it didnt feel like anything was pumping through at all. and the reservoir isnt draining either, even though the radiator was a little bit low. so does that mean it's gonna be the water pump yeah? super cheap will order it in but it'll take a week or so and cost $50 i'll get the aftermarket gauge when i get paid, but is there anything else it could be that I haven't tried yet? cheers Quote
ke70dave Posted October 7, 2010 Report Posted October 7, 2010 i would be forgetting supercheap and just go to another parts shop, places like repco/bursons either have it on the shelf, or will get it by the afternoon. at my local repco, if i get there before 11am, and the part i need has to be ordered in, it will usually be there at 230pm. thats if its needed to be ordered in, usually its on the shelf. it does sound like the water pump is the culprit though. Quote
silverra23 Posted October 7, 2010 Report Posted October 7, 2010 Is the radiator blocked? Give that a flush too.. Quote
altezzaclub Posted October 7, 2010 Report Posted October 7, 2010 Yeah- when you back-flushed the rad how quickly did water flow out?? It should pour out faster than it comes out the hose! :laff: Any pieces of crap in the water system sit on top of the radiator core channels and block them, and once they harden up with a bit of oil and rust they are very hard to remove. What does it look like when you look in the top with no water?? Any blocked?? On my old Armstrong Siddeley I had them remove the lower tank and I poked welding wire up every core to solve the same symptoms you have, the motor got hot but the rad stayed cold because the channels were blocked over. It must be either pump has no impellor or the rad can't flow water. Quote
jackbyo Posted October 7, 2010 Author Report Posted October 7, 2010 i would be forgetting supercheap and just go to another parts shop, places like repco/bursons either have it on the shelf, or will get it by the afternoon. at my local repco, if i get there before 11am, and the part i need has to be ordered in, it will usually be there at 230pm. thats if its needed to be ordered in, usually its on the shelf. it does sound like the water pump is the culprit though. yeah repco could get it in same day but quoted me almost twice as much as supercheap. I'll give them both a ring and find out the brand and part number and then see if repco will match it. Yeah- when you back-flushed the rad how quickly did water flow out?? It should pour out faster than it comes out the hose! :laff: Any pieces of crap in the water system sit on top of the radiator core channels and block them, and once they harden up with a bit of oil and rust they are very hard to remove. What does it look like when you look in the top with no water?? Any blocked?? On my old Armstrong Siddeley I had them remove the lower tank and I poked welding wire up every core to solve the same symptoms you have, the motor got hot but the rad stayed cold because the channels were blocked over. It must be either pump has no impellor or the rad can't flow water. It flowed with a good pressure out the bottom, and when I look in the top it doesnt look crusty at all. I'll get paid next week and get both the VDO gauge kit and a new water pump and give that a go. one thing though, in the gregorys manual it says "special equipment required - press and puller" for the water pump job. what's that all about? thanks everyone Quote
jackbyo Posted October 9, 2010 Author Report Posted October 9, 2010 (edited) Update time... and still no progress. I took the old water pump out, and i flushed everything out through the thermostat/water pump/drain tap openings. Everything runs water through itself fine. I took out the radiator and gave it a good flush too, and it looks plenty alright This all made about one bucket's worth of brown water, but otherwise seems fine. Then i put in the new water pump and........... gauge went to red in 5 minutes again. f@$k. the radiator/hoses are feeling hot though. so i dunno so... * New radiator cap * New coolant * Flushed radiator/water jackets in block * New thermostat * New water pump * Water seems to flow through radiator, engine and hoses fine Is it the cheap coolant? It's supercheap auto brand 'standard engine coolant'. Comes in a big bottle and says it's ready mixed, do not dilute. this is driving me nuts.... Edited October 9, 2010 by jackbyo Quote
Rolla Newbie Posted October 10, 2010 Report Posted October 10, 2010 Probaly a dumb question, but have you had the actual gauge checked, not just the sender? Another test is to put the heater on and check the air coming out and see how hot it is. If burning, there is a hassle, if not, I would get an a sensor and gauge kit. Smelly Quote
jackbyo Posted October 10, 2010 Author Report Posted October 10, 2010 yeah well thats the thing really... there's that constant doubt When i've got a day off this week i'll pick up that aftermarket gauge kit cheers by the way, is there any particular type of coolant or corrosion inhibitor I should be using? Quote
altezzaclub Posted October 10, 2010 Report Posted October 10, 2010 the radiator/hoses are feeling hot though. That's the main thing, it means the heat is getting into the radiator and it will be getting cooled as it goes through. Sounds like its mainly a problem of measurement now- Somewhere in the sensor/wiring/gauge. Coolant won't affect it, its all a modern buzzword really and aluminium radiators bought in the need for two different sets of chemicals. The green stuff will do fine, they are all just anti-corrosion chemicals like sodium nitrite and freezing point depressors like glycol with a bit of fluorocein for colour. The red ones are not for us. Quote
jackbyo Posted October 14, 2010 Author Report Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) sorted new gauge is in and reading a steady 80-82 after idling in the sun for 20 minutes with today being about 26 degrees Thanks to the advice in this thread and Evan G's tutorial. Although i didnt have to modify the sender, just got a smaller VDO sender and an adapter to make it fit the 16mm. those two pieces set me back $22 I'll put up the part number when i find the docket i picked up a VDO 52mm gauge for $45 which was made to suit the new sender. it's suits the stock gauges perfectly. got a $5 VDO bracket to go with it. and with the firewall I just taped the end of the sender-wire to a coat hanger and poked it through the same rubber grommet that all the other wires go through. worked perfect I found a couple bolts right under the choke which fit the bracket and just chucked it there, coz i wanted it subtle.. bit of gaff had those wires behind it tucked away after this photo I'd like to mount it in where the stock temp gauge is at some point. the clock will be replaced by a tacho just like the new gauge soon. I looked at a calibre gauge at supercheap first and it looked like ugly, flimsy shit made in china, but cost more. go vdo for sure anyway i'm glad i did the thermostat and water pump and all that, but I shoulda gotten a new gauge first. the old ones can't really be trusted. all the parts were about $75 including some wires and spade terminals from jaycar.... took less than an hour once i had it figured, and i've never wired anything before. Edited October 14, 2010 by jackbyo Quote
altezzaclub Posted October 14, 2010 Report Posted October 14, 2010 Bingo! Well done that man! Now we all know not to trust old gauges.... Quote
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