Need Help - High Water Temp!

[CobERA]

Took the car out for a spin tonight and after about a mile the water temp was up to about 210. Then it rose quickly to 250. I turned around and headed back home.

The same thing happened earlier in the day.

I've got about 140 miles on the car and up till now the temp seemed fine.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

[KobraKarl]

Rick,

Well I dont want to insult you with the obvious ......so I assume you have checked the ;

water level
fan belt tension


also ...
stuck t- stat
ignition timing
stuck E- brake
blown head gasket
failed water pump impeller


if your water is up and your belt is tight, I would check your t- stat first. drop in boiling water and check temp as it closes

gooluck
KK

[CobERA]

KK,

You need not worry about insulting with the obvious. I know just enough to be dangerous, but I did check the belt and water level. Also, the e-brake seems fine

With the other items on your list, would there be other obvious symptoms?

Thanks,

[Edley Rondinone]

Is the fan spinning in the correct direction? Also, have you "Burped" any air out of the cooling system? Letting it run with the radiator cap off lets out the air.

[KobraKarl]

actually , now that Edley mentions it , ... is your pump pully turning at all, or maybe slowly.


with a blown head gasket you will sometimes get exhaust gasses in the cooling system.. remove radiator cap (when cool) and you can smell exhaust gasses when the engine runs , also small bubbles.


failed water pump or stuck t-stat will give you a very hot engine and a relatively cool radiator

KK

[Cobra20646]

Rick..... and I have to ask this question......

Besides the gauge, what other symptoms did you see. Boil over, strange smell, REALLY feel the heat from the block, pre-ignition, engine run on, etc....

I'm trying to rule out a bad gauge... nothing like chasing your tail if the gauge is misleading!

- Jim -

[trularin]

It is possible you have a high t-Stat and what you are seeing is the transistion from not allowing the water to flow to the opening of the t-Stat.

You start the engine, it runs fine and the temp climbs to say 210. Then it lingers for a mile or so, then it shoots to 250 until the water from the radiator is allowed to circulate through the engine.

I have had this proble on three vehicles. One still has it. The other two got new radiators and the problem went away.

You can check your system by pressurizing it to 15 pounds and let it stand over night. If it is still at 15 pounds ( more or less ) then there is no open leak. Do this when the engine is cold.

Blow into the cooling system is really noticable if you have a puke tank. Basically there would be no way for air to enter the system ( provided you allow all the air to escape when sealed ). If you drive it and the puke tank maintains it's level and air gets into the system, there is the possibility.

Hope this helps!

[Roscoe]

What radiator
What water pump
Did you over rev?
Did you torque the heads properly
Do you need sealer on some head bolts like a small block
Is there coolant in the oil
Is there oil in the coolant
Did you bleed the cooling system properly
How did you break in the engine initially

You can pressurize the system like mentioned above and also put a pressure gauge on the filler and rev the engine and see if you build up pressure. You can also do a dye test for emission gasses in the cooling system.

You may want to read this http://www.troubleshooters.com/toverheat.htm

Roscoe

[CobERA]

Guys,

Thanks for all the replies. I ran through most of the suggestions. I think the main problem was that I did not bleed the system properly.

I "burped" and bled the system (at the radiator, at the water temp sending unit and at the heater hose nipple) and added more water a couple of times.

Seems to be fine now. I just got back from a test drive and the temperature held steady around 180 degrees.

I'll take a longer drive this afternoon and watch the gauge closely.

Just hope we didn't do any damage!

Thanks again for the help.

[Edley Rondinone]

Club Cobra to the Rescue!