Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Winter is coming and don't ask but I am in the midst of a thorough radiator flush and hose replacement. The chemical cleaner I am using suggests driving the for 3-6 hours over a few days to allow the ...
Forum Discussion
Right. Something has gone wrong.
I put a final topoff in the radiator, capped it and warmed up the engine. I then took it for a slow 20km/hr drive around the block and the engine died on me after about 300 meters. It restarted and after getting it back to the hose the temp gauge was past the midpoint and steam was coming out of the hood. It was coming from the radiator. Other symptoms are a new squealing sound (sounds very similar to a dying water pump on www.mycarmakesnoise.com). Also the hoses seemed abnormally hot to touch, but the bottom rad hose was just warm (which I guess makes sense). Also I noticed a tiny bit of coolant coming out of the plug fitting (see photo, plug is located between the heater hose and upper rad hose; it's not significant, just a little seepage. The dampness you see above it in the recess on the engine is just water collected from the flushing process).
It seems to indicate a dying water pump but the water pump was doing fine before all this. We drove 9000 miles and never overheated once. Temp gauge only approached midway when going up hill. My only other hunch is that the new thermostat is possibly failing and/or only opening up halfway.
Westend! What do you think?
I put a final topoff in the radiator, capped it and warmed up the engine. I then took it for a slow 20km/hr drive around the block and the engine died on me after about 300 meters. It restarted and after getting it back to the hose the temp gauge was past the midpoint and steam was coming out of the hood. It was coming from the radiator. Other symptoms are a new squealing sound (sounds very similar to a dying water pump on www.mycarmakesnoise.com). Also the hoses seemed abnormally hot to touch, but the bottom rad hose was just warm (which I guess makes sense). Also I noticed a tiny bit of coolant coming out of the plug fitting (see photo, plug is located between the heater hose and upper rad hose; it's not significant, just a little seepage. The dampness you see above it in the recess on the engine is just water collected from the flushing process).
It seems to indicate a dying water pump but the water pump was doing fine before all this. We drove 9000 miles and never overheated once. Temp gauge only approached midway when going up hill. My only other hunch is that the new thermostat is possibly failing and/or only opening up halfway.
Westend! What do you think?
