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#1
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1998 Hatch overheat.
After a flat out run from Kingston to Toronto (250km), I had the car
idling in the driveway for several minuits to check things over (Can't be too careful with a beater that's got 280,000km and still running with all the original components under the hood). To my surprise, after idling in the driving for several minuets, the engine temperature gage starting rising. Which was very surprising, cause that was the first time I've ever seen the temp gage move from it's 1/3 mark. I checked under the hood and the reservoir was at the max level. The radiator and in/out house were all warm to the touch (warm enough for me to grab hold of them without burning...which is surprising since the car was going over 100mph back from Kingston). It only took me less then a min to do all the checking cause I was in a bit of panic. I went back into the car, the heater was turned off and all the way into the cold position. I moved the leaver all the way into the hot position and blasted the heat. Very hot air started coming out the heater and the temperature gage dropped back into its normal 1/3 position. It's been several days since that episode and I haven't encountered anymore weird problem with my cooling system. My guess is, after driving the vehicle hard it cooled off rapidly after exiting the highway and idling in the driveway, somehow air was introduced in the cooling system, there was some kind of blockage and when I turned on the heater, the blockage cleared up. If so, I won't worry about it. But, I'd like to here if you Guru's got any suggestion for preventative maintenance. Pars |
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#2
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> After a flat out run from Kingston to Toronto (250km), I had the car > idling in the driveway for several minuits to check things over (Can't > be too careful with a beater that's got 280,000km and still running > with all the original components under the hood). To my surprise, after > idling in the driving for several minuets, the engine temperature gage > starting rising. Which was very surprising, cause that was the first > time I've ever seen the temp gage move from it's 1/3 mark. I checked > under the hood and the reservoir was at the max level. The radiator and > in/out house were all warm to the touch (warm enough for me to grab > hold of them without burning...which is surprising since the car was > going over 100mph back from Kingston). It only took me less then a min > to do all the checking cause I was in a bit of panic. I went back into > the car, the heater was turned off and all the way into the cold > position. I moved the leaver all the way into the hot position and > blasted the heat. Very hot air started coming out the heater and the > temperature gage dropped back into its normal 1/3 position. It's been > several days since that episode and I haven't encountered anymore weird > problem with my cooling system. > > My guess is, after driving the vehicle hard it cooled off rapidly after > exiting the highway and idling in the driveway, somehow air was > introduced in the cooling system, there was some kind of blockage and > when I turned on the heater, the blockage cleared up. If so, I won't > worry about it. But, I'd like to here if you Guru's got any > suggestion for preventative maintenance. > > Pars > have you changed the thermostat? and is the rad clogged with insects? |
#3
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> > After a flat out run from Kingston to Toronto (250km), I had the car > idling in the driveway for several minuits to check things over (Can't > be too careful with a beater that's got 280,000km and still running > with all the original components under the hood). To my surprise, after > idling in the driving for several minuets, the engine temperature gage > starting rising. Which was very surprising, cause that was the first > time I've ever seen the temp gage move from it's 1/3 mark. I checked > under the hood and the reservoir was at the max level. The radiator and > in/out house were all warm to the touch (warm enough for me to grab > hold of them without burning...which is surprising since the car was > going over 100mph back from Kingston). It only took me less then a min > to do all the checking cause I was in a bit of panic. I went back into > the car, the heater was turned off and all the way into the cold > position. I moved the leaver all the way into the hot position and > blasted the heat. Very hot air started coming out the heater and the > temperature gage dropped back into its normal 1/3 position. It's been > several days since that episode and I haven't encountered anymore weird > problem with my cooling system. > > My guess is, after driving the vehicle hard it cooled off rapidly after > exiting the highway and idling in the driveway, somehow air was > introduced in the cooling system, there was some kind of blockage and > when I turned on the heater, the blockage cleared up. If so, I won't > worry about it. But, I'd like to here if you Guru's got any > suggestion for preventative maintenance. > > Pars ------------------------------- I don't see you saying that the rad fan(s) were running. They should have been. When it cools there should be NO AIR under the rad cap. I think you'll find some. Rad cap not pressurizing properly / air in system. 'Curly' |
#4
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1998 Hatch overheat.
The thermostat is still orginal. But I'm kinda leery about replacing
it. I've had past situations where the new thermostat didn't work. I wouldn't want to throw out a perfectly good one (that's proven itself) for a defective one. The radiator has seen 280,000km and the fins are beatup to hell and almost flat across the board. Even thow, the engine bay is huge for such a small engine (very airy), so even a bad rad is probably still ok. But, I'll have to keep an eye on it when the weather starts to get realy hot. |
#5
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1998 Hatch overheat.
Sounds like good advice. The fan was working well and turned off on cue
when engine went back to normal temperture. I'll have to check inside the radiator in the morning to make sure it's topped up all the way. Considering that the resevoir is at the min level when the engine is cool, it'll probably be ok. I guess the next thing to do would be to replace the radiator cap. I also suspected the rad cap as the culprit. |
#6
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1998 Hatch overheat.
'Curly Q. Links' wrote: > I don't see you saying that the rad fan(s) were running. They should > have been. When it cools there should be NO AIR under the rad cap. I > think you'll find some. Rad cap not pressurizing properly / air in > system. It's gotta be the rad fans. Or the relays that turn them on. |
#7
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> The thermostat is still orginal. But I'm kinda leery about replacing > it. I've had past situations where the new thermostat didn't work. I > wouldn't want to throw out a perfectly good one (that's proven itself) > for a defective one. if you buy oem, there's really very little chance of that. > The radiator has seen 280,000km and the fins are > beatup to hell and almost flat across the board. that makes it a good candidate! especially in this situation where it's working ok whole driving, but overheating while stationary. > Even thow, the engine > bay is huge for such a small engine (very airy), so even a bad rad is > probably still ok. bay size has nothing to do with it. there's just no way the surface of the block can dissipate sufficient heat to keep the motor cool. think about how many times the surface area of a finned motorcycle cylinder compares to that of an unfinned cylinder. the ratio is something like 100:1. > But, I'll have to keep an eye on it when the weather > starts to get realy hot. sure, but an ounce of prevention [thermostat, clean rad, maybe rad cap] is a damned sight cheaper than a few thousand dollars of cure! |
#8
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1998 Hatch overheat.
The radiator is clean, but most of the fins are flatten from stone
chip. Which will require a new rad core. That's a little too pricy at this time. I'm willing to wait it out a bit, especially if it seems as if the rad is doing it's part. |
#9
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1998 Hatch overheat.
No no.. The fan (only one) was working properly. It came on when
the engine started to over heat and only turned off when the engine temperature went back to normal. But even though the fan was working properly, the engine was still overheating. It was when I turned on the interior heater that caused the engine's overheating to stop. |
#10
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> The radiator is clean, but most of the fins are flatten from stone > chip. Which will require a new rad core. That's a little > too pricy at this time. I'm willing to wait it out a bit, especially if > it seems as if the rad is doing it's part. > understood. but if you have a little time on your hands, you can often do a reasonable job of straightening them up with a small nail or something similar. and it might be a good idea to look into the protective expanded metal grille mod! i need to do that this summer when i have a bit more time. fwiw, this: http://63.89.49.212/ipb/wizard.jsp?p...pe=A utomatic unless it's a pricing error, is very affordable! |
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