[Cloud9...68]

There's no reason to take the radiator out to remove the thermostat <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> . It's actually not very hard to remove, as long as you can get your hands on a pair of 90 degree needle nose pliers. The tips of the pliers are usually a little too fat to fit into the holes in the thermostat's circlip, so you have to grind them down a little. Then, as xrad said, rotate the circlip using a screwdriver until you get it into the most advantageous location to reach with the pliers, which is toward the back for the car. Then just insert the tips of the pliers into the holes of the circlip, give it a squeeze, and it should pop right out. Ideally, if you have a torch (plus some skill, which rules me out <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ), the best solution would be to bend the tips of the pliers at a 45 degree angle as xrad has done (but hey, he's also building a turbo from old scraps of metal he's picked up from the side of the road <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ), but a 90 degreee pair works almost as well. Good luck.

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[flash]

to clarify, the fans have 2 speeds (low and high) - you should very clearly hear the difference



i'm pretty sure that both of them spin at both speeds - lol - it's been so long since i drove my car, i have forgotten, and unless the ac is on, i almost never hear the high speed anyway

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[p65356sc]

I have noticed that my 92 cab will not run well until the temp gets to 9:00. In the summer in traffic it has gone to 10:00. Concerned I turned the heat on. I just had the belts and water pump done. I had them done soon as I got the car so I never got to see what it was like before. It does concern me when it gets to 10:00 especially after I hear 10:00 is 212 F. I gonna look on my massive bill I received from the shop to see if they changed the thermostat and if they flushed the radiator. I have never run the AC. That has GOT to affect the temp............nespa. How concerned should I be? Like I said she really is sluggish until 9:00.
Ross

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[94SilverCab]

Something is very wrong...

My car seldom hovers above 8:00 even on the warmest days. I always start the car and drive away immediately, but allow the car to warm for about 10 minutes to let parts warm up and re-distribute lubricants, etc. before I push it. No way your car shuld be sluggish until it reaches 9:00.

I think you are on the right track with radiator flush, thermostat, radiator cap not holding pressure, etc. By all means, let us know the results.

Regards,

Jay

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[flash]

also verify that the gauge is accurate

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[Langley968]

I went for a niced long drive today (nice weather) and about three miles from home the Warning Light (!) goes on.

I noticed the Temp Gauge was showing HOT! I pull over, shut the engine of, pop the hood and take a look. Other than some coolant flowing out from the overflow hose, everything seemed ok. Then I noticed that the cooling fans were not on, which struck me as strange...

I let it cool down and started "limping" home with the heater on full blast. I stopped about four times to shut the engione off, let the heater continue to blow for a few minutes, and then start going again. After I made it home, I went straight to this site and started "searching", and came across this thread.

About two hours later, feeling a bit better, and somewhat more informed, I started the engine up. It took about 7-10 minutes for the Temp Guage to get to the 9 - 10 o'clock. In the meantime I checked the "large" rad hose on the upper passenger side, and it felt "cool" to the touch. Not HOT as someone posted here previously. So... is it my thermostat?

Interesting that just yesterday I was browsing the net for pricing on a new expansion tank, since that is the only "ugly" sight under the hood.

I am hoping that a good flush, new coolant, new thermostat, new expansion tank & cap, should put me back on the road again!

Hopefully...

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[flash]

i would guess that or the pump itself - sometimes those impellers pop off

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[94SilverCab]

I'm guessing Water Pump if the hoses aren't hot, many times the pump goes without spewing coolant all over the road.



Try turning your A/C on to make sure that fans are working...with A/C both fans should be running.



Jay

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[DaveN]

Exact same symptoms as I had Jake. Impeller spun on me. Go figure, 18 years and the cheap OE pump fails <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

eBay and 190.00 CDN after taxes and shipping fixed the problem. I got the Hamburg Technic pump.

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[Langley968]

Thanks for the feed back guys!

I will test the AC tonight and post my finding. I will hold off on ordering any parts today.



Question: why would the coolant that came out of the overflow hose be "cool" to the touch? I expected it to be HOT...

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[Cloud9...68]

I've checked this many times, and my fat coolant return hose never seems to get particularly hot, even after putting in a new thermostat, confirming the pump impellers are securely attached to the pump and are gainfully employed in their task of pushing coolant through the system, etc. A bit of a mystery. The other hose is always blazing hot. You'd think in a closed loop system, all the components should equiibrate to a more-or-less a common termperature, but that's never been the case on my car. I know that the coolant reaching the fat hose has just completed a trip through the radiator, and has felt the full brunt of the cooling fans, but still, I would expect it to get hotter than it is...



I'd be curious to see whether other peoples' return hose gets close to as hot as the inlet hose.

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[RS Barn]

[size="7"]Water pump[/size]

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[Cloud9...68]

Pete,



So should the fat coolant return hose be unbearably hot to the touch, like the smaller inlet line, and if it isn't, is it an indication of a failed water pump? Like I said, mine has always been significantly cooler than the inlet hose, yet my temp gauge has never gotten to the 10 oclock line, even on the hottest summer day here in Central Texas.



Oh, and since my engine is out of my car, making the water pump trivial to remove, is there any way to test it outside the car, other than confirming that the impeller unit is firmly attached to the shaft, and that everything is spinning freely? Thanks.

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[RS Barn]

The fat hose at bottom of rad will be cooler. It better or you radiator is clogged or you have cardboard in front of it.

One of the keys to a failed WP is engine overheating without fans coming on. The WP isn't pushing hot water past the Thermoswitch

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[Cloud9...68]

Pete,



Thanks for clarifying; your explanation is consistent with what I've thought for years - the water should be getting cooled significantly as it makes its way through the radiator. In fact, in the extreme case of a fan switch that turns on prematurely, I could see this causing a great deal of difficulty for the thermostat to open, especially if you have a low temp fan switch, and a high temp thermostat, which is what I had for awhile.

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[Langley968]

Got around to testing the 968 with the A/C on to see if the Cooling Fans work, and they both do!

WATER PUMP it is!

I laughed when I saw the font size of Pete's reply. Sent a pretty strong message that he was ABSOLUTELY sure it was the WP. Thanks.

I am about to place my order for the parts, and was wondering if there are recommendations for any hose(s) that should be replaced at the same time? The car has 87K miles on it...

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[DaveN]

Just to the regular 2 rad hoses. I didn't do my top one and by the time I got home after an hours drive there were green drops around the top hose. The hose looked perfect so I reused it <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> In the end I had to really tighten the clamp to top the leak. New one is on it's way for the refresh.

I didn't mention it earlier but you have to get right down to the belts to do the water pump so if they need changing this is the time. There is a tensioner upgrade as well that I got from Pete.

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[94SilverCab]

Langley, you should plan on replacing Balance Shaft seals while you are in there...



Regards,



Jay

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