My car would always run up to about 245 degrees F - 250. i got worried so i took it to the shop to have it checked out. The guy told me these cars are supposed to run hot, right to the redline, and then go down. when my car runs that hot it really sputters, and in general drives like crap. i didn't my car running so hot so i put in a 160 thermo and a fan switch. my car still runs in between the mid line and the third line. is there anything else i could do to make it run cooler. should i maybe flush my radiator?

 

did you bleed the system?

 

yes i did, but still getting hot, i am thinking the mix of anti freeze and water is not right. i have not changed since i bought it in the winter

 

The mixture of coolant and water doesn't need to be exact. Running on pure water is actually supposed to make your car run cooler than a mixture.

Before we start is your car just running hot or is it overheating? That could be a key indicator of whether something is wrong. When you have the fan switched on are both fans running and does the temperature go down to about 160?

 

i think there might be to much anti freeze. but i will start my car and turn on my fans at the 160 mark, both of them. my cars temp with keep on rising and while moving it stays between 210 and 230. idling it might get up to 240.

 

I'd try bleeding your system again until no more air comes out. I just filled mine up and it went to 250+ because we forgot to bleed it. Once we bled it, it stays right at 160 w/ both fans on, 180 w/ no fans.

 

The manual fan switch controls only the secondary fan as I recall. Flip it on and make sure that it's turned on. If the temp rises that much it would seem that the fan isn't turning on.

Here's a few things to check aside from that.

1. Bleed the air again. Possibly wasn't done correct the first time. Often this is the culprit of overheating problems.

2. Check to make sure your waterpump is working. When it's above 160 degrees the thermostat should be open and you will see the water being forced into the radiator.

3. Check to make sure tubes aren't leaking.

4. Make sure the thermostat wasn't installed up-side-down.

Failing all that I might think the radiator is clogged and you need to get it flushed.

 

Dumb question but how do you bleed the system? I think that may be why my car is runnung a tad hot. When I replaced the coolant sensor for the temp gauge a bunch of coolant came out of the hole and we just refilled the radiator.

So how do I bleed?