my cars been acting up since i been back..

first it overheated, dont know why really, i took out the thermostat, put a new one in come fall, hose cracks and i over heat again.. fix that, weather gets colder so then it wouldnt warm up do to thermostat slipped when i put it back on. fix that, drain out the radiator.... that was about a month ago

now today on my way to work, i was in traffic and i notice the temp sitting at allmost the top line (
not the H line) so i back off a lil crank the heat and try to keep car moving, it cools down to normal while im moving, sittin in the drive thru i watch it creep up. get to work and the overflow tank is full. let it sit, then it begins to suck it back into the radiator. and then on the way home (no traffic) it starts to heat up again. im gonna check in the morning if the fan is even working. i dont know what else to check

 

Big air pocket in the system? Some cars do a lot better if the coolant is filled under vacuum so air won't get trapped in the high spots. If you're having rapid changes in temp on your temp gauge, that could be the problem, and that would make sense according what the overflow tank is doing. Air expands a lot more than liquid when it gets hot, so it can really displace a lot of fluid as it heats up.

My absolute first guess is that the coolant temp switch is going bad and not turning the fan on consistantly (or at all).. All the cars I've changed this on have had very similar symptoms, they regulate temp fine while moving and start to overheat sitting still. Luckily it's a cheap part and really easy to check.

 

Burp the system of air, see if your fans are working, check for leaks...Im in the middle of an overheating issue and the temp guage goes from real high to normal within seconds and i believe it to be an air pocket.

 

yea I've hard a hard time burping ALL the air out of KA's.

 

I'd help you out but I live across the country now. I've got a vacuum pump that works great for stuff like this, we just used it on our YZF-R6 engine at school to fill it.

 

yeah, i think it was an air pocket, the first time after i changed the thermostat, cause i t ran fine after that, but why now a month later? just seems wierd

 

You might have some small air pockets that have moved around and collected into a bigger air pocket. Or you're vaporizing coolant somewhere and displacing liquid coolant.. Once your overflow starts filling, you may be sucking air back in when it cools .

 

rawr... well i parked it uphill, got a lil bit of air oout, warmed up the engine, drove it around, no problems, parked it uphill, burped it a lil nothing came out,k filled it up a lil more. i noticed my overflow tank it dirty inside, and it was a lil nasty on the upper hose neck on the engine too. i dont think that the radiator hoses would be clogged that much though, it wasnt like chunks of dirt.

 

Could have a air pocket in the system. Or you could have retardly installed the thermostat in upside down.

 

thermostat was put on right