whats wrong here?

my 1998 LGT is over heating. ill sum it up as best i can without typing up a book... i can drive the car around town and on the highway just fine no problem but after normal driving if i stop at a light or in traffic its still ok but it will begin to over heat once i accelerate. the needle will go about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the temp gauge and then go back down to the middle of the gauge where it normaly is.

 

-will not over heat at an idle(will idle for 50min with no problems)

-will not over heat if i take out thermostat

-got an autozone thermostat made it worse

-excess coolant in overflow tank&bubbles(only after driving NOT while idleing)

-fans are working

-no missing coolant

-heater blows hot

-i did bleed the air out of the system

-no visible leaks from water pump or hoses

 

so whats going on here? sticking thermostat,head gasket? or what

usually indication of air in the system. I know you said you checked it but mine did that and that was the reason. Maybe the gauge/sensor

Head gasket. Testers available for rent at auto parts stores.

Well, get an OEM thermostat and report back.

Well, get an OEM thermostat and report back.

i ordered one it should be in tomorrow.

 

on an side note could i just leave the thermostat out? is that even an option?

^^^ curious as well

You can, although I don't recommend it. It may stop your overheating issues, but it wouldn't allow you to completely diagnose the issue. You'd just be putting it off while the real issue (if there is one besides the thermostat) get worse over time..

Well, get an OEM thermostat and report back.

 

Given what you posted above, this is my recommendation as well.

 

Replace with OEM and burp it correctly and report back.

Not to mention that if he left it out your car will not operate at recommended efficiency because you're not coming up to operating temperature which could also play havoc with your heater if you are in a colder climate.

Yes, running a car with a stuck open or no thermostat for a long period can cause lots of issues because the engine doesn't reach proper operating temperature. My old Nissan truck had a bad thermostat for years and the exhaust gases cooled and condensed too quickly in the exhaust system causing the tailpipe to rust through just after 4 years.

The issue is not so much with running temperature (because it actually gets closer than you think), it's how long the engine takes to warm up. That's hard on the cats over time and you will burn more oil because the piston rings take so long to expand.

Given what you posted above, this is my recommendation as well.

 

Replace with OEM and burp it correctly and report back.

 

how do i burp it? when ive been adding coolant i take out the bleeder screw and fill it up till coolant cames out of there. am i doing this right?

Do a search real quick. I have explained it in detail a few times. It's a rather simple process.

So I'm burping the air outa my car and I'm getting ALOT it seems like its taking forever to get all the air out. So what if I just keep getting bubbles?

Keep burping, I guess? I sometimes squeeze the upper radiator hose with the cap off and that helps get some bubbles out.

Oh forgot to mention I put a funnel in the Radiator cap and did it with the car running.

Yeahhhhhhhhhh DON'T do that.....

 

Did you search for my instructions?

I did a search I didn't find yours bit I found a few different ways though o started a thread about burping before I just forgot about it.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214819&highlight=burp

Parking the car on a slight uphill incline has been known to help during the burping process. Make sure that your heater is set to full "hot" too, so the air comes out of the heater core.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/overheating-2-5-am-loss-ideasi-216390.html?t=216390&highlight=coolant+purge

 

What you need to do when attempting to fill the system without any air is

 

1) Patiently fill the radiator until you end up dropping in an ounce 10 different times and can't possibly fill it any more... Yes, keep the small bleeder screw out. And yes, you have to squeeze the upper hose a million times.

 

2) Fill the overflow reservoir to the brim.

 

3) Run the car until you hear the fans turn on. DURING this you need to have the HVAC set to FULL defrost, on FULL fan speed. Once the fans turn on, shut the car off.

 

4) WAIT until the system stops pulling fluid. You need to keep an eye on the reservoir and make sure that it doesn't empty itself. Keep the fluid at least near the "full" line.

 

5) Once it the fluid level seems to stop dropping, the system has cooled enough for there to be no vacuum. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until extra fluid is no longer being pulled into the system.

about how long will it pull fluid?

if im seeing bubbles in my resevor is that a for sure blown head gasket or just the most likely suspect?

 

ok my last question is could there be a possibility that the "air" im burping is just exhaust gases from a blown head gasket or something of that nature?

It depends on how long it takes to cool down. You'll notice that it will either slow down a lot, or become near empty (in which case you have to fill it again to the full line and watch for it to slow down again). Just keep an eye on it.

If your system is low, I suppose you could get some air bubbles in the reservoir as the coolant gets hot and expands. Normally, if the system is full, it just pushes fluid into the reservoir as it it gets hotter, then pulls it back in as it cools. But if your system is low on fluid, there is usually air on top of the radiator (likely other places in the motor as well) so as the system heats up and the coolant expands, it's going to push that air that is at the top of the radiator into the reservoir.

 

So random air bubbles might not suggest a head gasket, but if your getting a fairly constant stream of bubbles, that's bad news. When mine started having problems, I was in a pretty solid state of denial. I burped and burped my system, changed my thermostat, burped some more, I squeezed the upper radiator so much I gave myself a blister on my thumb.

 

Then I got one simple diagnostic suggestion from johnegg, "smell the reservoir, if it smells like exhaust its a head gasket". I smelled the reservoir, my state of denial was stong, it tried to convince me that the odor in the reservoir might not be exhaust, and if I kept trying, I might be able to smell that sweet antifreeze odor instead of that gaseous odor. I did keep trying unil I realized I was getting a headache from huffing all those exhaust fumes.

 

At that point, I stopped rejecting reality and inserting my own delusional reality in its place. The motor is now on the stand in the garage, its going to get a thorough re-sealing, new timing, water pump, clutch, ect....

Lol I'm not that far in denial I'm just trying to cover everything before it comes to that.... but I'm really beginning to believe it is the head gasket I'm starting to see little black specs in my coolant so I think reality is about to pimp smack me... . .

Lol I'm not that far in denial

 

Sure sign of denial, denying your in denial.

 

I'm starting to see little black specs in my coolant so I think reality is about to pimp smack me... . .

 

If you're seeing stuff in the reservoir, and it's head gasket related, I would surely think you would be smelling exhaust fumes in there then.