2000 si cooling problem

[TMOurednik]

i own a 2000si and am having problems with my car starting to overheat. the temp gauge goes to about 3/4 the way up unless i start driving about 50-60 or turn on the heat. iv already replaced the water temp sensor and the sensor on the thermostat houseing. i dont think its the thermostat not opening up cause i waiting until it got hot and felt the lower radiatior hose and it was hot so im pretty sure the thermostat opens up, and the cooling fan isnt coming on. i already switched the relays around to see if it was that but it still doesnt cut on. what else could i try before replaceing the fan or radiator?

 

[RonJ]

Try bleeding the cooling system:

This procedure may take 20-30 minutes:

1) Park the car on an inclined driveway with the front end higher than the rear.

2) Push the dash heater lever/knob to MAX heat.

3) Follow the directions in the diagram below

 

[TMOurednik]

my radiator was full and it didnt need any fluid.

 

[RonJ]

my radiator was full and it didnt need any fluid.

A full radiator has no bearing on whether or not air is trapped in the cooling system.

 

[TMOurednik]

will water work or will it not pressureize like radiator fluid, cause i dont have any right now.

 

[FreeOfThoughts]

will water work or will it not pressureize like radiator fluid, cause i dont have any right now.

you can only use distilled water, tap water has hard minerals that you do NOT want settling in your engine. You can add some distilled water if you have no antifreeze but you should keep around a 50/50 mix or close to it, water boils at 212, the antifreeze will boil at 240 or higher, you want to have a good amount of antifreeze so your engine doesn't reach that boiling point and loses its cooling capacity. (hence why you don't want hot air pockets either and should bleed it)

 

[tonyhatchetman]

you can only use distilled water, tap water has hard minerals that you do NOT want settling in your engine. You can add some distilled water if you have no antifreeze but you should keep around a 50/50 mix or close to it, water boils at 212, the antifreeze will boil at 240 or higher, you want to have a good amount of antifreeze so your engine doesn't reach that boiling point and loses its cooling capacity. (hence why you don't want hot air pockets either and should bleed it)

what about mixing antifreeze with tap will that be ok?? just wondering not trying to steal a tread but he might still have some antifreeze in the system.

 

[TMOurednik]

my resevoir is just below max with antifreeze, but i wasnt sure about putting water directly into the radiator, and i dont have any distilled water, i gotta wait till tomorrow to go buy some antifreeze.

 

[FreeOfThoughts]

tap water in any amount isn't great, lots of people do it all the time and have done it for years it is just more likely to have deposits and possibly erode places inside of your engine (can cause head gasket problems and more) not all the time, i try not to take to many chances tho. like i said there are probably thousands of people that just throw tap water in their radiator to top it off and can run on it for a while i don't recommend it.

 

[RonJ]

tap water in any amount isn't great, lots of people do it all the time and have done it for years it is just more likely to have deposits and possibly erode places inside of your engine (can cause head gasket problems and more) not all the time, i try not to take to many chances tho. like i said there are probably thousands of people that just throw tap water in their radiator to top it off and can run on it for a while i don't recommend it.

I agree. Never add tap water to the cooling system.