skywalkrNCSU

iTrader: (3)

my car started overheating friday when i went to take it on a trip, i didnt get far when it overheated and i had to call AAA to tow it back. there was a AAA repair center near by and so i just had them tow it there since i figured it was just a busted hose or something and they called me back telling me that the water pump was leaking, the thermostat was shot, the belt and the belt tensioners (?) were shot, and i needed new hoses. well the grand total on this came out to be over $1000 so i told them good day and i will take my car back and fix it myself.

now when i go to think about it it seems like these guys didnt even look for a leak and just said it was all the possible things. should i just replace everything or should i try certain things first to see if that does the trick? also, i have never had a problem like this on my car so i have never had to fix something like this so i was planning on picking up a repair manual, any recommendations on that?

thanks

Jeresous

Well I guess the main thing is did you actually have any coolant coming out or did the car just over heat?

skywalkrNCSU

iTrader: (3)

coolant came out and the overflow had coolant in it

Jeresous

I see you have a 98 so this is unrelated and I know absolutely zip about the cooling components of our cars, but I did have a 3rd gen break the "heater diverter valve". A plastic piece of crap, I purchased a new 1 for $12 at Autozone and installed it in 5 seconds. It was still a nightmare trying to get off the freeway with coolant flying everywhere and my engine overheating. Personally I've seen a lot of cars with small cracked plastic pieces though, that typically only leaked while the car was hot enough to pressurize. If thats the case I'd prob rule out a hose. Probably really just have to fill it back up and see where its coming from IMO.

skywalkrNCSU

iTrader: (3)

ok i just got done looking for a leak and i couldnt really find anything. it was making a kind of sucking sound when it was idleing though im not sure what that means but i dont think it is normal.

Jeresous

If you just added a bunch of coolant and the thing was really low then yeah the sucking sound is normal, and again I'm a complete novice about this kind of stuff but to me if the coolant is circulating I really doubt your water pump is bad. My friends ford torus over heated and mostly dried up once, couldn't find where anything was coming from. Filled it back up and he was able to drive it for a few more weeks, the coolant levels stayed perfectly normal the whole time. Then it happened again for no apparent reason. Then we found a small crack on the bottom of the coolants reservoir, it was small enough that it only leaked when things got really hot and the pressure was high enough. Also I think it was alleviating just enough pressure from the coolant that the coolant was able to reach a boiling point which accelerated everything. We swapped out the reservoir and put a new cap on just to be sure, in case the old cap wasn't releasing enough pressure, or possibly releasing to much. Everything worked fine after... anyway thats all I know on the matter, best of luck to you. Hopefully we can get someone with some experience to chime in on helping you diagnose your problem.

skywalkrNCSU

iTrader: (3)

well ive decided im just gonna replace all that stuff myself. the car has a lot of miles on it so im sure it could use it. the only thing i am confused about is the guy said the belt tensioner was bad and when i went to the parts store today i asked him about that and he was confused when he looked up the parts. anyone know what part i would need for that?

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

Id say the water pump took a ****

Mr Incredible

When my water pump let go it only leaked when the cooling system had gotten to temp and became pressurized.

The coolant was coming out of the weep hole in the bottom of the water pump. I couldn't see it directly from any angle, but I could see it running down and out of that area.

You'll have to fill with water (or coolant) to the top of the radiator, run out all the bubbles you can, put the radiator cap back on, and begin to heat up the system. Then, start looking for leaks. Let's hope it's all on the outside...

Mr Incredible

If they lied about everything else, what makes you think they didn't lie about this, too?

Why replace it unless you know it's bad? They usually squeal like crazy when they die, or maybe wobble real bad, or maybe stop dead while the belt runs over it (which'll likely throw the belt off). Is it doing any of those things?

Belt tensioners have little marks to show if it is within proper tension range. There's a pointer on the moving arm and three hash marks on the stationary part. Is the pointer within the marks?

skywalkrNCSU

iTrader: (3)

well im not sure they lied but im just assuming they wanted to make more money than they needed....ill check that stuff out next chance i get

Quickin

Change everything, are you kidding?

Most likely a heating problem is ONE thing, not two or more things.

Where is the coolant coming from? If its coming from the water pump, its the pump for sure. No need to anything else but the pump at this point because you have to change it anyway if its leaking.

Don't change the pulleys unless they're making a shitload of squealing noises. They last a LONG LONG time.


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