z28pat

iTrader: (10)

My wife was driving my car today (yes she drives it), and she got stuck in traffic for almost an hour, well she turned the a/c on and the temp gauge started going up past half past 3/4 just before the red, once she turned the a/c off the temp started going down again.
I'm thinking it's the water pump.
Can you check if it's working by running the car w/o the radiator cap to see if the water is flowing?

pat

samson_420

iTrader: (1)

I don't think it is your water pump. Maybe the fans not kicking on. But yeah, if wait untill the car is warm and the thermostat is open you will see the water run out of the throttle body bypass line.

SSNISTR

iTrader: (10)

I agree, not the pump. Fans and or T stat is my guess.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

I am guessing debris in the condenser and radiator fins
is starving the airflow that the wimp fans might try to
induce.

Viper

iTrader: (6)

I agree, after 9 years I just pulled the radiator and beat the snot out of the condensor by using a 2x4 and hitting the top rail. Don't hit the fins, they will crush, but the top rail is fine. You can also bang it against the frame rail. It dislodged an a$$ load of crap, and I finished it off by blowing air from the engine side outwards after spraying it down with simple green. Hardest part of the job is pulling the radiator and fans and reinstalling (solo).

needadvice

Glad to see someone reads threads to pick up info on how to clean the condensor.

Glad to hear it worked for you.

needadvice

The ONLY thing it could be is fans that do not come on the high settings when the A/C is turned on ...in city driving conditions.

OR

Your condensor is all clogged up with crap. And I don't mean inside the condensor, I mean outside with rocks, sticks, grass and other crap.

Both of these issues will cause you to overheat in the city. To check the fans, just go drive until the temp gets to about 180*, feel (carefully) if BOTH fans are blowing. Then go turn on the A/C and the fans should go to a higher setting, BOTH at the same time always.

And yes, you can check to see if the t-stat is working. Just take the radiator cap off when the engine is cold. Start the engine and stand there and wait until it opens and starts to flow. But, just in case it does not open, either have someone sit in the car and watch the temp gauge or make sure you keep going back and forth to check it every minute or so.

If it starts flowing, the water pump and t-stat are working.

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

I bet THERMOSTAT.

needadvice

It only overheats when they turn the A/C on. The t-stat has no idea when the A/C is on or off. If the t-stat was bad it would overheat in 15 minutes with the A/C off if the dead of winter.