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I put this on someone else's post, but thought I should start a new thread, I hope that is ok.
I have an 2003 acura tl s. Smelled antifreeze and looked under hood and radiator was cracked. Car never overheated to my knowledge. I changed the radiator and the thermostat and now the damn thing overheats after idling for 6 minutes. I have confirmed the thermostat is working. I was suspecting water pump like you but don't have any leakage and the heater works super good.
I did a compression test and saw that the pressure was a little slow to rise and got a little high, but nothing to indicate leaking headgaskets which I was afraid of.
Our going theory now is that there is an air pocket trapped in the radiator or engine. we have tried burping it using a no spill radiator funnel, but have had odd results with that. The level goes up and down so much more than any video on youtube, (Like 1-1.5 gallons come out, but then when engine cycles we have to pour it all back in or it takes in more air.) and the engine doesn't overheat when that is hooked up, but throw on the radiator cap and it overheats again after 6 minutes. I'm pretty stuck and worried. Possible bad radiator? Maybe, gonna try to flush it tonight and change all the hoses and clamps. Was considering taking it to jiffylube and having them do a coolant flush because maybe they have a pressurized system???, but I don't know if they will do any better than I did and I hate taking cars to those places and it will put me out another $80.
I also noticed some coolant leakage from the top of the radiator where the hose to the reserve tank plugs in. Is this a problem? I put a clamp on it but it still leaks a little when I squeeze lower rad hose. I don't want to over tighten it and break that plastic spout.
check the line to the reservoir and make sure it's not split. If that leaks then that's how air is getting into the system. Are you using one of these to burp your system?
Yes I'm using one of those. My confusion with that tool is that when I start the engine with some fluid in the funnel it goes up so much that we literally have to use a small cup to bail fluid out of the funnel, and then as the engine cycles it starts sucking back down into the radiator so we don't let the funnel go dry and keep pouring fluid in, and then this process repeats itself (I don't see people on youtube dealing with this issue). Once we got it to a point Saturday where it was fairly level, only fluctuating with a rev of the engine, so we thought we had it right, but after we buttoned it up it overheated again immediately and we could hear some clicking in the radiator like there was still air, as well as slurping when squeezing the lower hose.
I will double check the reservoir line, it was leaking air / fluid where it connects to radiator but I didn't see any other issues with it. Was considering replacing since the clamp I put on it still leaks a tiny amount when squeezing hoses
and when you installed the thermostat did you make sure the pin was up?
Yes the thermostat has the pin up. Will double check when we change the hoses, but the way the dealer thermostat and gasket fit into the housing it didn't seem like there was any other way, but a very good thought.
You probably have air in the cooling system or a bad radiator cap.
Make sure the vent Pin is on top and thermostat is installed in the correct direction. Replace your radiator cap. It's cheap insurance.
When filling the Cooling system, you need to turn the heater on and set the temperature setting to the hottest setting to open the heater valve and leave it there until done bleeding the cooling system.
To bleed the cooling system you need to top off the radiator and with the radiator cap off run the car (idling) until the radiator fan comes on a minimum of two times. That should burp the air from the cooling system. Doesn't hurt to idle longer.
Watch the temperature gauge so you don't over heat the car if something is wrong.
01acls....I replaced the radiator and it came with a new cap. I also bought a new cap. I get the same results I mentioned above with either.
As far as the bleeding is concerned, I have done it for over an hour 3 times over the weekend (jacked up, jacked up more, heater on full blast whole time, revving engine occasionally. The problem with the bleeding / burping is the massive intake and expulsion of fluid, way more than the no spill radiator cap funnel will hold. I think you are right, and there is air in there, it just won't come the hell out. I was wondering if maybe the hoses could be letting in air though they are not leaking, the clamps aren't the best, so I'm considering changing all hoses and clamps as well.
For the most part air is not going to be suck in until the cooling system is cooling off not while hot. When engine is hot it will pressurize causing a leak not produce vacuum (introduce air to the cooling system).
When bleeding the cooling system as I've discribed there shouldn't be anything attached to the radiator. Just do it with the radiator cap off.
If you're using some kind of anti air funnel to fill the radiator then follow the manufacturer's instructions. Don't mix the two methods.
The over flow reservoir's cap should have a straw/hose attached to the cap. Make sure it's still there and that has a tight seal. When hot coolant is cooling off and reverting from pressure to vacuum it will draw from the over flow tank. If the straw/hose is not submerged or the seal to the cap is not tight then air will be drawn into the cooling system. Don't confuse the straw/hose's tight seal with the over flow cap and the over flow bottle and cap. These are two different things.
The over flow bottle to over flow cap don't need a tight seal. The straw/hose to cap does.
The no spill funnel is luke running it with radiator cap off (it connects like a radiator) just without the mess supposedly....dealer told me to use that....so did the guy up top. We replaced hoses. Thermostat housing dick has a lot of buildup on it...I tried cleaning it off but barely touched it
Well I pushed the car to get it in garage and left the keys turned over so I guess I'm done for the night.
Battery charging and system refreshed and refilled. Will burp it tomorrow.
That yellow funnel is what ive been using. Without it and just the radiator cap off fluid just pours out of radiator while trying to burb it and then seems to suck air back in
yes that is a golf club. Hood struts are a luxury. At this point I should've pulled the hood but I never expexted to put this much work in for a radiator.
Rechecked the thermostat, it was correct. Replaced upper and lower hoses, and clamps. Also replaced reservoir hoses and added clamps to them. Burped the system super easy and have it up and running! I'm not even sure that the main hoses were the problem, I'm still thinking that it was the reservoir hose sucking air in the whole time. Thanks for the advice everyone and good luck to anyone else replacing a radiator in this car. Note to self, don't half ass it, cuz anything worth doing is worth doing right.
Just want to bring this thread up. I have 03 TL and I am having problem on overheating on stop and go traffic while I have my A/C on. It's been hot lately in So Cali over 100 degree for 2 weeks. It started 2 weeks ago where my car started to overheated as the needle were moving up as I had my AC on and the car was parked for a good 10 minute. So I shut off the AC and the needle steady lowers back to its normal state. I assume it was the coolant so I check the radiator and it was full but on the resevoir tank was kind of low so I fill it up. After that, I haven't been using the A/C for a week or 2.
So yesterday, I went to my friend shop and he tried to fill up some coolant and there, I was using the A/C for the better part of the day and so far the needle didn't creep up. So today after work it was quite hot at around 5ish at 100 degree or so. I had my AC on at medium fan for 20 minutes. I had some stop and go traffic and as I was almost home within 5 minutes, the needle started to move up. I shut off the AC and as I was on the street at my house, the needle started to move down at its normal state.
My question is would it be the secondary fan that is not working? Thermostat? or Radiator Cap? I had my car cool down for about an hour. Then I started up again to see if the secondary fan work or not. Once I start up the car, the fan on the left started to kick in. Then I turn on the AC for 5 minutes and waited for the fan on the right but have not kick in yet. So would it be a fan issue?
If it was the thermostat issue, shouldn't it overheat instantly?
I checked the hose and no crack or leakage.
I have not checked the radiator cap. Should that be another issue.
I am planning to get either a radiator cap an used fan. But before that, I just want to see if anyone have any input to help me resolve this issue.
If anyone has mysterious over heating problems after changing the thermostat then the next logical step is to replace the radiator and the cap. Especially if the radiator is more than 10 years old. Assuming you don't have a leak in the cooling system.
With the rad cap off and the thermostat at operating temperature, you should be able to see the coolant circulating simi fast from right to left in the radiator as the thermostat cycles open and close. If circulation is very slow to none then some of the radiator tubing is clogged and it's time to replace the radiator.
Both fans should be on and operating in high speed mode if the ac is on and the climate control is in recirculation mode.
Rockauto sells the oem radiator for dirt cheap so no excuses for not replacing the radiator.
Found what happen. One of the fan not working. So I use a screw driver and bang it a few time, it started to work. Maybe something got stuck or bad fan? The connector is working fine.
sometimes the connectors get a little corrosion and that little whack to the fan jarred something loose.... keep an eye on it...
So yesterday after work I didn't turn on the AC while heading home although temperature is well over 90 degree. Once I got home I just try to see if the fan works and turn on the AC. Found out, fan didn't kick in while I had the AC on. I did check the connector with a light tester and it did work. I even switch to the connector on the other fan and it work out fine too.
I guess the motor fan might be time to give out. Maybe I'll look into a junk yard and see if they have any I can salvage.
04-03-2017, 10:41 AM
Solved
