cooling issues i need some help or advice!
when i drive my car over 20-30 miles i have been noticing it seems to be running hot, not my temperature gauge in the car though... the temp goes from cool to normal, i have not seen it go above normal at any point.... BUT at the end of the ride if i am on heavy accleration the needle starts dropping depending upon how much throttle is being applied... As soon as i noticed the max doing this i pulled over, after popping the hood i felt my radiator was HOT!!! also my engine was quite warm for such a short drive! I have a aluminum radiator instead of the oem plastic ones, and i have carefully inspected my radiator... it does not have a leak nor do any of the hoses attached to it...

After consulting the bible (the haynes) i went thru the cooling section and looked at a couple different ideas... ok 1) thermostat?? why is it showing the temp reading, the book mentions various thermostat errors and issues and none of them seem to fit the issue at hand..

also best of all is toward the end of the trip i notice my temp start to drop as i would accel.. the harder i pushed gas the lower the needle dropped, but after i let off the gas the needle went back up to normal...

after a few minutes i popped my hood and felt my radiator was QUITE HOT and my engine was quite warm... not like normal.... when i opened the radiator i noticed the fluid had dropped quite a bit and was completely bubbling.. my reservoir is completely filled now... i read about the water/cooling pump and if it is not working then as the pressure in your radiator/cooling system rises the system forces some out thru a overflow, for lack of better word located around the crankcase on dohc's... Everytime i drive this same thing happens, and i am loosing a small bit of radiator fluid each trip, and im sure it is not my radiator or hoses, they have both been throughly checked!

please help with any advice or ideas...
not being able to drive long distances is really starting to get to me.....

 

So you drive the car 20 - 30 miles, temp gauge is normal, radiator is hot and engine is warm. Yet for some reason you think you have a cooling system problem? Sounds like normal operation if you ask me.

 

my car has normal temp and then starts to blow HOT air down by my feet (and the passsanger's feet). this is not warm air, its HOT HOT HOT air.

the temp sensor stays the same, but if i turn on the air conditioner it overheats and soon studders and shuts off and radiator fluid spits up.

i dont use the air anymore since this started, but to avoid it i turn the heat all the way up and the fan to max (4) on ECON. this cools it off.

i belive my problem to be the radiator and the thermostat. the thermostat has not been chanced for 200+ thosand miles and the radiator looks to have a nest in it of some sorts.

you can check to see if you need to change on of those parts and make sure your fans are spinning.

some maxes have problems with the gauges themselfs (so i hear on the forums).

 

dude... did u read what i wrote about the needle dropping when on acceleration??? thats not normal... as soon as i let off the gas the needle will start to go back up to normal...(when accelerating the needle drops from normal to right above COLD....)
anyway please any advice??? ive owned this max for almost 5 years, im pretty sure im used to normal operation...

 

It could be a combination of problems, for starters the thermostat may be seized in a partially open state, which would allow for a leisurlly drive and normal temp range, but upon heavy acceleration overheating. Also sounds like you have air bubbles/pockets in your cooling system. You may have a leak somewhere. How old is you radiator cap, has it been changed? I would do a complete FLUSH and burppp, not drain and fill, change thermostats and radiator cap, and go from there which is relatively inexpensive and easy to do on your own. Either DIY or professional, if prof. at least they can run a dye test for leaks(well you can too, but why?)

 

dude, thank u.... i had a guy from the southeast forums tell me it may be air pockets, after following his advice and i seem to have the same problem.. but as for the thermostat and radiator cap those are my next things to check/replace along with a fresh flush and refill.. thanks again, i hope this fixes it!!

 

Good luck with your repairs.

 

flush ur rad and make sure you fill to proper level so you get the air pockets out like sema said. might as well do thermostat while your in there, its probably no good anyway. check level of antifreeze after a couple of days and top off if necessary.

 

Any white smoke coming out of your tail pipe, even if it's for a few minutes. ???

Pull your plugs, do you see any wet coolant.

I think dry coolant on the end of plugs is white in color ( if someone can confirm this ???)

Do pressure test, either at home or take it to the dealer, but don't tell them you want a pressure test. Just tell them

1 You are losing coolant

2 "SUMMARIZE", what your needle's doing

for $85 they'll tell you exactly what's wrong with your car

JUST hope it's not a blown head gasket

Good Luck, and stay COOL !!!

 

water pump on the way out? Maybe it only really pumps liquid at high revs?

How regularly have you been replacing the antifreeze? Maybe there's some constriction in the waterways in the block or the rad? Like the guys said a good flush might just do it.

Dunno, that's weird behaviour!