72 SIII RUNNING VERY HOT!!!

[xrover]

Just installed a new thermostat and still overheating. New fan belt went in 2 weeks ago and I have driven 200 miles with no issues then, it started to overheat. Thats when the new thermostat went in.

Any ideas of where to look? What might not be working?

Help!!!

[Jim-ME]

I would flush the complete cooling system since the 2 obvious fixes have already been done.

[xrover]

did that also... Cant seem to get the temp down. what about the water pump?

[ctrover]

I have a 71 seiries IIa that was running crazy hot.Flushed the system,tried everything still no luck.Finally I just removed the thermostat all together and that solved the problem.Try that

[yorker]

How hot is HOT? are you certain it is overheating and not a faulty gauge? Is it pumping water?

[Bostonian1976]

timing too advanced?

[4flattires]

Got access to a digital handheld thermometer? Measure the top hose (outgoing) and lower hose (incoming) along with various spots on the rad core.

You just might have a clogged rad.

Jeff

[xrover]

Heres the story... It overheated one day and when I checked under the hood I found that the fan belt was broken. It was very old and worn.

I had the rover towed to the house, installed a new fan belt and it was O.K. for a few weeks. Then it started running real hot again. Just below the red on the gauge. So I went to install a new thermostat and found that it didnt have one. Put the new one in after flushing the system and, Still overheating. Gets to the point of the radiator fluid leaking out the overflow hose. The radiator cap does not seem to be original but, seems to be working since no fluid is escaping from it. (it does steam when hot)

I will check the timing but, it should be fine since I had done that about a month ago.

as far as the water pumping, I will check it to see again but, was pumping fine.

[LaneRover]

Even when running at normal temps you can get fluid out of the overflow hose if you had the radiator full or nearly full.

I would definitely check the temp gauge as I have a Rover that seemed to be running REAL HOT but in fact was fine and it was the temp gauge.

If none of that is the problem and it truly is overheating then I would vote for the radiator being clogged.

Brent

[xrover]

I was just about to go out and flush the radiator again. It is overheating and the gauge is working properly.

I can see the steam escaping the sides of the radiator cap when it gets to hot and the fluid boiling in the overflow right before it starts to escape thru the overflow escape hose.

Hope this works... Thanks...

[ctrover]

with thermostat in I was running almost 300 degrees .The coolant was taking the path of least resistance which is through the heater pipe work instead of the radiator in front of the fan where it can be cooled.If you still cant fix the problem remove the thermostat,make sure your the heater valve on top of the thermostat housing is closed and the coolant will go where it is supposed to.I now run about 175-200 degrees.If I didnt do this I would have blown my head gasket no matter how many times I flushed the system.Hope this helps

[xrover]

O.K. I flushed the radiator. Still overheating.... I then flushed the whole cooling system. Still overheating...

The water ran back thru fine and everything seems to be working. No leaks.

Where can I look next?

[yorker]

with thermostat in I was running almost 300 degrees .The coolant was taking the path of least resistance which is through the heater pipe work instead of the radiator in front of the fan where it can be cooled.If you still cant fix the problem remove the thermostat,make sure your the heater valve on top of the thermostat housing is closed and the coolant will go where it is supposed to.I now run about 175-200 degrees.If I didnt do this I would have blown my head gasket no matter how many times I flushed the system.Hope this helps

Have you traced down what caused your overheating? The system should work fine with the thermostat properly installed. Removing it just conceals the original problem without curing it, ok for a temporary cure though.

[LaneRover]

How old is this radiator? Is there a possibility that the crud that may be in the radiator doesn't come out with a simple flush or even a couple of simple flushes? Is there a possibility that the crud that is there is solidified crud?

Or, is there any chance that the metal fins that attach to the 'tubes' are starting to rust away and thus they aren't doing the cooling that they should? They can also get crap jammed in between the fins or the fins can be bent, all things that can cause a radiator to not work.

Just throwing a few things out there, hopefully it is just something simple that you have overlooked (us too for that matter).

Any chance of throwing in a different radiator to see if it is that?

Brent

[xrover]

I do have another radiator. Maybe I will try and put it in tomorrow.

The thermostat was old but tested fine prior to installation.

I will reply tomorrow...

[xrover]

I think I found the issue... I back flushed the cooling system and refilled the radiator with anti-freeze.

As it heats up, the top hose to the thermostat heats up. Then, the hose from the back of the engine going to the inlet of the SMITH heater heats up.

The outlet hose from the SMITH heater does not heat up at all and, the air isn't heating up either.

I THINK IT MIGHT BE THE HEATER CORE IN THE SMITH HEATER!!!!

Anyone want to throw a monkeywrench in my theory???

Additionally, I was thinking of bypassing the SMITH heater all together. Anyone see a problem with connecting the inlet hose to the outlet hose directly?

[xrover]

I pulled the inlet and outlet hoses to the heater core and hooked up a hose to just the heater core. A large amount of sludge came out.

I think that solved that issue.

I still have a high temp. Just below the red on the gauge.

I am thinking that the gauge isnt working properly. I tested the anti-freeze and it registered 210 degrees. I think the thermostat was rated for 195 degrees.

No anti-freeze leaking out and I let it run for 1 hour after it came to full temp.

Any other suggestions?

[LaneRover]

There is no problem in bypassing the heater. In fact I have a Rover where the heater hose 'mounts' on the engine were just blanked off.

I had some twit at a parts store tell me that there is ALWAYS coolant flowing through the heater and that you cannot shut that off. Of course it is places like that that are constantly asking the year my Rover was made so that they can punch it into their computer, no matter how often I tell them that my truck is not in their system!

Brent

[xrover]

Any ideas on what might be keeping the engine running hot...

Lots of heated up engine noise but, no anti-freeze in the oil.

I am thinking of running it without a thermostat to see how that works.

Should I be concerned about the waterpump at this point?

[badvibes]

Should I be concerned about the waterpump at this point?

XROVER-

It seems like the waterpump is all you haven't messed with. You could run without a thermostat and that may get the temp down a bit but like someone mentioned earlier that really only addresses a symptom not the problem. If it was my truck I probably would run without a t-stat while I got ready to pull the waterpump and at least check it and probably go ahead and replace it. Out here in NM I have to plan repairs in advance as everything has to be shipped via pony express. When your truck is currently your daily driver one can't afford too much down time.

J

[xrover]

Good deal... I was just about to go and take the bloody thing out.

Thanks to all...

[xrover]

Running at a good temp now that the thermostat is out.

Just ordered a water pump kit and I have another radiator.

Plan on installing them by tomorrow. Thanks for the help...

[xrover]

reset the timing and installed a new thermostat. No issues now. Thanks...