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]

Lets measure!

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...