Emann0007

My 97 GT is overheating. I know what the problem is, but I have no clue what is causing it.

She has all of her fluids, no leaks.
The fan runs, but not at full speed.

Here's what happens. When I'm moving fast enough to get soe air running through th readiator the car runs just fine. But when I come to a standstill at a stoplight or whatever it heats up fairly quickly. 4-5 redlights in Orlando traffic and the needle is hitting the "L" in "NORMAL" on the temp guage. Normal operating temp is between the "N" and "O".

I pulled the car over and did a quick inspection when I first noticed the problem last Friday. No coolant leaks, the fan was running, etc. I let it cool off over night and check the radiator, full.

The next day I check it again once I return home from my short drive to work (4 miles). It didn't have time to get any warmer than normal so I let it sit and run in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Within 10 minutes the temp had gone from between the "N" and "O" to hitting the "A". (NORMAL). I pop the hood and notice the fan is running but its so quite/slow that I can't hear it over the exhaust at an idle like I normally can.

Why is my fan not spinning at full speed? The car has a 180* STP thermostat. The fan spins so it isn't obstructed. What is the problem here? Bad fan motor?

Jfsram

Without knowing what the temperatures of N, O or L is. Sorry but I don't have a 97.

What makes you sure it is actually overheating. I'm not saying your's isn't but it is normal for an electric fan car to go above thermostat temperature before the fans come on.

If your fan is running and the temps are not falling before it turns off. Then you have a problem. This may be a plugged up radiator. Is the fan blowing warm air?

dtkikols

id would take a closer look at your water pump. when the car is up to temperature feel the big coolant hose and see if you can feel fluid running through there. if its not then its your water pump. i doubt the fan not running at full speed would cause a car to overheat.

99BlackPonyGT

wrong, my fan stopped working in my car and i had to pull over half a mile to let it cool down for 10 mins then drive a litte farther and pull over again until i got to a buddys house...

Emann0007

Because my car has never heated up like this before. I'm not going to let my temp guage run all the way up, possibly causing damagebefore I declare it a problem.

The air from the fan has always felt warm to me...

Typically when the car is idling and warm, thefan is on and when I pop the hood, the fan is roaring. It's pretty loud (typically). It puts out a lot of air. It's not doing that now. I can literally reach in and stop the fan with my hand. It just isn't spinning like it should so I'm getting very little airflow.

Emann0007

I'll check that. I didn't touch it when the car was running just because it's so damn hot. I did give it a few squeezes when I opened up the radiator to check the fluid levels. I could see the coolant move in the radiator when I squeezed it so don't think there are and obstructions there, but Irealize that doesn't mean the water pump isn't bad. I'll have to look at that.

amoosenamedhank

The fan actually has 2 speeds. It's possible that it's just not swithching to high. This also could be a problem with your t stat. If that this is stuck closed, these problems could happen.

Emann0007

Okay. I was wondering if the fan was variable speed. It's the only thing I could think of. The fan works in the sense that it spins but it doesn't spin as fast as I know it can/should. Is there a way for me to fix this without buying a new fan motor?


Also, what if any visual clue would my thermostat give me to indicate that it needs to be replaced? I'll pull it in a bit when the car cools down and inspect it. It is a 180* SLP thermo. Should I go 160* if the thermo is indeed the problem?

amoosenamedhank

I guess I'm not sure on the fan. When I had my car tuned I had my tuner lower the temps at which the 2 speeds would turn on.

If you're running hot and it's not the thermostat, then going to a 160 is like using a band-aid. If that's not the problem it may mask it but the other problem will still be there. If it is the thermostat then just buying a new 180 would take care of the problem.

One thing you could do to check to see if the thermostat is opening is start the car when it's cold. Pull the upper radiator hose off of the radiator (there shouldn't be any coolant coming out at this time, other then a little bit that could be in the hose) and let the car warm up. You may have to hold a slight rev to speed up the process. If the thermostat opens eventually you'll have a bunch of coolant shoot out of the upper radiator hose.

Emann0007

LMAO. I can see my property manager pulling up in his golfcart as my car sprays coolant all over the place. So, is there no way to visually inspect the thermostat for problems? I'll pull it out, take a look and then run the car once I replace it to check the upper hose for increased flow/pressure. I should be able to detect that without unhooking the hose and making a mess, right?