93_five_oh

for those who don't like to read... just read the bold. lol

Ok... so ever since i got my under drive pulleys my car gets warmer than usual if i just sit and idle for a long time after driving around. for the past few months it will get really really hot when i sit and idle. (i don't just sit much, so it's not a huge issue) but when you take your girlfriend to work at 5:30 am and it's 30 degrees out, you don't want to shut the car off. her manager was late to work so i was forced to wait about 35 min. after about 25 i remembered my car get too hot, so i shut the engine off. the temp gauge wasn't at max, but it was a whole lot hotter than it should be.
after a few minutes my girlfriend noticed "pretty fog" coming from the font. there was steam shooting from the rad cap... i think. i'm not sure if there is a leak right by the filler neck or if the cap leaks a little because there is usually some anti freeze right around there.
when i finally drove off i had to go real easy because it was pinging like crazy. my car already pings for some unknown reason, so this didn't help things.
after less than one minute on the freeway the temp gauge was showing waaaay low then after a few minutes it was normal.

does anybody have any ideas where i should start? t-stat maybe? would a radiator leak cause this? any input would be really helpful!

thanks!

WhiteWindsor

If it's cool while driving then i would say your rad is fine. Could be pump or t stat. About 4 weeks ago i left my 93 f-250 running over nite like a dumbass. 9 hours and it was no hotter than usual. I'd say my cooling system is pretty good, lol. A leak itself wont cause it to overheat unless unless your running low on fluid. The UD pully's are not helping either. Some people have charging and over heating issue's with them. What' your coolant look like. Has it ever been flushed?

93_five_oh

Thanks. I flushed it over the summer... never replaced the t-stat though. let me look to see if it's ever been replaced at all. it's not low on coolant... i'm guessing it's the thermostat. although my brothers ranger blew a heater hose AND a rad hose cause it failed shut...
could it be half open or something like that, so it only cools effectively when there is a lot of air flowing over the radiator?

HACKGT350

the ud pullies arent helping you any with this i would get rid of them they dont do anything but cause problems. you said you had steam coming from your rad cap. you might want to replace that it sounds like its not holding pressure that well so its not increasing the boiling point of the coolant which may have causes it to make "pretty fog". check your water pump look at the weap holes on the bottom and top and see if they are leaking anything at all it could be such a small leak that it wont drip onto the ground or really show a problem with coolant leaves you can also check the end play of the pump by trying to move the fan around if it wiggles you might have a bad bearing in the pump. as for the t-stat try replacing it with a 180* instead of the stock 195*

93_five_oh

thanks guys... i just replaced the cap with a napa cap thinking that might be the problem. looks like it was a bad choice?
I checked.. the t-stat was replaced approx. 50k miles ago. The water pump was replaced 34k miles ago... in case that would make a difference. i'll still check though.
the radiator cap is 16 lb right?

HACKGT350

well it seems like everything is new it would be your ud pullies get rid of them

93_five_oh

awe dang it. i guess i gotta call my parents and have them send them. lol
that sucks...

HACKGT350

haha

93_five_oh

ok.. so the pulleys will be on their way soon.
I noticed the upper radiator hose is soft, when it's hot. As in it's not pressurizing. When i squeeze it i can hear air escaping from the top of the radiator. That means there's a leak/hole. I don't lose any antifreeze.. at least it takes a long time for it to get low.
So my question is: If the system is not pressurizing, will that cause it to run hotter?

HACKGT350

yup it will. when you put pressurize a liquid it raises his boiling point so by not having the coolant under pressure it lowers the boiling point back down to normal and will cause it to boil in the engine and overheat. go to autozone and rent or buy a cooling system pressure tester kit that will show you were your leak is