bad water pump or radiator?

[gotta240]

Car is starting to overheat while cruising at freeway speeds around 3k. rpms.

When i downshift and drive around 5k. rpms the car cools down. Basically car cools down when its being worked harder....Odd. Not sure if its h20 pump or rad... Opinions?

[EATthis]

Check your fan clutch if thats all good put might as well change the water pump and thermostat.

[gotta240]

i dont have a fan or fan clutch. Thermstat is not the problem and is unrelated to "symptoms". thanks though. Any other opinions?

[Nismoknightska-t]

i dont have a fan or fan clutch. Thermstat is not the problem and is unrelated to "symptoms". thanks though. Any other opinions?


are you for real?

you dont run a fan or clutch fan?

[crazyikimasho]

If you're cruising at freeway speeds and its overheating, thats most likely not a fan issue. Although, if you dont have a "fan or fan clutch", Im assuming you mean you have an electric fan though, that could very well be an issue.

But back on topic... at freeway speeds the radiator is getting air blown through effectively so you should first check coolant levels. Next if its not low then you could have a water pump or thermostat issue, or could possibly even be a headgasket problem so you should test your coolant for oil content.

[gotta240]

lol. my bad guys, i should be more specific.

I have an electric fan that pushes 2400cfm.
Not bad head gasket
Plenty of fluid (not to mention i run redline water wetter)
thermastat is fine as well as radiator cap

What cooling problem gets better with higher revs? Rad or h20 pump?

thanks for the replies.

[projectRDM]

Could be either. The water pump cavitating at lower engine speeds means it's not flowing enough water, but a clog in the radiator could also decrease flow until there's more pressure behind it, enough to push past the clog. Both are easy enough to pull and check, if the water pump has more than 60k miles on it you're not hurting a thing to replace it, the radiator could also probably use a good flush and clean out.

[[H.C.W.T]]

i would just replace the water pump to play it safe
their only like 30 bucks at checker and it's around 40 for the life time replace ment

[gotta240]

thanks r240na.. thats basically what i expected to hear. Getting rad cleaned this weekend. If its not bad, h20 pump will go on next.(current one only has 10k. or so though)

[Dream240]

;1611014']i would just replace the water pump to play it safe
their only like 30 bucks at checker and it's around 40 for the life time replace ment

You might want to check your sources for a water pump before you buy from China.

Some aftermarket pump makers use smaller fins and weaker components which perform at a lower level for less money. Will it cool? sure but they're most likely at the lowest possible workable spec for the KA/SR.

Stick with OEM, sure it costs more but well worth it to know you're getting quality.

And Russ is right on, either a failing pump (should be crying out the weep hole) or clogged radiator. Also how are your radiator fins, damaged? And has the front end been re-painted, thus clogging the cooling fins with paint?

GL