Cooling problems...still

[1stcar240sx]

A while ago i had a problem with my car overheating.(you can check for the post if you want)  Anyways, I took the car in to have it's radiator cleaned.  to make a long story short, the radiator was a non-stock P.O.S. one row radiator that had all of the channels plugged with solder.  They replaced it and put in a new thermostat.  This didn't seem to fix the problem and they are stumped as to what the problem is.  They re-checked everything, thermostat, leaky headgasket and such, all checked out fine. Now they think it COULD be the water pump, any ideas?

[gwong]

You may ultimately have a blown gasket.  It's one where there are no physical signs like white smoke, radiator fluid in oil, etc.  It had that problem, and it took me a long time to figure that out.  My system kept overboiling and I pretty much fixed and eliminated any other possible problem.  Finally, my last resort was to pull off the head.  Sure enough it was a blown gasket.  

[Arcane]

there's an easy way to check if it's the water pump...fill you radiator with water, i'd say coolant but you might just be wasting it, anyways, fill up the radiator and leave the cap off...start your car and turn up the heater full blast...if you see that water is circulating then you know that the water pump should be fine, if it just sits there looking like piece of shite, then your pump is bad...give it a try, that's how i found out my water pump went bad...

[9591]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Arcane on 11:14 pm on Mar. 1, 2002
there's an easy way to check if it's the water pump...fill you radiator with water, i'd say coolant but you might just be wasting it, anyways, fill up the radiator and leave the cap off...start your car and turn up the heater full blast...if you see that water is circulating then you know that the water pump should be fine, if it just sits there looking like piece of shite, then your pump is bad...give it a try, that's how i found out my water pump went bad...</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
You forgot to mention that the engine has to first warm up enough for the thermostat to open, and that you have to be looking while it's open (it opens and closes when it's warmed up) ...

edit: In response to the original post: take it somewhere else; cooling system problems are really not that tough to figure out, with the car in front of you.

(Edited by 9591 at 2:34 am on Mar. 2, 2002)

[misnomer]

Cooling systems are pressurized. There is a nifty tool you can use to verify it has no leaks, mechanics should have it. Also, check the radiator cap, if that isn't sealing properly, you lose compression of your radiator fluid, making it boil at a lower tempurature and lose it's cooling effectiveness.

And yes, it could potentially be the water pump, but test the cooling system for leaks first. . . And replace your radiator cap <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

[sykikchimp]

what benefit do those nice looking aftermarket radiator caps give? &nbsp;High boiling temp? &nbsp;IF so, sounds like a good idea for a turbo car to have one. &nbsp;Any ideas on a good brand?