Radiator problem

[-MuGen PoWer-]

Hey
the last cruise i went down to the gong with ozhonda, the engine started heating up as i went up the hills :( . Just wondering what could be wrong with it??
Does the radiator fan alwayz suppose 2 run as u turn on the engine or onli activates sumtimes wen it gets bit hot??

Any ideas
:?:
thanx

[ek]

The fans should only activate when it gets to a certain temprature.

I had a similar problem in my Civic, where the fan control switch was not working, so driving along it was fine, although as soon as you got caught up in traffic, it would creep up.

Take the car for a spin (until it gets to normal operating temp) and then stop the car, leaving it running and see if the engine fan cuts in. If not, you'll have to see if its the actual fan thats rooted, or the switch.

If the fans operate as normal, could be other things such as thermostat etc. Does it lose water at all?

[-MuGen PoWer-]

yeah i think it does loose coolant but i dun c any leaks

[tinkerbell]

what is the colour of the coolant in hte radiator?

do the fans come on even when the car is cold?

how high does the temp needle goto?

[-MuGen PoWer-]

okay the coolant colour is green but in the spare bottle it is realli light green like its diluted
Fan only comes on wen u drive, not wen u just start up the car

the needle doesnt go all the way to red but it rises up n nearly gets there
about 3/4 of the way from middle to the red limit

[ckkl]

Have you recently flushed your coolant? You could have air bubbles in your cooling system, which causes overheating.

Otherwise, sounds like the thermostat can't openfully. That's not a bad problem to have. Replace the thermostat. Easy job.

(Check when it overheats; is the lower hose noticeably cooler than the upper hose?)

[-MuGen PoWer-]

i flushed my radiator a while ago, n had 2 change the thermostat.
car been fine til the cruise to wollongong.
Would Hanny's at smithfield fix this problem?

[ckkl]

Who flushed the radiator? Was it a backyard mechanic or a workshop?

Either way, it's possible that they didn't bleed the bubbles from the system, which causes overheating. You can bleed the bubbles by opening your radiator cap and running the heater in your car (engine off). You'll see bubbles from the radiator cap opening. Keep topping it up. When the bubbles stop, you can close it back up.

If you recently changed your thermostat, that shouldn't be causing the problem.

[Rowie]

water pump maybe?