ok i have dealt with over heating. . but my problem is the car wont warm up. the thermostat doesnt open, water doesnt move, it stays cold and runs horrible. ideas what is going on . i have changed the thermostat let it run idle for an hour . . . and nothing . . still running like junk and still not coming up to temp
Hi Hotrodtemtress. Your car is running on 5 cylinders. That's my best guess. It should still run well when it's cold. I would start troubleshooting with A focus on getting the engine running smoothly.
Only real check necessary is feel upper radiator hose... If it's getting warm after approx 10 minutes, the coolant is circulating when it should not be...
the heater is only blowing cold air. the temp gauge doesnt move. and there is no water movement no matter how long i let it sit and idle . and the who time it is running just horrible rough
We need to take this diagnosis one step at a time! First off we have to use the correct terminology if we are to truly communicate. I am not being condescending, just trying to help. Your car does not warm up or overheat, it is incapable of that function. It is your car's engine that performs in that manner. Your engine creates heated coolant which is circulated by the water pump through the thermostat and upper radiator hose to your cars radiator and back to the water pump through the lower radiator hose. In turn, the water pump also circulates heated coolant directly to the passenger compartment heater system by-passing the thermostat. Please answer the following questions. Does your engine get hot to the touch after running for several minutes? (As Krazy Comet points out, it is a matter of physics and the answer to this question has to be yes regardless of what your temperature gauge indicates. Your engine not your car is in fact generating the heat.) Does the heater hose that runs from the water pump to the heater box warm at the same rate as the engine? There are two hoses, make sure you check the one going from the water pump. Does the upper radiator hose get hot after several more minutes? If the answer to the three questions are yes, no and no you more than likely have a bad water pump as 71gold suggests. If your answers are different than yes, no and no we have to perform further diagnosis. Your rough running engine may be a separate matter all together.
In my 50+ years of vehicle ownership I've never seen a reversed T-Stat cause no warmup... Usually temp rises to more than normal and then it opens & functions normally... Was common for the T-stat not seal in the half motor 2.3 Stang, T-Bird etc, so engine never warmed up as coolant bypassed around it.. Never seen this condition in a 302 though I did see one chrome aftermarket housing warped so badly it would not seal, even with multiple gaskets... The poor running engine probably isn't related, though if run cold long enough the plugs could be fouled...
Make the engine run properly first. If the engine runs for an hour, and the heater blows cold, the heater core is bypassed or clogged. Or the coolant flow valve is closed, or the temperature blend door is directing the airflow around the heater core. If the thermostat is open (stuck or broken) the engine will still warm. It may not reach full operating temperature, but the coolant will get warm enough to feel A difference. It will take longer than normal. Every car I have had would start blowing warm air from the heater long before the engine reached full operating temperature. Within A few minutes of starting, even on cold days. The engine running horribly rough is not caused by not heating up. The engine running on less than all it's cylinders could delay or prevent it from reaching full temp. Make the engine run properly first.
Personally I would not run an engine long enough to diagnose and tune it if it possibly had a non functioning water pump and temperature gauge.
I'm just guessing, using the description in the original post. Based on that, I don't know why the water pump is suspect. If it runs horribly, I assume it's not being driven, so heater function wouldn't be the priority. If it runs for an hour without over heating, there is plenty of time to troubleshoot rough running. I can't believe it runs for an hour, and stays cold. If the temp gauge doesn't move after an hour of running, it isn't working. A temp gauge can be tested like A thermostat. Under these circumstances, I would troubleshoot the rough running first. Since it runs, I would start with the secondary parts of the ignition system, the distributor cap and wires. Is there condensation inside the cap ? Any evidence of arcing ? Carbon and fiberglass plug wires deteriorate with use. A small flake of carbon can short across the spark plug gap . I really do want to be helpful, but without measurements, or verification of symptoms (troubleshooting), I'm just guessing.
