New to the forum. Need your help asap! My daughter has a 2002 3.8 camaro, and recently found the radiator filled with mud, and of course over-heated. We had the system flushed in place, and within a day was still over-heating. I replaced the thermostat, and removed the radiator (myself this time), and had it cleaned at a radiator shop. The water seems to be flowing good, when viewing with the cap off. It starts to overheat when idling, after 10-15 minutes. I tried to bleed the air from the thermostat housing, but can't seem to get a steady, continuous stream of water. The heater is not heating either, but I disconnected the heater lines, and can force water through the heater core both directions using a garden hose. Even with the engine running, the heater lines are not getting hot, like there is no water there, or air trapped somewhere. No sign of head gasket leaking, so just how much bleeding of air can you do before getting water?

 

oh no !!! that is not good!
is it really hot , or is the gauge playing with you?
but ... sounds like there is no flow from the pump .
either air pocket from the flushing and refill ... but most likely the "mud" has blocked of the coolant passages real bad!!!
check the rad with the cap off, fill it full to overflowing and the start the engine.
what happens?
the water level should go down first , then come up as the engine warms.
no movement ... try taking the garden hose and reflush the block threw all the heater hoses . might even have to take off the water pump to see if there is a blockage or broken impeller on the pump.

 

oh few ... check for your fan coming on
but that is weird you can see flow in the rad but the heater is not circulating

 

Thanks for the reply! Today, I removed the thermostat, and am running without one now. Left the hose disconnected at thermo housing, and water is flowing, but not a huge stream, unless revving the engine up. I assumed it should be a full stream all the time without a thermostat. Reconnected hose, and let idle. Still headed toward overheating within 10-15 minutes.

When cole start, with cap off, water goes down a little at first, but almost immediately starts over-flowing the radiator, even before the motor gets hot. Same response with or without a thermostat. If the water ports are blocked on the heads, is there any way short of removal to get it broke loose? After running and flushing a LOT of times, the water is still a little rusty when draining, but no major solids coming out.

How do you tell if the water pump is pumping enough? I know it is pumping, but how much is enough? If the ports are stopped partially, won't that still look like the water pump is not pumping? And yes, the fans seem to be working correctly.

 

usually the block has drain plugs on each back.
have you had them out as well?
not a good sign if the coolant keeps getting dirty. or is it just allways like a sand coming out the drain?

what tests have you done for the head gasket?
http://www.arrowheadradiator.com/hea..._leak_test.htm

it says it all there and i do that.

if with the rad full and the engine cold, put the cap on and start it... now observe the overflow bottle ... do air bubbles start coming up inside the bottle?
does it boil over in the reserve when it gets too hot?

 

I think I found the problem. As per your suggestion, I removed the water pump, and even though still pumping (barely), the impellor was rusted so thin, I broke the blades off with my bare fingers! After installing a new one, the water is moving much faster, and water is now flowing through the heater core. I am waiting for it to cool down, and will re-install thermostat and new coolant. I hope and pray this is done!

Thanks for your advice. If I can ever help you, feel free to ask!

 

Yes my overflow bottle is doing that. Can you help? Thanks

 

Make sure you change the little plastic L shaped pipe that flows water to the heater hoses. That thing will get briddle and break and it could also be clogged as well.