Temp gauge spikes

[7G_Beater]

OK I need some opinions since I am still new to this engine- 2.4L SOHC with 150,000 miles roughly.

Let me see if I can explain this without putting anyone to sleep...

I can drive normally and the temp gauge stays around half way. If I tromp it and start playing ripping through corners and crap the temp gauge will increase to just below Hot. If I stay off the throttle after that it doesn't go back down very quickly, if I stop and let it idle it will drop back to normal fairly quickly.
The only time it goes way up is when I really start flogging the car.

Fans are kicking on (checked both).
Thermostat is new.
Radiator cap is not steaming out. (should I replace to be safe?)
Radiator is full... I have checked and checked and tried burping the system several times.
There are no leaks that I can find. It is being parked in my garage right now and nothing is dripping.
Coolant is fresh as per last owner but I have not checked to see what concentration yet. (one reason why I made sure it was full b/c when I got it they never burped the system of air).
It throws hot hot air... burn your legs hot when the temp is turned all the way up which makes me think it is not the heater core.

What else could it be? I am kind of leaning towards that the water pump is very worn (like the impellers are worn down). I know I am overdue on the timing belt and should switch both.

Any other thoughts or ideas of what it could be?

Like I said I am still getting used to this engine and how it works, I am more used to working on Toy and GM motors.

[DOHCstunr]

i can beat the hell out of my turbocharged engine and never see the gauge go a tick over 2mm left of verticle

not that its that accurate a gauge,

but odds are its yoru water pump.

wouldn't hurt to replace your radiator cap.


are your fans kickin in?
does this happen whiel driving or while at idle?

[7G_Beater]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DOHCstunr)</div><div class='quotemain'>i can beat the hell out of my turbocharged engine and never see the gauge go a tick over 2mm left of verticle

not that its that accurate a gauge,

but odds are its yoru water pump.

wouldn't hurt to replace your radiator cap.


are your fans kickin in?
does this happen whiel driving or while at idle?</div>

It is like it cannot keep up... it only does it driving and I mean like romping it- I drove it to work this morning to make sure and the only time it spiked was when I got it up to running 65-70 on the highway. It is fine at idle... in fact if I get it to spike then slow down or back to idle it drops back down.

I am going to see if the little shop here in town where I work has a new cap and see if that helps.

Fans are kicking on.

I am starting to lean towards water pump or the radiator isn't flowing right (junked up).

[djmtz263306]

check the thermostat also

[seth98esT]

Hows the coolant overflow tank look? Is it pushing coolant into the tank? May as well just get a new cap, only $8.

[Shadow19]

I think i read somewhere that our cars temp gauge moves with the RPM gauge.. And since you are at higher RPM than normal at around 65-75 MPH than thats probably the cause.. Now what you have to do to fix it is far more complex than i can answer. Good luck.

[seth98esT]

Its probably the water pump as it should spin faster as the RPMs go up. If it runs cool at idle, then the seals or something in the water pump is more then likely bad as its not able to do its job. Even once its overheated, it still has a hard time getting the temps back down.

When was the timing belt/pump changed last?

[7G_Beater]

Thermostat is new... and I did check it to make sure anyway.

I changed the rad cap tonight and took it for a spin... finally got it to boil out into the overflow which it wasn't doing before the coolant looks HORRIBLE. So I am sure that is part of the issue. Previous owner supposedly flushed it out but based on the color I saw I bet they didn't do that great of a job and probably stirred up a ton of sludge. It was more of a rust color than anything.

Timing belt is over due already so I plan on starting there... timing belt and new water pump.
Joy the ownership of used cars. I have to fix my other POS before I can do this... looks like I have a busy weekend.

New O2 sensor for our tow pig.
New CV shafts for my truck.
Start tearing apart the G to get it fixed once and for all. I'll most likely go ahead and pull the radiator, clean and flush it and try to get any crap out of the block if possible. Put that back together to see if it starts to fix the problem and do my timing belt and water pump.
Wish I was more comfortable breaking the block open myself... I would consider pulling the top end off and replacing the head gasket for insurance. Since I have been driving this more my cold engine smoking has gone away. That is a good sign so far.

Anyone want to help?

[seth98esT]

Id help you if you were in VA

[Proto]

if you were local id help

[7G_Beater]

Yeah I am a bit out of the way...

[95InProgress]

yup my 95 s was doing the exact same thing about two months ago and it was the water pump. got new cap, themostat, and did all the flushing hoping that wasnt the problem but it was. i replaced it and now it only goes just past vertical.

[bronxbombr]

Man, change the water pump. Stop romping the car as you put it, and make sure the system is bled of all the air.

[7G_Beater]

Flushed it to be sure (x2)... still doing it. Getting a water pump and timing belt to hopefully fix it. That thing had all types of rust in the radiator- I may end up replacing it... even after flushing it twice there still was rust particles coming out of it. It wasn't spiking as quickly but it definitely cannot keep up with cooling. I just did the usual garden hose flush.

Why not romp it? It was a $700 beater car... I like to tinker and this is definitely good for that. If I wanted a show/ race car I would have spent the money on something much nicer and cleaner to start with, this one looks like hell... dents on both rear doors, fender caved in, the paint- basically someone threw a pool cover or something over the car and when they pulled it off a good bit of the paint came with it. The nicest part is the interior since I have cleaned it up (b/c of my allergies). Basically I am using this as point A to B transportation as long as I can get this cooling issue under control. If I can't no biggie I will flip it and get another beater car.
I already have another auto addiction that I have spent enough cash on. This is supposed to be just a fun beat it to death car.
Oh and I got mine today- feel free to laugh... I accidentally hosed the cap and wires. Car shuts off... didn't think anything of it so I cranked it back over and resumed what I was doing. So the car stumbles a bit so I figure I must have gotten water around the wires. I grabbed a rag and wiped around the wires and went to wipe across the cap and got the shit shocked out of me... found out the hard way the cap had a crack in it.