overheating woes

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xirdneh
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My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

overheating woes

Post by xirdneh »

my friends tercel has been overheating
he installed new radiator (still hot)
i came over and removed the thermostat and temp gage goes to halfway point and holds for a bit then climbs up till fan comes on, fan stops after a while but temp does not drop. (i expected engine to run cooler)
pulled all plugs to see if any were unusuall but all were brown and dry
no white smoke out of exhaust
there is a bit of dripping coming out of the bottom of waterpump
could the water pump cause this much trouble?
in the past i have had pumps that dripped but did not cause overheating
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Last edited by xirdneh on Thu Sep 08, 2016 2:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
atoyta
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Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:32 pm
My tercel:: 3 wagons now
Location: Monroe, Washington

Re: overheating woes

Post by atoyta »

I found one that the impeller came loose of the shaft, wasn't turning. It made a funny "tink" sound as the shaft turned & nudged the impeller every so often. One in 30 years so it is not at all common.
Last edited by atoyta on Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: overheating woes

Post by dlb »

the coolant passages in the block might be covered in scale and sludge, which would prevent it from adequately transferring its heat to the coolant. if you have a water hammer-type tool, it's an easy thing to try.
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Gottolovem
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My tercel:: 1985 SR5 with snow plow,1987 auto 1984 parts car,1987 FX-16 GTS
Location: Reno

Re: overheating woes

Post by Gottolovem »

Sounds like the pump needs replacing anyhow!

Might just be what the doctor ordered :oldgeek:
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: overheating woes

Post by Petros »

it is extremely rare that a leaky water pump would cause over heating. that just means the seal is going bad. if the shaft is wobbling it means the bearings are bad, which will make the seal leak, but it will still pump. Unless the wobble has whipped out the impeller, which is possible but very unlikely.

It is also very unlikely the impeller fell off, but it can happen.

As pointed out, if the seal is leaking, the water pump needs to be replaced. It will not be long before it completely blows out, just replace it now.

If you have a good radiator, t-stat and water pump, about the only other problem the cooling system might have is a weak lower radiator hose. It must be stiff enough to stay open when the engine is rev'ed so the suction of the coolant pump does not close it off.

Even a leaky head gasket will not cause it over heat if there is coolant in the system, it will only over heat after you loose enough coolant through a head gasket to overheat.

Also, double check the radiator cap, if it does not work properly it can also cause an overheat and coolant loss.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
xirdneh
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Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: overheating woes

Post by xirdneh »

removed waterpump today and there was almost nothing left of the impeller
the blades were gone
all that was left were pointed spokes
all was rotted away
put it all back together with good used pump and 3 new "o" rings (2 on bypass 1 at block) and all is well

this car is a mess, also replaced front axles, left control arm, tvsv, egr valve, donuts to support exhaust system (had rope and strapping tieing it up), plugged hole in cat conv where the small pipe was connected, rear hatch lifts (shock absorber like things). still need pass door window regulator fix & muffler
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: overheating woes

Post by Petros »

wow, must have had a corrosive mixture in the coolant. I wonder what else may have been corroded away.

one of the reasons to change the coolant out every 2-3 years.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
xirdneh
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Posts: 2121
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: overheating woes

Post by xirdneh »

added picture to original post up there
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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