my fingers are so stiff and puffed up from chemo treatments i can no longer hold tools . paying mechanic $400 to in stall radiator flat out sucks.in my younger years i would install a clutch in my 66 427 in the driveway. purchased the CE as my last ever car , i just want it RIGHT.

 

I don't know much about the electric water pumps on cars but I deal with pumps a lot in my daily life. Is there any way the pump could be running backwards? Maybe the polarity is swapped? Is it a centrifugal pump? If they run backwards they will still pump but at a fraction of their capacity.

Maybe I should read up a bit on them.

 

car was purchased at auction AZ, i have no service history, no idea how old pump is. when speaking to person at Meziere ,was told impeller failure not likely, but anything possible.

 

First off - Very sorry to hear that you are suffering from cancer and from the side effects of the treatment !!!!

One thing you might be able to check yourself is how much current the Meziere pump is pulling (with it fully installed on the engine). It should be easy enough to do with a simple ammeter. The pump should have a current draw rating on it - I seem to remember them puling about 6 amps. (I'm sure Meziere's tech people can tell you the correct current draw). If the pump is pulling somewhat less current than it should be - it's likely that the pump is the problem.

GOOD LUCK - both with the car and with your treatment !!!!!!!!!

 

DC amps not quite as easy to measure as A.C. but if you can this is the way to go. If FLA is not being met, the water flow is less than design.

 

took hour long hi way drive this am.Air temp @ 93, steady speed of 75 saw only 192 -4 temp on display, needle @ 1/2 way point. this tells me new radiator is exchanging heat much better than old unit. However, temp shot up to 244 after only a short distance of around town driving. A new mechanical pump going in next week. i also noticed 2 gal of distilled water was not used by mechanic or the water wetter, i'll fix that issue also.

 

Are your cooling fans even coming on? Seems like at 244 at least one would be running to drop the temp.

 

Pull off a heater hose, start the engine, if the wp is working right, the flow will be like a garden hose.
Did you try rinsing out the fins of the a/c condenser?

 

did they flush the ''outside'' fins on the a/c cond and radiator?,,im not talking about the insides,,,this is a problem on most 2500/3500 diesel trucks,all the airflow is cut off,because of the cooling stack not flowing air over the ''outside fins''

and you are running a thermostat arnt you?

 

took hour long hi way drive this am.Air temp @ 93, steady speed of 75 saw only 192 -4 temp on display, needle @ 1/2 way point. this tells me new radiator is exchanging heat much better than old unit. However, temp shot up to 244 after only a short distance of around town driving.





Did you check the operation of the electric fans? Even count the blades? Are they spinning fast enough? Seems like you are getting flow, just not pulling air through the radiator at low speeds to cool the engine, and its getting hot.

If it operated correctly at highway speeds, the water pump is NOT the problem. You will be throwing money away if you replace it.

I'd hate to see you go to all the trouble of replacing it, and have it still run hot. Think about it, If it cooled correctly at highway speeds, there has to be water circulating in the cooling system. The air is being forced through the radiator/condenser because you are moving the car fast. When you are in city traffic, the water is still circulating, but not enough air is getting through the radiator/condensor and it gets hot because the air is no longer being forced through the radiator/condenser.

Unless I am missing something, the problem has to be air movement based on what you are describing.

 

I seriously doubt your electric water pump is the issue, especially since ride home temps were good with good air flow.

FYI the electric water pump moves more water at low RPM than the mechanical. The mechanical water pump moves more water at high RPM. That's why I tell 'blower' people stick with the mechanical - you want want max turbulent flow at WOT with a blower ! Hence best of both worlds is both pumps - in-line electric etc. Point being around town electric pump superior to mechanical ! Most around town problems are air flow - not water flow !

If your engine runs too hot around town follow the advice given on this thread - number one being to check at what temps the 2 fans are coming ON. Another often overlooked item is the front air dam. It is critical in preventing air re-circulation. I would guess all debri was removed with radiator change ? Maybe not ??? Also if new radiator I hope fins are not offset. Two row "see thru" best. Too dense radiator kills airflow at low MPH.

Finally as a check leave surge tank cap off and let engine run until fans come ON. If coolant overflows not to worry. Just let it idle. Note if air bubbles gone etc. Then have a gallon of 60% distilled water and 40% glycol ready to top off surge tank as friend holds engine RPM at 3K. Put cap on while RPM up. Note if cap old I would replace. Make sure hose from surge tank to coolant overflow tank is solid and no leaks.

Top off coolant overflow tank and shut off engine. Note coolant tank level and wait 24 hrs. Level must drop an inch or more !!!

 

car has fan over ride switch, this tells me car has had some type of cooling issues in the past. i can turn on rear fan, not sure of front fan operation.plan to change out both temp senders in the AM. ALL components of cooling system have been changed,cleaned,inspected etc. buy 2 shops in last 3 weeks so i am running out of options

 

This is a '96? I've no idea and it's not mentioned in this thread that I can see.

Your car if a '96 has multi-stage fans with I'm quite sure 3 relays. I'd say you need to do cooling fan diagnostics before going anywhere else. There's "NO FRONT FAN" - both are behind the radiator in a shroud.

Do you have rhe '96 FSM? If it's a year other than a '96 mention the year.

You asked about a "blueprinted oil pump and mentioned LT4" a few weeks ago.

I believe it's foolish to buy and replace switches. Has this car ever had a good scanner on it to confirm operation of the PCM?

**If you have the FSM (factory Service Manual) you can read to understand the diagnostics you're interested in and ask a shop (If you can't) to do them.

 

front and rear fans?,,could they be fighting each other?

 

Instead of editing my post I thought I'd just do another.

You mentioned a recent purchase "AZ auction" I believe. How recent? Have you done anything to the car aside from the cooling system checks?

List maybe the modifications you're aware of. Headers etc ............

Maybe this car has had a POOR TUNE done in the PCM and it's all screwed up.

I believe you study the fan operation, get a quality scanner on it to see what is really going on before buying more parts.

Where are you located? Maybe there's someone near that could accommodate you with a check using a scanner.

 

car is 1996 CE LT4. MODS that i know of : elect. pump, MSD,shorty 1 5/8 headers, and a maxed out suspension with custom springs and roll bars, custom front air deflector with cooling hose to front calipers. last but not least,chain was left on top of engine to aid removal(?). raced hard and put up wet .... ? car came from San Jose Ca. car is beautiful inside and out,90,600 miles now.

 

will take car to shop to have full scans done. fair chance some type of custom tune was installed, just don't know. IF elect pump circulates 55 GPM, no way should temp shoot up so quickly with a new radiator that i know is working.

 

Disagree - the override switch came before we knew how to program. Leave switch on and do your evaluation. All else being equal we/you will re-program ON points for the 2 fans.

 

You need a guy who knows his **** ! lol How many people from up North know why the Civil War was fought and why we still to this day have so many issues ?

 

Like stated a 96 has 2 fans that operate in high and low speed together at the same time. You need to verify that they are both turning on the proper direction and operating at high and low speeds. If the computer has not been tuned to bring the fans on sooner they operate at:

Water temp above 219, or oil temp above 270, A/C head pressure above 189psi will turn the fans low speed. They will turn off after the temp has dropped about 11 deg or the head pressure drops to 150 psi. High speed will turn on at 228deg, oil temp above 277 deg, head pressure above 225 psi. The hot cooling light comes on at 260 I believe.


I don't know how they wired in the extra fan switch, are they controlling the fan relays? or the fans directly? On a 96 you could get a code if done wrong.