Are your fans working, has the cooling system been bled correctly, Are you losing coolant, the upper radiator hose swollen?

Welcome to the forums.

 

The hoses were replaced, and everything properly bled when radiator was installed, but the fan has not been checked. I bet that's it. If the fan is not coming on when indicated, is the problem to more likely be the fan itself or the sensor that turns it on?

 

The sensor, very common issue. (make sure they are working/not working first) report back.

 

Thanks, will do. I'll drive the car and make sure the fan is not engaged when it should be, and then change the sensor if fan is not operating right.

 

OK, driving today, temp gauge went up, so I quickly pull over and look under hood, and fans are not engaged. I jump back into car, and turn it off, as gauge was approaching red. I wait about 30 seconds, and restart car, and gauge shows normal temp. That cannot be correct, so I think now I was wrong, and that car is not getting hot after all, but rather temperature gauge is malfunctioning. What part should I look into replacing? Thanks....

 

Well that sounds like a sensor problem, no way you would be over heating and then temp drop that fast. I will try to find that part#

 

The sensor is right next to the throttle body under the fuel rail cover. You should be able to pick up a new sensor at your local parts store or of course at the dealer.

 

Well, I had my mechanic change out the sensor, and it did not help. Crap!
Is it possible the dashboard gauge itself is faulty? Are those known to ever fail?

 

You are going through exactly to a T what I just went through with my 95 Legend Sedan. I replaced the radiator and thermostat and checked sensor. At the end of the day it was the head gasket. I am 98% confident that is your issue based on your post. My car did exactly the same thing but never did it when at the mechanic. Adament about the issue I finally let me mechanic keep the car for several days to try to duplicate the issue and he finally confirmed back the head gasket was bad. You are looking at a $2000 fix minimum unless you can do it yourself. I could not part with my car so I ponied up the cash to get it fixed. Working perfectly now. Good luck.

 

So far I have replaced the radiator, the thermostat, all hoses, the fan relays, the water pump, and the temperature gauge sensor. The cooling system has been bled on 3 separate occasions. My mechanic did a "block test" to check the head gasket and said it showed no leaks. I am going nuts!!!!
I understand that a head gasket issue can let air into the system and perhaps cause symptoms such as this. But this issue has occurred IMMEDIATELY (within 2-3 miles) after bleeding the cooling system, so I don't think that is the case. Am I mistaken?

 

If, in fact, it is a head gasket issue, wouldn't it do this all the time? Is it possible to have an "intermittent blown head gasket"? I wouldn't think so, but I'm no mechanic.

Is there white smoke from the tailpipe? Are you losing coolant? Any oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil?

My 92 has been doing this for the last year or so. It can go for weeks with no issues, then it wants to overheat. No rhyme or reason to it. I had a radiator shop look at it a few weeks ago and they say the water pump is leaking, though I have seen no evidence of it. I'm at the point of deciding whether to replace the WP/TB or stick a 3.5 in it.

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What about the tstat is it correct 1? Also check rad cap make sure it's not leaking or loose

 

No white smoke, no oil in coolant. I was losing coolant, but that was because of leak in radiator and water pump. Have only had car back from water pump replacement for about 50 miles, so will be keeping an eye on coolant levels for sure.
And the car runs and drives GREAT, aside from temp issues. No performance issues whatsoever.

 

could still be leaking, is there by any chance any silicone around the timing cover? if there is, there could be a water pump leak, puddling up inside the timing cover.

 

Water pump was just replaced. Didn't help.

 

*Deleted, Overheating Thread Opened > Check It Out Please!*

 

That's what I'm saying, do you think there is a possibility of the water pump still leaking? Or a cracked head/block? Maybe even clogged coolant ports.

 

There is no sign of water pump still leaking, as there was prior. If coolant ports were clogged, I don't think the issue would be so intermittent, and random as it currently seems to be. No idea about a cracked block or head... but wouldn't that noticeably affect performance?

 

You know what? I gotta take that back. I just checked, and there is a small amount of fluid beneath the water pump. Back to the mechanic it goes tomorrow... The saga continues...

 

My mistake again... no leak. Mechanic swapped out radiator cap. Not sure how that will help, but we'll see.

 

I'd first check for swollen hoses, front and back of motor.
Then check if your radiator is plugged or fan relay is out.
Check your coolant temp sensor and replace your thermostat with an oem
Check if your water pump is leaking

If none of those are a problem, let your car warm up all the way and watch your idle if it starts becoming erratic your problem is a BHG.

The egr valve in your intake won't overheat your motor but it will cause your hg to seep

 

Fan relays have been replaced. Temp sensor has been replaced. Water pump has been replaced. Thermostat has been replaced. Idle is fine. Have no idea what an EGR valve is.

 

The egr is located at the bottom of the air intake, above the valley or the V of the block between the head. Its for exhaust gas recirculation (egr) to reduce emissions for stricter smog regulations.

You have to remove your air intake to access it. It is recommended to be cleaned every 90k? I believe. If it is plugged it will cause your ecu to advance timing and causes excess heat in the cylinders and will cause a seeping HG in cylinders #3 and #6.

 

But the temp gauge says the engine IS getting hot.. That's the entire issue.

 

So you said the coolant temp sensor has been replaced? I can't think of anything else as a problem but a bhg but that would mean your upper and lower hoses are swollen.

Or could it be your coolant valve mounted to the firewall is semi plugged and slowing flow of coolant

 

Or could it be your coolant valve mounted to the firewall is semi plugged and slowing flow of coolant

But why would it be so intermittent, and why would shutting the car off for 10 seconds cause the temps to almost immediately return to normal?

 

Im not too sure myself, is there a CEL?

 

No idea what a CEL is.

 

The CEL is the Check Engine Light, are you having any of these?

Theres a writeup here

G2: DIY: Diagnosis: Pulling Codes - LegendWiki

My car still has a CEL, but for the only reason I know is that my VSS is on the fritz and needs to be replaced/rebuilt. The car drives fine and I have no desire to investigate, yet.

 

Thank you! Maybe now we're on to something! The D4 light on my dash is NOT on, which, according to the link you provided, might be a code for a malfunction of some sort. I will investigate.