hi everyone,

my 86 pickup has been running really hot and overheated twice, i usually catch it before it overheats and put more coolant in. whats been happening is it will get really hot and coolant will shoot back into the reservoir and fill it up then it shoots out the overflow hose all over the engine bay. what could be causing this? ive been told i need a new water pump but i dont wanna go buy one if i dont need it. any ideas would help a lot. thanks
oh and btw, i already replaced the radiator cap and stat. hoping it would help but it didnt

 

Take the fan belt off and check the WP bearing for play and/or roughness.

Did you notice whether or not you had coolant dripping out of the seep holes in the WP housing?

 

i didnt notice any leakag ill go check the belt now

 

belts both look great, i dont think theres any coolant reaching them either so they wouldnt be slipping cause of that

 

Check your thermostat.

 

just replaced the stat.

 

Take the stat out and see what happens.

 

Agreed...Mine did the same thing. I took it out and it worked. I then put in a 160 thermostat and it hasn't happend since.

 

More times than you think, even if the t-stat is new it could be bad. Take it out of the truck and run the truck around. See what your temps are like. Also, while you have it out, test it in a pot of water on the stove to see if it opens at the specified temperature on the t-stat. Did you buy an OEM t-stat or an aftermarket one?

 

its a Stant 195, i belive its aftermarket ill go pull it and drive around the neighborhood, i like the idea of putting it in a pot of hot water ill try that too thanks guys

 

Yup, I use a pot of water and a candy thermometer that the wife uses for baking Works great. If it's a Stant 195, then it's more than likely aftemarket, get a Toyota OEM unit, and you may as well go for the dual stage t-stat...it's a bit more spendy, but worth it (around $30-$35 depending on where you get it) I got mine from Olathe Toyota ( www.toyotapartscenter.net ). The Toyota part number for the dual stage is 90916-03070

 

No...I meant check the water pump bearings for play...not the belt slipping. To check that, you have to pull the belt off and grab hold of the fan clutch and wiggle. Turn the fan to see if the feeling of the water pump bearings is rough and sticky or smooth and turning fairly easy.

Also, there are two seep (or "weep", as they're also called) holes on the water pump where the housing tapers towards the flange and fan shaft. If those leak, that means the bearing seal is bad and the pump is on it's way out. But, if you don't notice any coolant coming from the bearing play will also tell you.

 

ok i did what you said, everything looks good. today i noticed little black pieces of thin rubber floating around in my coolant and i have a blueish white smoke coming out the exhaust and a rough idle.. does anyone know what that could be? im scared i might have a leaky head gasket but i donno, any ideas?

 

Do a compression test...also, you can get down near the exhaust to see if it smells "sweet". Or, put a towel over it while the exhaust is going, and then hold it up to your nose and see if there's a sweet odor. If that's the case, it "could" be your HG. When is the last time you flushed and re-filled your coolant? Sometimes dirt works its way in there...you could also have a clogged/dirty radiator...particles in your coolant can come from the fins when they're rusted/dirty.