i know its been a while since i have posted on the forum, but life has been extremely hecktick for me as of lately, that and i have been playing alot of World of Warcraft... ... but the time has come again for me to say hello b/c... i have a problem, which by the way, if its not to hard we should have a problem solving forum... anyways... i have question about my car's recent problem with overheating... where to start???... hmmm... k, i have an 02 wrx with 41,500 miles on it, i haven't had a lick of trouble from it, except for an oil leak that was caused by zmax... but out of the blue my car has started to over heat. i'm goin to list everthing that i have done to try and fix it, and everything it is doin, here goes 1. i have replaced the thermostat 2. i have gotten rid of all possible air bubbles in the system A. i took the hose from the heater core, filled the block with water that way B. i took the top hose lose at the radiator, filled the radiator that way C. i also filled the top hose with water till it filled the coolant adding tank even D. "burped" the thermostat E. filled the overflow tank to "f" F. filled the coolant adding tank after a run cycle and cool down k, now what it is doin 1. after i let it sit to get to idling temperature, i try to drive it, i make it maybe 100 yards before it hits the red on temperature gauge. 2. if i turn heater on high, i might make it 25 yards further. 3. when i rev the engine in neutral (to spool water pump, to cool it off like most cars will do...) instead of the temp dropping ANY, it actually raises up slightly when i hit the gas and then when my foot leaves the pedal it goes back to a little higher then where it was and continues on its path to overheating 4. before it started overheating i would hear a gurgling sound when i would sift into drive/reverse and put my foot on gas... it no longer does this since elimanating the air in the system though 5. i know on every other car i have worked on when the water pump starts pushing water through thermostat, then u can see the circulation in the water's movement, but on this car, i barely see movement. is that normal? i never took time to look at water movement under the radiator cap before now. does yalls move alot water? 6. ummm, i know this has nothing to do with it, but maybe.... the same time it started overheating, my check engine light came on, it was the code about "bank 1 oxygen sensor, catalyst below effiency" or something to that wording. when that light came on, the next day it started overheating. i got to where i work (advance auto parts) and let it cool off for over an hour, added coolant (it was about 1/3 a gallon low somehow), started engine, light was off, no overheating... 2 or 3 days later... light comes back on (same code again), day or two later... starts overheating again.... now i dont have any clue as to how those could have anything to do with each other, but i had mike and tom gut my stock uppipe and put a resistor in the plug to bypass that code... and no i'm NOT fusing at mike or tom, even if that is what is causing my problem (which i dont possibly see how!) its a simple fix and popping in a new resistor is about my only option i haven't tried 7. there is some pressure on the top hose, but not as strong as i am used to feeling from a hose 8. i cant fin any colder hotter spots on radiator which would suggest blockage at all there is no smoke, no steam under the hood, no funny noises (that i can pick up on at least) and now.... little hope of it not being the water pump.... lol any ideas guys? i talked to merc from here today when he stopped by my work and he told me of a service bulletin about overheating that he thought he had read... anyone know if it applied to 2002 WRX's? please someone tell i forgot something simple, and if somehow on gods green earth that CEL might be it, then tell me how i go about finding the right resistor (what size/power/whatever details i might need to know in order to find the right one)... i dont see how it could be related but its just to convenient u know?....help
... i have a feeling that its the water pump, which means goin through the mess of towing it down to troncali and listening to them fuss about how its something else so that they dont have to pay for it... oh and sorry for the long winded post there, just didn't want to leave any strings untied...
I'll check this out tomorrow when I get a chance, hopefully I'll be able to throw any ideas. I just didnt want to leave your thread untouched and you thinking no one read it.
i think your right sounds like the water pump. if you had air in the system and it cavatated it can mess up the pump pretty easily.
Hoses Make sure that the hoses that go into the coolant tank that attaches to the intake manifold havent been switched. If they are switched it will usally start to push coolant out as soon as you start to drive. Good luck Matt
Don't get me wrong, I'm all about fixen shit myself...but I think considering the mileage I would take it to the dealer...At least see if it'd be covered and at the very least you "should" be able to get the exact problem out of them...
if its the water pump then it is covered, i know that, but if its not the water pump then i get to pay for the towing bill to the dealership and back home to get it fixed by a mechanic whom wont rape me in the ass, price-wise, for a simple thing being the cause of it... and that would royally suck, but now i'm to the point of nothing left but it being the water pump correct? i dont see any other options or possible causes, do u guys? thanks for the replys guys, keep em coming if got any more and i only took lose the hose from the radiator side, i didn't touch the little hoses coming out from filler tank, just the top hose where it meets the radiator and the heater hose that leads from the heater core to the block on the heater core side... thats the only two hoses that have been removed at any point... keep any clues or possibilities or questions coming guys, maybe it'll spark a clue in my mind as to any other options i have besides water pump... :/
also anyone got the link to that CEL fix resistor page (the one for the upstream o2 sensor bypass resistor), i need to have that fixed b4 i go to dealer with my car anyways, so hit me up with the link please... i searched nasioc for a thread bout it, but no luck no matter how i tried....