Running thinner oil raised temps?

[ksa8907]

At this point my only suggestion to solve your problem is:

Fix radiator fans
Rule out headgasket issue with a combustion leak detector kit
Flush entire coolant system and clean exterior of radiator
If you have not replaced the water pump, do that (possibly timing belt/chain as well)
Refill with proper mix of quality antifreeze and distilled water

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Ok well no luck on adding fluid. Drive home, if I turned off the A/C trick you told me to do, I will slowly climb to 250F. I turn the A/C on (with heater on max) and it drops down to 210F. I'm at a complete loss.

Also, yea, I cut the top hose.

P.S Yes I topped off the resevour thingy with antifreeze.

Topping off the reservoir won't help a bit unless you also top off the radiator.
Do it with a cold engine, both radiator and recovery bottle.

Drive it enough to get it to normal temperature then shut it down and let it cool off and refill radiator and recovery bottle. Repeat until radiator stays full when you check it cold and coolant level in the recovery bottle is at the minimum level mark when cold.

Then see if it it runs at normal temperature.

If it still runs hot and blows coolant out of the radiator into the recovery bottle or out on the ground, the odds are the head gasket is blown.

regards
Mech

[2000mc]

Try what old mech is saying, but unfortuneately I think it's heading towards head gaskets also. If your cooling system can pump out enough heat that the air off the radiator could burn you in a fairly short amount of time, what ever short comings the cooling system may have as a whole, it's getting a lot of heat out, and I would be surprised if getting an air pocket out would dramatically increase how much heat you're moving.

[user removed]

I had a supercharged Riviera that I took to the local GM dealer for some work. They replaced the water pump bypass hose. When I got it back the temp gauge was going crazy, so I took it back. They had not bled the system properly. They took care of it and it was rock solid as it had been before. The radiator on that Rivera was angled back (or forward can't remember which) close to 45 degrees and the cooling fans almost never came on even sitting still until you turned on the AC.
My biggest problem was the car rode so well and the seats were so couch like, I had trouble staying awake after driving a couple of hours.

regards
Mech

[2000mc]

My old service manager, and Buick fanatic, owned 3 or 4 riviera's. And he did fall asleep while driving them multiple times.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

At this point my only suggestion to solve your problem is:

Fix radiator fans... (etc.)

The OP say both fans run when the A/C is on. So both fans are operational, not defective.

I want to know why the primary fan doesn't kick in when it should - without running the A/C.

[user removed]

The OP stated earlier in this thread that he cut the top hose to install a temp sensor of some type and there was no coolant lost. He also stated that he saw no signs of leakage and regularly parked in the same spot where a leak would be obvious.

He was very low on coolant to cut the top hose and not loose anything. I have seen that low level of coolant cause temp senders to not function which could be part of the problem. I tried to gingerly walk him through a diagnostic process without slamming him with the blown headgasket possibility. I was about to recommend a quality radiator shop to get his car looked at. They could probably figure it out in less time than it takes me to write this post.

One of the things I took great pride in was my ability to explain how systems functioned to a person who had not even the most basic understanding of those systems, without appearing to be a real jerk in the process (from the others perception and no reflection on any post here). When coolant magically diasppears, head gaskets are obvious possibilities, but a top tank, or top of the radiator leak can be very subtle and not really leave any puddle under the car, which isexactly what happened on my 99 Maxima. I never overheated, but only leaked when I filled both the bottle and the radiator itself, which put pressurized liquid at the top of the system for the first time in months.

His situation may be identical . In one of his responses he posted that he had topped off the tank but he did not mention the radiator which was much more important.

I hope he gets his problem resolved without any catastrophic expense.

I don't have enough facts to draw a conclusion at this point. In my shop it would have been diagnosed in about 30 minutes.

regards
Mech

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

One of the things I took great pride in was my ability to explain how systems functioned to a person who had not even the most basic understanding of those systems, without appearing to be a real jerk in the process (from the others perception and no reflection on any post here). When coolant magically diasppears, head gaskets are obvious possibilities, but a top tank, or top of the radiator leak can be very subtle and not really leave any puddle under the car, which isexactly what happened on my 99 Maxima. I never overheated, but only leaked when I filled both the bottle and the radiator itself, which put pressurized liquid at the top of the system for the first time in months.

His situation may be identical . In one of his responses he posted that he had topped off the tank but he did not mention the radiator which was much more important.

I hope he gets his problem resolved without any catastrophic expense.

I don't have enough facts to draw a conclusion at this point. In my shop it would have been diagnosed in about 30 minutes.

regards
Mech

I thought you did a commendable job in trying to diagnose the problem and educate everyone about it.

But either he has a coolant system leak, or he doesn't - and it's still unclear whether he does or not. If he does, that coolant is either leaking out or it's being vaporized, or it's going back into the reserve reservoir, or out the tail pipe. Either the system isn't full, or he's losing fluid somewhere. Or it's an electrical problem affecting the fan.

Yep, not enough information. And he still hasn't told us how old the car is and how much mileage is on it. But regarding the thread topic, one thing is virtually certain - his cooling problem has nothing to do with the grade of oil used.

[user removed]

I thought it was a 95 Camry. I'll go back and check.
edit;
He has 95 Camry as his only vehicle listed under his handle. I assumed it was the car to which he was referring.

regards
Mech

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by XYZ

The OP say both fans run when the A/C is on. So both fans are operational, not defective.

I want to know why the primary fan doesn't kick in when it should - without running the A/C.

Yes, but it was also mentioned that they do not turn on when the temps rise, only with the a/c on do they come on. That is what I am suggesting he fix. Thank you