Marshall1992 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 We purchased a used 92 ES 300 for our daughter. The miles are a bit high but the car is perfect inside and out. We have had it 2 weeks and the car started to over heat. We have put 50/50 coolant in it. Replaced the radiator cap and are getting ready to install a new thermostat. Today it started blowing what appears to be steam. Can anyone help? Also what is the best way to access the thermostat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjack133 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Welcome to the club! Where is the steam coming from? Has the cooling system been flushed lately and pressure tested? The thermostat is located within the water pump housing. Do you know when the w/pump and timing belt were last changed? If the thermostat is stuck closed the bottom hose will feel cool as no coolant is getting past to the rad. My own experience ended up with the cause being an air pocket, probably due to some design flaw, which i resolved by religiously monitering and topping up at cap hole after cool downs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGGA Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Welcome to the club! Where is the steam coming from? Has the cooling system been flushed lately and pressure tested? The thermostat is located within the water pump housing. Do you know when the w/pump and timing belt were last changed? If the thermostat is stuck closed the bottom hose will feel cool as no coolant is getting past to the rad. My own experience ended up with the cause being an air pocket, probably due to some design flaw, which i resolved by religiously monitering and topping up at cap hole after cool downs. Also make sure that you dont have too much coolant in it. That year es300 gets very hot and water expands when heated causing steam from the over flow valve... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatingupblacktop Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 You mention the car is overheating. What does you gauge read? As kj asked, can you spot exactly where the steam is coming from? Even though you replaced the cap, I would check it. Did you use an oem cap? Are you fans working properly? How's the level? Are your hoses hot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtarrents Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Welcome to the club! Where is the steam coming from? Has the cooling system been flushed lately and pressure tested? The thermostat is located within the water pump housing. Do you know when the w/pump and timing belt were last changed? If the thermostat is stuck closed the bottom hose will feel cool as no coolant is getting past to the rad. My own experience ended up with the cause being an air pocket, probably due to some design flaw, which i resolved by religiously monitering and topping up at cap hole after cool downs. Also make sure that you dont have too much coolant in it. That year es300 gets very hot and water expands when heated causing steam from the over flow valve... Sorry for the delay and thanks so much for your interest and help. Lost the log in info so I created another one. To bring you up to date. We Flushed out the cooling system, replaced the thermostate (we tested the installed one and it was good). We have white smoke coming out the exhaust and both radiator caps are good. How can we presure test the system? Is this something a DIY can accomplish? The timing belt was changed at 140,000 and the car is now at 192,000. Thanks for your help Marshall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjack133 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 All rad shops and most service garages would have the pressure testing device, which is simply a fitted rad cap through which air pressure is pumped through and observed as "holding". Any pinhole or larger will cause the pressure to drop,thus, any leakage would be detected. As for the white smoke out the exhaust, if your oil is not water contaminated the head is not cracked but the gasket is probably blown and needs to be addressed pronto. This is my opinion....hope it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justind89 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 well, overheating and blowing steam out the exhaust, sounds more along the lines of a blown head gasket to me. check that your oil isn't murky or foamy. /cross fingers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George_Jetson Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I agree, the white smoke sounds more like a blown head gasket. If the oil is milky is also a good indication (although you could have a blown head gasket with no anti-freeze in the oil). There are kits to test for exhaust gas in the anti freeze. Also you could see if the cooling system rapidly builds pressure once the engine is started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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