water temp up and down

[redws6]

i was drivin home from the mountains this past weekend. while i was up there replaced the opti and the water pump. my buddy also mentioned a small hole in one of the hoses from the water pump that was kinda rubbing against a pulley.

so on the way home, my temp gauge would rise and fall, repeatedly, never goin into the red until i came to a complete stop, as you would see alot of smoke coming from under the front pass side of the hood, were i think the hose is that he mentioned had a hole.

so the question is:
1. bad water pump? (the one i put on was a used one with about 35k miles)
2. or the hole in the hose got bigger?

thanks for any help.
chris k

[97LT1Z28]

Hole in the hose may have gotten worse. Also, you have to bleed the cooling system after opening it up. If you have air in the system, it can also cause that problem.

Do not let your car overheat - it can blow your head gaskets and then you have to take it all apart all over again.....

[redws6]

i had to drive the car home 4 hrs.. after that it has sat in my driveway for 2 days now. thanks for the reply.

[97LT1Z28]

Don't forget to bleed the cooling system . . . .

[redws6]

there are little valves for the on 2 of the hoses i think? thats just to get the air out right?

[SteveH95Formula]

Yea you warm it up real good and open the bleeders for a few seconds (one at a time) to purge the air out. Start with the lowest one first.

[redws6]

yeh ive done it before, buts its been months.. thanks
chris

[Injuneer]

I don't see any mention of replacing the coolant hose with the hole. If you have a hole, no matter how small, the system isn't going to hold the pressure and the boiling point is going to be reduced. Also lets air in the system when the system cools down. And, it doesn't take much in the way of a leak to damage your brand new Opti. The hose needs to be replaced before you bleed the system.

Shoebox has a detailed bleeding procedure on his website:

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#radflush

[redws6]

i was most definitly replacing the hose. im pretty sure its the one below the opti that was rubbin against the crank pulley. so i hope the opti is alright.