Poor SVX...

I was driving from Indiana to Virginia, where I reside. And my car starts to over heat. I pull over at a Taco Bell since it's almost time to eat anyways. I pop the hood and lo and behold, there's a six inch crack in the head of my radiator... <sigh> So, I fortunatally have another car driving with me. We went to a parts store and got some epoxy putty and I patched that up to get me home. But it started over heating again, though remarkably less. I checked again and the crack was fine, the patch was holding. So something else is wrong.
One item to replace.
Then about 5 hours later I stop to fill up at a gas station, my car won't start. A truck driver helped me, shorted the connections on the starter and bam. So...
Two items to replace.

Since I'll be working with the coolant system I might as well replace the water pump and the thermostat.
Four items to replace.

So I'm just praying nothing else goes bad while she's parked in my driveway. Just avoiding looking at her wrong right now...

One positive note... When the engine started over heating the a/c got warm. As soon as it got warm the engine temp went down a bit. Smart car, eh?

Bissell

[benebob]

My guess is you have an air bubble in the system. They aren't the easiest to get out on the SVX. I used to have an old (EA81 (brat style hatchback) that would start to overheat in traffic. Now I know the fan wasn't kicking in at a low enough temp but at the time I'd just turn the heat on to high and it would go right down. Granted it sucked as it was always those 100 degree North Carolina days.

As for the starter. YOU DON'T need a new starter. Just new brushes. About $15. At the very least don't buy a crappy rebuilt one. Take it to a local starter/alt. place.. You'll pay less and make out better.

[Earthworm]

Another starter issue is that sometimes not enough current reaches the starter solenoid. Some people, such as myself, have wired in a relay that pumps power straight from the battery to the solenoid.

I can almost guarantee the epoxy won't hold for long. I'm trying to start a group buy for all metal radiators. Search the For Sale forum for info.

[PatrickB]

Anyone know how to get bubbles out of the svx cooling system?

[dcarrb]

Seems unlikely you'd have an air pocket in your cooling system unless you've recently drained and refilled the system. It's possible the thermostat is shot, which caused the coolant to boil in, and consequently crack, the radiator tank.

Earthworm's right about the epoxy; definitely a temporary fix.

dcb

[benebob]

Originally posted by dcarrb
Seems unlikely you'd have an air pocket in your cooling system unless you've recently drained and refilled the system. It's possible the thermostat is shot, which caused the coolant to boil in, and consequently crack, the radiator tank.

Earthworm's right about the epoxy; definitely a temporary fix.

dcb

He lost enough coolant for it to start to overheat. My bet is that there is air in there somewhere. The epoxy if done right can last up to a year at best but my guess yours won't as you did it on the side of the road w/o the time to dry and such.

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by PatrickB
Anyone know how to get bubbles out of the svx cooling system?

By doing a complete radiator flush.

-Chike

[dcarrb]

Originally posted by benebob


He lost enough coolant for it to start to overheat. My bet is that there is air in there somewhere.

Certainly possible. (Anything's possible.) Simply passing along personal Suby experience, on both counts.

dcb

[Earthworm]

Not that it matters much but I've never has an air bubble in my car's cooling system and I have lost almost all fluid as well.