what does cool lower rad.hose mean?

a new water pump is installed.temp goes 3/4 up to red zone and barely cools down,the upper hose is warm,but the lower is cold.could a piece of gasket or a chunk of something be messing with the thermostat? maybe a bad water pump even though its new?

Your radiator is dead!

Well thats not enough info, but going on what you have posted the hot upper hose indicates that the thermostat has opened. The cold lower hose sounds like the radiator is plugged. Sounds like hot water going to the radiator but not getting through the radiator. Why did you replace the water pump? What were the symptoms?

the water pump was making alot of noise,like a bearing,it was rattleing.the shaft "wobbeled"[is that how you spell that?]a good bit.when i put the new pump on,the sound went away andi thought i was ready to roll. it doesnt seem to heat up real fast.the radiator is 4-5 years old.the temp rarely reached 1/2 way before. i cant imagine its the radiator all of a sudden.its like it heats up but wont cool back down where it used to.i did scrape some gasket off,a little permatex too.whats your thoughts on a thermostat problem,my housing is leaking a little anyway

Could you have installed your thermostat backwards/upside down? This could cause simular problems to what your are discribing.

Not very likely that the t-stat is in backwards because the upper hose is getting hot. 1. Your thermostat may not be opening fuIly. It could just be opening enough to get the upper hose hot but not flow enough coolant. 2. have seen this before. I have seen new water pumps go bad very quickly. I have seen the impellar loosen up on the shaft when the engine heats up and slip back far enough away so that it is too far from the housing of the pump to pump water effectively. Since you claim the problem came on very quickly with the onset of the new pump. I would pull the new pump and compare the distance from the housing of the pump to the impellar with another new one. If you have a larger gap in comparrision with the other pump then I would say that is your trouble. It is a very rare occurence but it could be your trouble.

Do the simlest thing first. Pull the T-stat and install a new one. If that has no effect I would pull the pump. If the pump looks normal. Your answer is simple the radiator is blocked.

Hope it helps.

This might sound stupid but I've done this on my 5.0.did you put the belt on right? I had these exact same symptoms on my stang. just thought i would throw it out there,we all make stupid mistakes ...Bill

problem solved!!! i lit the car on fire and its destroyed!!....just kidding. tried the thermostat trick since the housing was seeping a little with no effect.i pulled the waterpump back off and bought a new one instead of a reman.45 minutes later i was cool as can be.i cant believe a reman pump didnt last 5 miles!what a joke!!water pump installation is easy when you cut that stupid bracket that goes to the powersteering pump!

So was the impellar coming loose on the remanufactured pump? I spot weld them now. The way they just crimp those things on scares me now.

90sc35thann: excellent point/tip!


ddw350: still waitin' to hear what was wrong with the previous pump? By the way, warm your engine and take the radiator cap off. Rev it and see if the water blows out profusely, if it does you need to seriously look at getting the radiator rodded out (or replacing it).

'bird

honestly i didnt examine it a whole lot,the impeller was tight on the shaft,maybe a tolerence issue?i did bad mouth the store when i returned it,nothing real bad though.i'll try that rad.trick one day.the car rarely goes over half way on the temp gauge..thanks for the tip!!