hey Guys,
I'm brand new to these forums as well as being the owner of a 1991 SC 5-Speed.
I know this post is really long but I wanted to five you guys full background of the past few days so you all could better assess the situation...
First, a little background. I purchased the car a few days ago for 900 bucks.. The car is in great condition but didn't have the supercharger installed. The guy included a rebuilt one in the price but I had to put it on. Well after 100 bucks in misc parts, (the guy tore this thing off the motor) LOL. We checked the radiator fluid level and it was full.. OF WATER.. so we just said the heck with it and figured we would flush and fill it properly later.. We got the car started and running beautifully..
We took the car out on some back neighborhood roads first and it drove perfect. No pinging, no surging.. No hissing.. Boost gauge was working but the temp gauge was NOT..
We didn't notice anything funny except that the brakes were really hard.. No biggie just used some extra leg power and figured we'd tackle that issue later. So, we head out onto the main road and open her up in 2nd gear and left off when we hit 3rd.. Car pulls like a beast and boost reads about 7-9 pounds.. We keep driving her around for another 5 minutes and decide to take her a little further.. No smoking, no smell.. ok, so we are driving on the highway feeder going about 45mph in third gear and open her up.. nothing happens.. the car just kinda sits there.. Hmm, wierd, we thought maybe we're in 5th.. recheck the gear and no we're in third... so, threw her in 2nd and although the rpm's went up, the car still just sat there with the pedal floored.. Mind you we only floored it for about 2 seconds... Ok, so we pull over, turn around and go home slowly.. never over 30.. it's only like a mile drive.. we live in a small town..
We get home, and open the hood.. the coolant overflow tank is boiling over.. We figure it's got to be the fan, radiator, or the thermostat... So, we remove the thermostat and check it, (put it in a boiling pot of hot water), it opened right up and closed when we stuck in under running cold water.. So, even that said, we just went ahead and left it off... redid the gasket with some gasket paper and gasket sealer and slapped it back on without the thermostat...
Now, we check the radiator.. We removed the bottom hose and ran water through the top of the radiator, essentially flushing it out and just as we thought before, pure water in the radiator.. The water ran straight through the radiator from both openings and really just gushing out as if no resistance which was a good sign. So we figured the radiator is good... Right?
Next, we check the fan.. Well, surprise, the fan is not coming on even with the A/C on.. So we rigged it up with a switch to the inside of the car and just have it running full blast all the time... No harm in that...
Ok, so now here we are.. Radiator seems to be ok, thermostat removed and fan is on.. Car is running great and we decide to take a little cruise again remembering to stay close to home... We drive around for about 5 min and don't notice anything funny.. We open her up again in 2nd.. and all seemed fine.. we opened her up again in 1st and all seemed fine.. it wasn't until we were headed home when we tried a pull in 2nd gear it was like all the power died again.. so we were like 100 feet from home so we drive it right home and again the water was boiling over!!!
This time, we noticed that the water pump hose was cracked and hissing and leaking.. we also noticed that some clamps needed to be replaced on the large upper rad hose and the lower... I was out of cash so it will have to wait till next week. This is just my weekend driver so she can wait..
Ok, so all that said, what do you all think it could be? Could the water pump be bad? if so, what can i do to test it? Are there other things I should check?? I don't think we blew a headgasket because there was absolutely no smoke and the oil is not cloudy nor is there oil in the coolant...
I searched all over these forums and didn't find anything like my issue and that's why I posted..
I'd appreciate any help or suggestions you all can give me.
Thanks..
I'm brand new to these forums as well as being the owner of a 1991 SC 5-Speed.
I know this post is really long but I wanted to five you guys full background of the past few days so you all could better assess the situation...
First, a little background. I purchased the car a few days ago for 900 bucks.. The car is in great condition but didn't have the supercharger installed. The guy included a rebuilt one in the price but I had to put it on. Well after 100 bucks in misc parts, (the guy tore this thing off the motor) LOL. We checked the radiator fluid level and it was full.. OF WATER.. so we just said the heck with it and figured we would flush and fill it properly later.. We got the car started and running beautifully..
We took the car out on some back neighborhood roads first and it drove perfect. No pinging, no surging.. No hissing.. Boost gauge was working but the temp gauge was NOT..
We didn't notice anything funny except that the brakes were really hard.. No biggie just used some extra leg power and figured we'd tackle that issue later. So, we head out onto the main road and open her up in 2nd gear and left off when we hit 3rd.. Car pulls like a beast and boost reads about 7-9 pounds.. We keep driving her around for another 5 minutes and decide to take her a little further.. No smoking, no smell.. ok, so we are driving on the highway feeder going about 45mph in third gear and open her up.. nothing happens.. the car just kinda sits there.. Hmm, wierd, we thought maybe we're in 5th.. recheck the gear and no we're in third... so, threw her in 2nd and although the rpm's went up, the car still just sat there with the pedal floored.. Mind you we only floored it for about 2 seconds... Ok, so we pull over, turn around and go home slowly.. never over 30.. it's only like a mile drive.. we live in a small town..
We get home, and open the hood.. the coolant overflow tank is boiling over.. We figure it's got to be the fan, radiator, or the thermostat... So, we remove the thermostat and check it, (put it in a boiling pot of hot water), it opened right up and closed when we stuck in under running cold water.. So, even that said, we just went ahead and left it off... redid the gasket with some gasket paper and gasket sealer and slapped it back on without the thermostat...
Now, we check the radiator.. We removed the bottom hose and ran water through the top of the radiator, essentially flushing it out and just as we thought before, pure water in the radiator.. The water ran straight through the radiator from both openings and really just gushing out as if no resistance which was a good sign. So we figured the radiator is good... Right?
Next, we check the fan.. Well, surprise, the fan is not coming on even with the A/C on.. So we rigged it up with a switch to the inside of the car and just have it running full blast all the time... No harm in that...
Ok, so now here we are.. Radiator seems to be ok, thermostat removed and fan is on.. Car is running great and we decide to take a little cruise again remembering to stay close to home... We drive around for about 5 min and don't notice anything funny.. We open her up again in 2nd.. and all seemed fine.. we opened her up again in 1st and all seemed fine.. it wasn't until we were headed home when we tried a pull in 2nd gear it was like all the power died again.. so we were like 100 feet from home so we drive it right home and again the water was boiling over!!!
This time, we noticed that the water pump hose was cracked and hissing and leaking.. we also noticed that some clamps needed to be replaced on the large upper rad hose and the lower... I was out of cash so it will have to wait till next week. This is just my weekend driver so she can wait..
Ok, so all that said, what do you all think it could be? Could the water pump be bad? if so, what can i do to test it? Are there other things I should check?? I don't think we blew a headgasket because there was absolutely no smoke and the oil is not cloudy nor is there oil in the coolant...
I searched all over these forums and didn't find anything like my issue and that's why I posted..
I'd appreciate any help or suggestions you all can give me.
Thanks..