Car overheats after changing water pump
I have a 80' Chevy Citation X-11 (yes, a
Citation, lol) for 20 years now & have never had
this issue.
My brother installed a new water pump
because the old one was dripping a little & the
temp. was just a tad higher, but not
overheating. About 10 min. after he installed it
the temp went to the red zone. Changed out the
thermostat, no change.
Radiator & heater core hoses stayed cool for
the 2 days my brother was trying to figure it
out. He did take the radiator cap off and bled
the system for air, no change.
After sitting a week, I bled the system again
and got the heat to work and hoses got warm.
Another person came out today & took the
thermostat out and turned it around the other
way. He thinks it was in wrong, still no change.
At first the radiator hose didn't feel like there
was water in there at all, then after awhile it
filled along with the heater core hose. Still no
change. They don't know what's going on.
All I know is that it never did that till
immediately after the water pump was
installed. I double checked that the parts store
gave me the right pump.
The car had been sitting mostly for the last 2
years. I drive it about once a month. A truck
going thru a red light hit it hard on the quarter
panel and it has a loss of power going up hills
but don't think that has to do with the
overheating.
Gotta get the emissions & plates renewed this
month, so gotta get Old Red back on the road
soon!
Thank you!
Cool car, and rare- these were a big deal when they came out- I know I bought a new one in '80- I got rid of it because the back brakes would lock under braking and throw the car sideways- GM knew about the problem but rolled them off the line anyway- look, this is an old car and you could have a lot of things wrong- it sounds like air bubbles behind the thermostat and the cooling hoses must be burped - but on a car that old, nothing can be guaranteed unless you renew the entire cooling system- yes, you are in a project up to your eyeballs- maybe you just wanna sell it to some crazy guy like me who used to have one and will pour money into it- crazy
Hi! Thank you for calling it a cool car! My family & friends- hate that car & I have loved 'her' ever since the day I bought it. I think that they are great cars & don't know why everyone is so repulsed by them. I didn't know about that breaking problem, wow, that's quite scary. How long did you have yours for? If I ever sell it, you would be the first one I would call, lol. I know that you have all of this money waiting to thrown into it. It's a hot car. Black & red with black interior. Crushed quarter panel, but I bought the panel & saving to get it fixed. Yes, I'm crazy!! Thank you very much for your advice. The guy is coming back today hopefully. He didn't know what it was, so he was going to read up on stuff & ask his friends. I will show him this post. Hoping it's just air in the system. Start with the easiest first & keep fingers crossed. Thanks again, take care too!
Yeah, burping the system can be a zen challenge, depending on the car- the Citation got a bad reputation because common wisdom just settles on scapegoats- maybe those brakes had somethin' to do with it- after they killed enough people- mine was the first production run, so maybe they fixed the problem by the time yours came along- and the X-11 is a rare bird- I ordered mine as soon as they came out, weren't any on the dealer's lot yet- I ordered the notchback, base, and only 2 options- the V6 and red and black 2-tone paint- $5200! it took 10 months to get it, but when it came it was beautiful with that paint! and fast with the 4-speed- the dealer wanted to keep it because it was the best looking one on the lot- and the cheapest! loved that car- it had a bench seat which was great for cruising with a girl- what a coupe, those were the good old days- I kept it a year and sold it because of the aforementioned habit of going sideways when braking thru a corner- thanks for the memories- I think that car is rare and worth putting money into- and I don't say that about many cars under 40 years old- be cool
Hi Jamnblues, woooow, I am takin' totally back with enormous excitement and just like - WOW-!! Thank you for supporting me & Old Red. I am flattered big time. I think it's totally worth putting money into too. Looks kinda rough but every time I drive it, it's just so fun, comfortable & fast. I'm going to have your comments on speed dial so when I get chewed out from everyone about every little thing I fix, I can say I have a supporter, lol. Do you have a pic. of yours? I bet it was so gorgeous. I can't imagine. So cool to be able to talk to an original owner. Too bad it had that problem & can understand why you had to sell it. Mine is an 80', so sounds like the same car. Black & red. Seriously, no one I know will accept the fact I am not getting rid of her. On the other hand, when I'm in public everyone loves it. She has rust and smashed panel but still get compliments. I'm like the guy in that movie- Christine, haha. This is my 4th one. I'm 46 now. First one was in 86' it was a 82'. Wish someone would call Chip Foose and tell him my story. He would probably love to see that come thru (maybe). Someone's coming out soon to work on it. Thanks again!