Bad . . . or normal??

[89_3SFE]

I've had my engine temp running pretty steady for that past little while, but I just noticed it yesterday that when I idled it was cooler, but when I accelerated around 3,000 RPMs, it moved up a tiny bit. I've never noticed it and, in fact, I know it used to just get to the middle point and stay there, no matter how fast the engine was running. I've got an 89 GT and was wondering if this is normal or does my radiator and/or water pump need to be replaced? Help me if you can!! Thanks!

[chronoti]

check to see if your radiator fluid isn't water if water replace with some of that toyota long life anti-freeze. the toyota stuff is some good stuff .... other than that dont care till it starts to run hot.

[Spooph]

Do you have any parts stores around you willing to let you try some parts? If you do, try the water pump... You might also want to check the thermostat and flush the block/radiator for any blocks in the system...

[Audi Man]

hmm.. don't want to scare you guys, but buddy of mine had a similar problem with his 88, and the problem is a lot deeper than we thought. I will tell you guys the full story in a bit, but I would suggest constantly checking to make sure you have enough coolant, and also, try to flush your radiator and cooling system first.. its simple work there...

Here is the story. Buddy of mine had a 88 celica GT. The car was running normal all this time, and he started experiencing heating problem, nothing major, just that the engine seems to run a little hotter than it used to, say nothing more than 3% (judging from needle movement).

He continue to drive the car as is, but one day, while he was driving home from work, his engine runs at abnormal high heat. He pulled over to a side, and check his radiator, to his surprise, its empty. So, ok cool, he waited half an hour for it to cool down. When it finally cooled down, he pour water into the radiator, and guess what? All that water just flow right back out from his exhaust system. We have no choice but have the car towed to my place, when I rip the engine head off, it turns out that his main head gasket had a crack in it, water were not leaking out, but right in to the block.

[canadiancelica]

Easy test !

Step one, keep eye on coolant levels, goes down, you have a leak.

Step two, Get the car to operating temp, park it, leave it running, get doen on your hands and knees and smell the exhaust (dont take deep breaths, you may pass out)

Step three, get engine to operating temp, check oil with dipstick (look for bubbles), then take off oil fill cap and look white sludge.

If there is white sludge, you have coolant in your oil (a little is normal where moisture is persistant in the atmsphere)

If your exhaust smells funny and/or has white smoke (steam) coming out of it, then you have head gasket issues.

John