Coolant issues on my '93 SLC

[merkaba22 0]

Back in June all the coolant drained out of my car in downtown LA -- I had the coolant pipe, coolant flange plug, water pipe, thermastat housing & seal ring, thermostat, water pipe plug, hose flange & coolant pipe o-rings replaced for $511.

 

Then I replaced the coolant resevoir myself becasue I was told it was leaking -- it was not after all.

 

A few weeks later it was dopping coolant again and I had the water pump replaced for $269.

 

Ever since the fan seems to comes on early and I took a trip this weekend and in stop and go traffic on the I-5 to San Diego, the coolant resevoir pressure cap releases all the coolant when the engine temp raised up to about 256 degrees. It was just 76 degrees out at that time of the day. This VR6 usually runs cool at no more than 234-246 degrees.

 

I noticed a VW dealership a few miles back on the freeway; called them and they had another cap, so I replaced it (what else late on a Saturday aftrnoon can you do?). And, it happened again 3 miles from the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert I was on my way to ....

 

After the gig I drove all the way back to LA after midniight when the air was cool and it stayed below 246 at a steady 75-80 mph.

 

Had my broken AC checked out last week when I had a Neuspeed cross brace installed; it was suggested (I ran out of time) that the issue seems that the fan for the condensor is no longer working and may be a bad resistor or relay, etc..

 

Any possibility of the two being inter-related where a relay or sensor is not working well, the engine over heats back in June and blows out the water pipe and contributes to the demise of the water pump a few weeks later? And that relay/sensor is also related to the AC fan issue and the over heating last weekend?

 

Or is there something else that may be at the center of this?

 

I just bought a Bentley:0

[vdubjb 0]

head gasket, or waterpump...

[bcstudent 0]

I think I'd be getting the engine tested for a head gasket failure too. Did the car get hot the first time it dumped its coolant?

[merkaba22 0]

They checked the head gasket when they changed the water pipe and said it was fine -- I guess they could have got it wrong.

 

If that is what need to be addressed, is there an upgrade to be aware of?

 

I guess on the other hand the watre pump could be faulty ...

 

Any other thoughts?

[merkaba22 0]

Well, the overheating seemed to be fixed when I realized the fan wasn't coming on and my regular mechanic spotted that the connecting sockets were not inserted completely.

 

It seems that the mechanic who does my mods and who was installing my Neuspeed front cross brace and who also checked the AC, didn't plug the connectors back in all the way.

 

After that they car has been running great for the last week until I noticed all the coolant had dripped out onto the floor of my garage yesterday -- I filled it up again, and it leaked out yet again and I noticed that it is down a quart of oil -- unusual for this car in the 15 months I have owned it.

 

Is it a long shot that the oil burned when the car got hot (never over 256 degreees) and the wataer pump which just had been replaced is defective?