paul67

Hi All! I have 91 LS400 w 182k for 11 yrs. Im a newbie to the forum. My LS temp guage shot up like a rocket the other day on the highway. It actually blew off my top hose. I pulled off the highway immediately. Obviously antifreeze was all over due to the hose being off which was causing the smoking from the hot engine. The next day I was able to re-connect the top hose and re-fill the overflow reservoir, since it seemed like I didn't lose much fluid. I drove the car home since I wasn't far, but the guage did rise higher than normal operating temp. First thing I did was to replace the thermostat, but it still seems like the antifreeze is not flowing thru the hoses. I ran the car w heat on high to bleed out the air after installing new thermostat. NO hot air coming out of heater & still rising temp guage. NOTE: My power steering fluid leaked out a couple weeks ago and I have been driving w manual steering since I havent had a chance to check it out. Have driven 100 mile trips w no problems till now. Could this be related to Pwr steering issue or could I have a clogged radiator? Water pump has been replace in last 2 yrs and their seems to be NO LEAKS under the car. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Never replaced radiator in 11 yrs.

paul67

Also wanted to say there is no white smoke coming out of exhaust and no sign of anti-freeze in my oil, so is it correct to rule out a blown head gasket??? I think my next step will be to drain the radiator & re-fill if there is poossibility of it being clogged or should I just replace it since I know it is the original????

I am also checking to see the cause of my Power steering failure, which must be a line since it dumped all at once as opposed to a small leak.

Will keep u posted on findings.

Someone please respond!!! I know u guys are way more knowledgeable than me!!!!

HELP!!

Thanks, Paul

3UZFTE

Go to autozone or a parts store and ask them if you can borrow a pressure tester. It is impossible to just tell you where it could be coming from. I would do that first, see if it holds pressure, and how much psi for how long. Then you will be able to get a better idea. Maybe the top hose was loose to begin with, and it jsut fell off, and now you have air trapped in there. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions before you do some basic testing. I would not think that your power steering has any effect on your cooling, that being said you never know until you do some diagnosing...

Quick test, hook up the cooling system like it should, then fill it up coolant/water with the engine running for a while, wait until the system gets to a op temp, then crack the bleeder on the top of the thermostat housing... release any air, if you have done everything right, you should not have any air, the car should be at op temp, and the cooling fans will come on to cool the car. One thing to check.... is the thermostat since it's already drained of coolant, might as well through in a few dollar part.

Twix

Dude, bleed the air out of your system...The bleeding screw is on the side of the radiator...
Your water/antifreez is not circulating cause of the air in the coolant system...

paul67

Thx for reply! Are you referring to the bleeder nut on the top of the thermostat housing??

paul67

I drained my system, re-filled and bled it and seems to be running at normal temperature. I also found my power steering leak in one of the lines on the rack. i will replace both since they seem pretty rusty. Any suggestions for online parts would be helpful!

thanks again for the suggestions!

Paul