I've owned this 1988 Sammy since 1990. I don't remember it getting good gas mileage at all( aronud 15 mpg right now). i have done the basic spark plugs, wires, rotor, and oil change.  Is there something esle that i am missing? I read on here about pulling CEL codes. Also it just started overheating on me. I changed the thermostat today. still overheats. Is it the radiator? water pump? Sammy has 97000 miles one it.

Probably the fan clutch

Does where you live has emission testing?  Probably not.  Thats why the bad MPG, your system is not working.

Where or what exactly is the fan clutch? Can i fix it? i am in SC. There is no emissions test here. What is it that i need to check?

are you seeing physical signs that it has overheated? in example steam...

the stock gauge is known to be a real pc. of S

the part hes talking about is the cooling fan on the front of the engine... the clutch burns up much like the clutch in a transmission and just spins freely, not generating enough air to cool the radiator suffeciantly at lower speeds.

at highway speeds the fan is designed to stop spinning. as the wind itself is enough to cool the radiator



so ask yourself what type of driving are you normally doing? if its stop and go and/or long idles.  its most likely the fan.

if its overheating at highway speeds look elsewhere...


my .02

Don't forget the factory recall on the exhaust pipe that comes out of the exhaust manifold is a double walled pipe and the inside collapses and closes off the exhaust.

FLushed the radiator today and still overheats. I drove it on the highway and it still gets hot. Not too much stop and go traffic for me. Wonder if my water pump can be the culprit. radiator maybe? The antifreeze comes back out of the overflow bottle.And i did not know there was a recall about the exhaust. I will check into that for my bad MPG.

Head gasket.

Your low mileage can be any one of MANY failures in your emission system. Go to ACK's FAQ (google if you have to) and get the FSM. It will take you step-by-step through the system. Your vehicle will likely run MUCH better when you're done.

The over-heating can be...
* T-stat (never trust that a "new" one is working out-of-the-box: test it)
* Pump (WHEN COLD, pop the rad cap. Turn on, watch liquid in radiator AFTER engine warms up. Do you see a significant change in fluid movement from cold to hot? You should notice a lot more liquid flow after warm-up. If not, probably pump)
* Timing could be off
* Had gasket could be out (is your oil milky? oil in the coolant? lots of puff clouds in exhaust?)
* Radiator could be clogged

Checking ACK's FAQ right now. thanks for the site info. probably gonna replace the pump this weekend. Is there a way to check fan clutch? I doubt it is my head. No smoke, no oil in radiator fluid. That willl be last resort.

By "overheating", are you saying you're hearing boiling sounds and such, or are you saying the gauge is reading high temperatures?

By "overheating", are you saying you're hearing boiling sounds and such, or are you saying the gauge is reading high temperatures?

yeah... the gauges & sending units have been known to fail. You might not even be over-heating.

I'd verify your problem before going in and replacing parts. Replacing a t-stat ($10 & 10 min) is one thing... water pump is something entirely different.

Quote from: beercheck on August 15, 2008, 07:52:46 AM

By "overheating", are you saying you're hearing boiling sounds and such, or are you saying the gauge is reading high temperatures?

yeah... the gauges & sending units have been known to fail. You might not even be over-heating.

I'd verify your problem before going in and replacing parts. Replacing a t-stat ($10 & 10 min) is one thing... water pump is something entirely different.

Okay, the temp gauge goes up and the water shoots  out the overflow bottle. the water pump does not look too hard to do.

remember you have to pull the timing belt to change the water pump not bad to do
it's a six packer  maybe two

Get a compression test or leak down test done. Otherwise you're just replacing components at random, that can get expensive.