Overheating!

[Thieaux]

Hey Guys , as you can see im new here , first of all let me thank you for all the info you've given.

I recently sold my car and wanted something different , and my neighbor suggested his ls 400, it's 1991 ls400 with 60k , i wanted to know if it's a good buy , it's in great shape , but also there are a little things i wanted to know.

1. It's idling very roughly , i meant it keeps goign up till 1300 and down constantly .

2. It's overheating , it has water , fans work , a/c works , no check engine , just the radiatior picture that keeps coming on, and i found a broken p/s hose that comes out of the pump but don't know where it goes .

The engine bay is filled with steering fluid , i suspect its old . cause reading here i found that pluging the valve an the two hoses from the air box and engine manifold , will fix the leakage problem . the hoses are pluged (from the manifold and the airbox) but i think not the one form the valve caues theres a hose coming out of it that's broken and filled with fluid.

theres my problems please help, i'm seriously falling in love with this car .

 

[Lextreme II]

Powersteering fluid leak might kill your altenator soon or later. The alternator is right under the powersteering and fluid dont mix with electricity. Idling rough might be the Idle Speed Valve (ISV). It very expensive to replace if buy new from dealer. 60k is very low mile and many more miles to go before anything appears.

Overheating might be the water pump problem and its very costly to replace.

How much is your neighbor asking? I would not pay more than 8-9k for it. This is dueo to low mileage and plan to spend about 2k on the repairs.

 

[Thieaux]

He's asking 5k ....
Another thing ,is the hose that's coming out of the powers steering suppose to be pluged i mean this is the valve right?

 

[Lextreme II]

No.... but would be better if they are plugged. Since your waterpump coming out, u might as well replace the timing belt too along with few timing pullies. We have few packages for that type of work. http://parts.lextreme.com/packages.html

 

[Thieaux]

Ok thanks, confirmed theres no valve , al hoses are plugged , oil is from the old spill, he replaced the pump , long time ago, ...

I keep getting the erratic idling , doesn't stay put, keeps reving up till 1300 constantly
Also no oil in the coolant , no coolant in the oil , no gasses in the coolant resevoir no white smoke , so i'm assuming the gasket it's fine, but it keeps consuming a lot of water and overheating what's wrong with the car , could be the water pump, fans are alright
Help ...

 

[Lextreme II]

Do u see any water leak from the front bottom of the car?

 

[Thieaux]

Yes ,that was another question i had

Are any of the hoses form the resevoir open to the elements , cause i saw a lot of water after it overheats coming from the bottom, i asssumed that a hose is just open like a waste line to the ground ....

 

[Zuffen]

If water is flowing out the bottom when it overheats I'd suspect the water pump.

Is the water coming out under the radiator or the engine?

 

[Thieaux]

OK, besides all the problems , im getting 18v with the voltmeter , so thats a new IC , stiil getting the reving, water pump is out , get back tomorrow on diagnosis , im honestly thinking of not buying this car, someone please talk me into it , i know it's just minor things , once i get it fix i'll have a car for miles to come, but im getting desperate.

Water is dripping trough the trans .

 

[The Witzl]

well buying a car like this depends on whether or not you KNOW you have the capability to fix what is wrong with it yourself, and CHEAPLY.

Myself i know i have the ability, but that's only because i've done things like this a few times before and know what im up against...... but if you are unsure and *think* you can do it, then i probably wouldnt unless you have someone in the know rather handy to pull you out of those big holes you might dig yourself into....

 

[Zuffen]

Interesting.

Water out of the trans.

The back of the valley has two drain holes that allow water to drain down over the bellhousing. It stops the valley filling with water and drowning the starter motor. Water from one of these holes would look like water out of the trans (I assume you mean the bellhousing).

The obvious sources of water in the valley are the heater pipe that runs under the manifold, the rear waterbridge, heater hoses off the waterbridge and heater pipe plus the water supply to/from the throttle body.

One last source could be the "O" ring on the heater pipe running out of the back of the waterpump area.

None of these are major but getting access is fidly, time consuming and eats up dollars.

The car has a few problems but nothing I would call major or serious.

I'd buy it and plan on spending a bit of money with someone who knows what they are doing and you'll have a great car at agood price.

 

[Lextreme II]

Its a great for the mileage it has. The other thing u should look into is the LCD Climate control. It should not be dark or blackout. Blackout is a very common problem too. Do u have any warning lights coming on?