Help! 02 galant 4cly overheating! So my Galant has 120k miles and I just had the timing belt replaced and I thought I’d be good and have the water pump replaced as well. When I got it back I made a few short trips with it and it was running fine then I took a longer trip about 30 miles and I noticed it was overheating, so I took it back to the shop they thought it was air in the cooling system so they preformed a few flushes, replaced the thermostat even though it was new and then replaced the pump again and the radiator cap, the radiator it’s self was replaced maybe 1-2k miles ago. I don’t believe the head is leaking since I’m not losing coolant and the oil isn’t milky…I’m at a loss, could the thermostat be the problem? Do I need one from the dealer? Is there a history with replacement pumps bad? Help??? - clear
I’ve had some bad experiences using aftermarket cooling system components
I once even had a bad new thermostat which caused overheating
It seems I’m gonna have to pay for dealer parts… I’m totally confused at this point…
I’ve also had some good experience with aftermarket parts
Let me put it another way . . .
Most of the time, aftermarket parts work correctly
But in some circumstances . . .
JMHO, but it’s difficult for me to buy into the possibility of 2 bad new thermostats and 2 bad new water pumps.
Has proper operation of the cooling fans been considered? This means as related to both engine coolant temperature and operation of the A/C compressor.
This could be caused by the valve timing being off due to a botched timing belt replacement.
Since the weather has been nice I didn’t get a chance to use the ac/heater in the short time I’ve had it back, but I do know both the fans were working the day it overheated… After it cooled down I ran it again and the fans cycled on again…I was starting to consider the timing, it did run a little rough when I first got it back but thought it was just the computer making an adjustment, would there be some give away that its the timing? @oldtimer 11? Thanks
If it’s running rough, it’s likely the valve timing is off as oldtimer said. That’s the giveaway.
<The timing marks for the crank and cams have to be checked to make sure they line up perfectly. this is cam timing- not ignition.
did you replace the water pump? if you did you may have an air bubble in the cooling
So the mechanic said he checked the timing again and he used a computer not a light (good thing is that he isn’t going to charge me for the time only any parts he replaces) but he did check the belt again. He has flushed the system quite a few times now and doesn’t believe there could be air in the system anymore. He has now replaced the temp sensor and will drive it this weekend, I sure hope that fixes it, I wonder if the computer might be at fault as well?
I need help from a pro here. Can a computer check the cam timing?
@SAmikek, if the mechanic told you he checked the timing “with a computer, not a light,” the timing he checked was almost certainly the ignition timing, not the valve timing, which is what he should have checked. It’s the valve timing that would have been thrown off if the timing belt wasn’t installed properly.