Hello everyone,

So I have a really strange problem going on. My car at idle and low rpm driving is having overheating problems. If you get the car up to 2500+ rpm the temperature is fine. The parts replaced so far are:
Thermostat
Radiator
Upper/Lower Radiator Hose
Water Pump
Temperature Sensor

I used a lisle spill-free funnel for 15-20 minutes to bleed out the air in the system and the car is still having overheating issues. The fan seems to be coming on around 215-225 degrees according to the temperature gauge in the car.

The other problem is a strange ticking noise coming from the front/belt side of the motor. At first start in the morning it doesn't do it usually. Once the car warms up it gets pretty loud. I put a long screw driver to the valve cover, water pump, tensioner, alternator, and the head itself. Haven't been able to narrow down where the noise is coming from.

Here's two videos I took on my cell phone that might offer some insight, the 2nd one is easier to hear the ticking since the fan isn't running in it.

VID_20120405_110149.mp4 - YouTube
VID_20120405_110725.mp4 - YouTube

Thanks ahead for any assistance.

 

Just read the forum post "2002 still getting hot after changing everything" and going to try and see if I can bypass the core to isolate the overheating problem. Still not sure on the ticking noise, I have a feeling its the timing chain or tensioner.

On the ticking problem I forgot to note, I took the valve cover off and switched all the rockers and push rods from the front side of motor to the back side of the motor and the ticking is still happening. Oil is clear, and the head was replaced 3 weeks ago due to a blown head gasket.

 

Quick update on the overheating. I removed the lines on the firewall side of the motor, and put a u-shaped preform hose in to bypass the core. Cars running at 205'ish, the first line past 195. The thermostat is a 195, going to put the 185 back in that I had and see if it will drop it back to the standard 195 normal operating temperature.

 

Hope my "2002 still hot thread" helped you. Reading your post sounds just like mine. I replaced my head also. Had to clean every hole in the block out. Some were plugged solid. Mine still runs at 195 all the time since. I was very careful not to mix the push rods or lifters up. It just as noisy as yours does. At least mine is reliable now. Bob
P.S. I used the Green anti freeze after the head job.