2000 LS V8 Cooling Fan Pump Solenoid

tooserious4u79

tooserious4u79

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Hello everyone. I am relatively new to this forum but have been fixing my LS since I have had it. My major problem right now is overheating. The car drives for about 30 mins with the a/c on and then the needle starts creeping up. With the ac off it can go for about an hour before it overheats. I have changed everything in the cooling system accept the hydraulic fan pump. I have been racking my brain over what could be wrong and came up with 2 guesses. The solenoid that ports hydraulic fluid to the pressure side of the motor has burnt out and does not allow full fluid flow. The other guess is the hydraulic pump internals over time have got worn out which would explain the whining noise that some people get from this car. I have heard this whining noise before but not only the LS but aircraft hydraulic system pumps. But when hydraulic pumps on aircraft fail they fail a lot more violently. My question is before I just change out the pump is there anyway to troubleshoot the pump or possibly electronically open the solenoid valve. This was my car but in the quest to save gas going back and forth to work she had commandeered it but since it is not reliable right now she has to go back to driving our 2000 Chevrolet cavalier. Needless to say she misses the power. If anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated.
 
From what I've heard the pump just has to be replaced. Ive speculated the same thing, that maybe there is some sort of valve that sticks and does not allow full flow to the fan, but I haven't taken the initiative to do any investigation of my own on that notion.

I know the power steering pumps in these cars whine from time to time, but I've never heard of the fan pump whining.

I suppose that if there is a valve that can be opened or closed to change the flow rate of the fluid, there would be a relay for it somewhere under the hood. You can try jumping the relay if that's the case.
If that doesn't work you may have to try jumping the solenoid itself and see if that makes any difference.

Several people here have had to have the fan drive motor itself replaced to fix overheating problems, so you might not want to rule that out either unless you've done it.
 
Just a question, have you replaced your thermostat and belt? How old is your coolant, and what type? I would check/replace them before spending the money.
 
I have had the coolant flushed, changed the thermostat, degas bottle, degas bottle cap, thermostat housing, water pump, cooling lines and cooling fan motor. I don't know but I think the only thing left to change would be the pump.
 
Have you checked the fan clutch fluid level? It looks like a power steering fluid reservoir, on the left side of the engine. When did you problem first appear? Did any service precede it? Who replaced the thermostat? Was the correct part used? You have done a lot of work, it seems something may not have been done correctly.
 
It's safe to assume that you have thoroughly bled the cooling system per the directions..correct?
 
Obviously something wrong

When it overheats does the fan stop working? If the fan is running then it is not the fan system that is messed up. Are you operating with a 50/50 mix in the radiator? Try lowering the antifreeze ratio and add a can of water wetter instead. Water wetter is a great product and can lower the water temperature by as much as 30f. This is what I did to solve the problem. No more overheats. Of course bleed the air out of the system.
 
lseguy said:
It's safe to assume that you have thoroughly bled the cooling system per the directions..correct?
Click to expand...

What is this process? I just removed and replaced the engine in my 2001 v8 sport. Flushed the rad. Filled up the fan fluid. After starting it for the first time the fluid never went down at all. how do you bleed these pumps?
 
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