1998 Bravo EFi over heating issue

I have looked through all the forum and can't seem to find a thread for my issue. Or should I say my car's issue lol
When I got my dual cab just over a month ago, she was running great, but being freezing cold weather, had no heater in the cab. So thought it might have been a thermostat issue. Went to replace it, found there wasn't one actually in there to start with, so put one in. The person who owned the car before me didn't use any form of gasket, just gasket goo, found some of it in the radiator.
Gave it a flush etc, then last week, she over heated (I pulled over before the temp got too high)
Radiator cap was crap, so replaced that too.
NOW she's not running as hot, but still getting to about 3/4 temp.
Am thinking it could have an air lock? There is "some" resistance in the fan, not as much as I'd like, but still seems to work fine. Plus have an electric fan on it, relay/fuse is fine.
Ideas anyone? I am out in the middle of no where, so can't just run to town lol so have to do the work myself. (As usual)
So throw some ideas at me please!!!!!!!! Am I missing something? Knowing me, it's something simple lol

Did you run the heater when.you re filled after the flush?

Finding trucks with the thermostat removed is a very common theme. If a truck has a bad (frozen shut or open) thermostat, then it should be replaced. But I think 9 times out of 10, an owner has taken it out as a band aid for another problem with the cooling system. After all, it's easier and cheaper to take something off, than to go and buy a new radiator or water pump and install them.

I would run the truck with the cap off and the heater full on for a bit in an effort to purge any air out of the system. Be sure to rev it a bit as well at it takes some good pressure to purge the air from the heater core. If you have air in the core, that usually just impedes your cabin heating. If you have air in the rest of the system, it should find it's way to the radiator where you will see the coolant is low.

Chances are you have a problem with either the fan clutch, radiator, or water pump.

Fan Clutch
Since it sounds like you have an electric fan in addition to the clutch fan (did I understand you correctly?), I doubt that is your problem unless you have some other accessories on the bumper or anything that might impede the air flow through the grill and across the radiator. However, a simple test it to take in on the highway (if you haven't already) and see what kind of performance you get at highway speeds. If the rest of the system is in good shape and only the clutch is bad, then it should cool pretty well on the highway as the fan clutch is hardly working at highway speeds.

Radiator
I would be suspect of the radiator in your situation - especially since you have already found some "goo." If two fans can't keep your truck running cool, then there is a good chance the radiator is the culprit. They tend to clog up naturally. So whenever the previous owner used the "goo" gasket, it probably didn't help the situation.

Water Pump
The water pump is probably the least likely problem. But they can and do erode away - especially if the truck has been run with mostly water and not much if any coolant. So I would look at the other items above first and then consider the water pump. In the states, you can get a cheap one for around $35 or a premium Gates brand for around $70. Not a lot of money considering it's the heart of the cooling system.

I think your 98 is the 2.6 G6 engine. If so, it's easy to change. You could also pull it and inspect it. If it looks good, then you cold always reinstall it with a new gasket.

Fan Shroud
It seems that fan shrouds (cowls) usually disappear on these trucks over the years. If your shroud is missing, I would definitely get a new one. They can make a big difference at idle and low speed.

Also, keep this in mind. Neither the fan clutch, the radiator, nor the water pump wear out/clog/erode overnight. So there is a good chance that one of them is the primary cause of your truck overheating, but you could also have two or even all three of them contributing to it running hot.

Hope this all helps!

Oh yeah, let us know what your fan setup is? Clutch fan plus electric? Or only electric? One large electric fan or two smaller ones? Pusher or puller?

Pretty much what Scotch posted. Someone who took out the thermostat wrongly thought that it would help the cooling - not so, and most likely reason you have no heat.

Assuming that all your fans work, these fans (and fan clutch, which yours may not have) are most needed when doing slow driving/town driving. At higher speeds the ram effect gets air through the radiator.

With a 1998, Scotch is dead on that if there is not air entrapped in the cooling system (I jack up the front end and run the engine with the cap off, adding coolant as needed until it's full) then the radiator itself needs to be replaced. So if you replace the radiator, be sure to replace all the cooling shrouds and to purge of all air like detailed above.

Water pump impellers rarely corrode in this length of time.

Chrome, actually no I didn't run the heater, just left the radiator cap off after I flushed it to top coolant up.
I sure do Scotch, I have an electric and a clutch fan.
The guy was running ordinary water in it grrrrrrr
There is nothing across the front that would block the air flow.
It's actually out on the highway that she is getting hotter. The temp gets up to about 3/4, I stop the car cause I don't want to cook it. But the thermostat does open up, temp drops a little bit, then comes back up again. (To me, it's not cooling enough before the thermostat opens)
The cowl is still there and sitting nicely
I have the clutch fan where it's supposed to be And the electric one is on the front sitting just on one side of the radiator.
I am going to check all wiring today. (When the sun comes up that is lol)
I should add, before I replaced the radiator cap (but after I put new thermo in) I was losing coolant out of the over flow bottle. Now she's still getting hot, but not boiling over like she was. To me that's progress to start with lol

Oh and I better add, yes it is the G6

Missy - this symptom typically indicates a radiator that needs to be replaced.

I can agree 100% with Cusser Missvix. On my 88 B2200 I had a new head, thermostat, water pump and radiator hoses. I over heated on highways within mins of jumping on them. I thought waa due to lack of shroud, replaced missing shroud, same issue. Since i knew everything else was brand new radiator was suspect, an indeed was my issue. I got lucky an traded some fishing gear for mine lol. But they are relatively cheap. And you can do a straight dual electric fan swap and remove the clutched fan. Free up some hp too lol.

Aaaaah thanks for that guys Makes sense
And yes I was looking at taking clutch fan off and putting dual electric fans on. Same thing as I did to the drag car a few years back to save on the horsies
As I am out in the middle of no where, I will get one shipped out. Might take a week, but will keep you posted
You guys are legends Much appreciated

Got one, $120AU including delivery Should be here by next week, hopefully lol