Hummer H3 For the Hummer driver who wants the rugged look and off road capabilities of the Hummer, but in a smaller size and with a more fuel economy friendly engine.

H3 running hotter than usual

Old Jun 16, 2023 | 05:03 AM
  #1  
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Default H3 running hotter than usual

Hey all, got a strange one here and would be grateful for some help.

My H3 is running hotter than usual and the temperatures rise only when accelerating, like when city driving mostly but once I'm cruising or come to a complete stop, it doesnt rise anymore and in fact eventually starts to come back down to normal operating temperature in some time and stays there until I push it again, and it starts to creep back up.

The rise and drop of the temperatures is very gradual and not sudden. I have been monitoring my temperature using the ScanGuage2 so I know the exact readings, which at it's highest went up to was about 113°C (235°F).

Since then, the thermostat and water pump have been changed and that didn't help. The radiator is about a year old but i still checked it out and it is clean and also had the system burped so I'm sure that's not the issue. Furthermore, i have an electric fan installed and that's working fine too. I also had the tensioner puller changed out just in case it was slipping, and it did squeak when i checked it after removing.

What else should i be looking at? Any help would really be appreciated as I'm at a loss here. I'm in the Middle East so ambient temperatures have currently reached about 45°C/113°F. What's interesting is that when I test it at night, it doesn't go that high at all but during the day it does creep up significantly - but I'm sure this didn't happen last summer so there sure is something going on.

Tldr; temperature only rising gradually when city driving but comes back to normal eventually when cruising or at a stop. Usual suspected parts changed out but no help.
 
Old Jun 16, 2023 | 11:03 AM
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Was the replacement T Stat an OEM? Replacement T Stats are rated at appx 5F hotter than the original OEMs. I do not think your temps are a huge concern with your ambient air temps you described. A little warm, but no disastrous for sure.

When was the last time your Trans Fluid and Filter were changed? Clean fresh Trans Fluid can reduce heat.

BTW, H3 Radiators never need to be burped, they will do that by themselves with a couple heat cycles and adjusting the coolant level in the expansion tank after cool down.
 
Old Jun 16, 2023 | 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Nonibot
Hey all, got a strange one here and would be grateful for some help.

My H3 is running hotter than usual and the temperatures rise only when accelerating, like when city driving mostly but once I'm cruising or come to a complete stop, it doesnt rise anymore and in fact eventually starts to come back down to normal operating temperature in some time and stays there until I push it again, and it starts to creep back up.

The rise and drop of the temperatures is very gradual and not sudden. I have been monitoring my temperature using the ScanGuage2 so I know the exact readings, which at it's highest went up to was about 113°C (235°F).

Since then, the thermostat and water pump have been changed and that didn't help. The radiator is about a year old but i still checked it out and it is clean and also had the system burped so I'm sure that's not the issue. Furthermore, i have an electric fan installed and that's working fine too. I also had the tensioner puller changed out just in case it was slipping, and it did squeak when i checked it after removing.

What else should i be looking at? Any help would really be appreciated as I'm at a loss here. I'm in the Middle East so ambient temperatures have currently reached about 45°C/113°F. What's interesting is that when I test it at night, it doesn't go that high at all but during the day it does creep up significantly - but I'm sure this didn't happen last summer so there sure is something going on.

Tldr; temperature only rising gradually when city driving but comes back to normal eventually when cruising or at a stop. Usual suspected parts changed out but no help.
I think this is normal to reach 3/4 temp in ME during city cruising , try to clean the radiator fins and let it dry,
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 04:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Doc Olds
Was the replacement T Stat an OEM? Replacement T Stats are rated at appx 5F hotter than the original OEMs. I do not think your temps are a huge concern with your ambient air temps you described. A little warm, but no disastrous for sure.

When was the last time your Trans Fluid and Filter were changed? Clean fresh Trans Fluid can reduce heat.

BTW, H3 Radiators never need to be burped, they will do that by themselves with a couple heat cycles and adjusting the coolant level in the expansion tank after cool down.
Yes OEM thermostat. The problem is that, hypothetically, the temperature would keep rising if i keep driving in the same condition. Even if i rev and hold at around 2-3k rpms, the temps rise and would keep rising if i dont stop. When it reached the highest before i started trying to fix it, i was driving around running errands and saw that it reached that high and stopped on the side to let it cool back down - which it did.

And the trans; i had my trans rebuilt and I've only put in around 15-20k kms/9-12k mi so it should be clean. And i have bypassed the OEM cooler while running an external trans cooler so that should not be it right?
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 04:23 AM
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Originally Posted by ojh32008
I think this is normal to reach 3/4 temp in ME during city cruising , try to clean the radiator fins and let it dry,
Yes but The problem is it wont stop rising if i continued as is. And the radiator was clean already but i still had it removed and cleaned further just to remove any possibilities.
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 05:13 AM
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Checked for head gasket leak? Pretty easy test!
Did you get correct WP? Reverse rotation...
Partially clogged rad? Heat gun might see that..
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 08:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Happy Hummer
Checked for head gasket leak? Pretty easy test!
Did you get correct WP? Reverse rotation...
Partially clogged rad? Heat gun might see that..
No leak coz I also had no drop in coolant levels at all.
Water pump is OEM too.
Radiator was good and i still got it cleaned out so it's not clogged.
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 12:06 PM
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i bet its the t stat. I just had to do mine. went way past the 3/4
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Eurynomestolas
i bet its the t stat. I just had to do mine. went way past the 3/4
I had it changed since this issue began, no luck
 
Old Jun 17, 2023 | 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Nonibot
I had it changed since this issue began, no luck
do you have the original clutch fan?. The clutch will go out and the fan will still spin but not engage cooling off the engine properly or could be the water pump or air bubble in line? i have beard of burping the coolant system.
 

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