replaced water pump and thermostat, flushed, opened bleeder valve had long life red colored original coolant, no visible leaks obstruction, when became hot on highway, accelerated quickly and temp back down to norm, eventually after 3hrs driving o.heated stopped and got towed home, new water pumps fins/pulley not turning as freely as old one, no leak out of inspection hole, hoses good shape.2001 2.2l ohv sunfire, air cond.
Your new pump will be tighter then your old pump just makes sense and no you can not pack grease around the bearing, it's sealed you can't even see it. You have given me the best clue you could have and that was that you accelerated and the temp went down. What you did was force more water to circulate in the system. So that leads me to think you have air in the system or the fan is not doing it's job. I'm going with the air in the system but if your car has a viscus fan drive I'd give it a turn, it should not free wheel. Why dose the work head gasket ALWAYS have to come up when someone say overheat? Keep it simple and go back to the last thing done.
yep it should be hot.and the top radiator should be hot too when the engine is hot. if the bottom hose is cold when the engine is hot then it sounds like a clogged radiator. try this. after you get the engine hot, shut it down and feel the fins on the radiator next to the fan. if you feel cold spots then the radiator is clogged in some places.
get your vehicle up to operating temps and runs your hand along the core of the radiator from top to bottom. If it's cold at the bottom and hot at the top, it's plugged... Also I see where you bleed the system, might wanna check it again... air pockets are stubborn... Last but not least, have a C.O. test performed at a local radiator/automotive shop... This will tell you if you have a blown head gasket
Check the bearings on the pulley / pack some grease in there. Hope some help !
