did you take out the thermostat completely?
I took it out but has to cut the spring off and leave the metal ring and gasket because I have the 2005 with the seporate Tstat housing and it leaks when you do not have the metal and gasket in place.
have you removed and inspected the water pump (mechanical stock one i presume)?
I have not.. mostly because the car did not overheat before I replace the heads
checked the hoses to make sure they are not crimped up...i know older hoses had a spring in them to keep them from bending, not sure if ours have those or not?
I have inspected all hoses they look fine, no kinks or cracks
How does the car run when you first start it up and drive it, before it gets hot? does it run decent?
It seems ok, it's hot here so intake temps are high even when cold..
the car still seems like it lacks power, also I notice that the average gas milage has droped 3 mpg
have you tried a new radiator/coolant cap.....is the rubber gasket still good in your cap, the will distort if you get them too hot and will not seal up tight.....radiator cap has to be sealed up tight!!
I have not, it seals fine, I have opened up the cap and I can hear air leak out
what temps do you have the fans set too?
Stock settings I think 190
have you confirmed both speeds are working?
Yes, I was letting the car Idle and checking for leaks I can hear the fan change speeds.
what does the temps do if you run the heater in the car when its over heating?
Good Question, It did not change it stayed hot.
forgive my ignorance, but are those UDP's? and is that the over sized water pump pulley that came with your UDP kit?
Yes UDP with the matching oversized water pump pully
id really hate to see you pull the heads because unless you have the wrong head gaskets....i really think you would have other issues and signs of other problems besides just over heating.
I have been watching the coolent bottle and the level has not changed so there is no coolent leaking,
I have been driving it a few days this week and it over heats sitting in traffic, (230-240) driving it will drop again to (215-220) it takes about 10 minutes sitting in traffic to start to overheat. if I slightly rev the engine the temps will drop a couple of degrees but then rise again when I let off.
I have been "burping" the system so much that I stripped the square hole in the top of the realese bolt. I need to order a new one, anyone have a part number????
Thanks for all your help, I have no where else to turn, everyone has given up on it.