Overheating

JTNismo

JTNismo

Spectator
Car is overheating. KAde 24. No apparent leaks everything outside (hoses, water pump, radiator, etc) is dry. Clutch fan and AC fan are properly working. No poddles left on the ground. I did have to put some water in radiator and water resevoir, I had not checked the water in a year and it was pretty low and looks dirty(stupid careless me). I will be doing a flush this weekend. The water pump belt is also a little loose; it squeels once a while specially when the cold weather kicks in. I am having that tightened tomorrow. After I put some water, I drove around for like 30 minutes and it did not overheat but I am still not confident it is going to stay that way. Considering everything I just metioned, does anyone have any ideas what is going on. Is my water pump going bad? Do you think the low water level was pretty much it? Can anybody tell me how to troubleshoot this issue? Please advise.
 
Last edited:
haha sorry that last comment was funny. check if you have any moisture in coming out of your exhaust. cuz it sounds like what my car started doing before it went poop and blew the hg
 
How low was it? If it was fairly empty the amount of air in the system could allow it to steam easier making it seem to over heat. In reality the steam hits the sensor since the sensor is in a location above the water level when you are low. Causing the steam to heat the sensor and make it "overheat"

Try this. Withe the car cold remove the radiator cap and make sure you are filled up. HAve someone start the car and watch to see if the coolant bubbles. If so it maybe your head gasket.
 
z4k said:
How low was it? If it was fairly empty the amount of air in the system could allow it to steam easier making it seem to over heat. In reality the steam hits the sensor since the sensor is in a location above the water level when you are low. Causing the steam to heat the sensor and make it "overheat"

Try this. Withe the car cold remove the radiator cap and make sure you are filled up. HAve someone start the car and watch to see if the coolant bubbles. If so it maybe your head gasket.
Click to expand...

Pretty low water level I have to admit. I am ashamed of admiting it because I am usually good with the oil change and keeping up with maintenance and all but trully I had not checked the water for literally like a year ago. I have already done the radiator test and it is fine. It is starting to sound like your low-water-level theory is it. I really hope so.
 
JTNismo said:
Pretty low water level I have to admit. I am ashamed of admitting it because I am usually good with the oil change and keeping up with maintenance and all but trully I had not checked the water for literally like a year ago. I have already done the radiator test and it is fine. It is starting to sound like your low-water-level theory is it. I really hope so.
Click to expand...


It's not really theory. Just what I have seen over the years as a mechanic.
 
z4k said:



It's not really theory. Just what I have seen over the years as a mechanic.
Click to expand...

Didnt mean to put it that way. Lets say diagnosis! I knew about the radiator test because when my HG blew a while back, thats one of the things the mechanic did to check. He actually started the car with the radiator cap off. Then he pressed on the gass and if the water jumps up; "BINGO!" HG is gone. Not to mention the milky oil! In spanish it is said that you have "chocolate" in your engine when ur HG blows and the oil mixes with coolant. The mechanic kept saying: "tu tienes chocolate en el motor chico!"
 
Last edited:
JTNismo said:
Didnt mean to put it that way. Lets say diagnosis! I knew about the radiator test because when my HG blew a while back, thats one of the things the mechanic did to check. He actually started the car with the radiator cap off. Then he pressed on the gass and if the water jumps up; "BINGO!" HG is gone. Not to mention the milky oil! In spanish it is said that you have "chocolate" in your engine when ur HG blows and the oil mixes with coolant. The mechanic kept saying: "tu tienes chocolate en el motor chico!"
Click to expand...


Us Americans call it Milkshake LOL
 
z4k said:



Us Americans call it Milkshake LOL
Click to expand...

Yeap, I heard that too. Wel, I drove to work this morning (30 minute ride from Hollywood to Sunrise). The whip didn't even try to overheat. I am keeping my eye on it though.
 
check for external leaks, my supra gave me similar problems, with the 7m and I swore it was the head gasket, it was only a heater core block off behind the head that leaked and after that the temp gauge kept 1/4 with no problems up until I sold her.
 
KnightRider said:
check for external leaks, my supra gave me similar problems, with the 7m and I swore it was the head gasket, it was only a heater core block off behind the head that leaked and after that the temp gauge kept 1/4 with no problems up until I sold her.
Click to expand...

I keep checking for externals and there is nothing obovius. No vapor smoke, nothing wet. I'll keep looking out though.

Thank you everyone for useful inputs.
 
If the water was discolored then that might be a sign of corrosion which can eat away at the impeller fins on the water pump. Also in some cases running without a thermostat can cause the water to flow through the radiator too fast and not cool enough before entering back into the motor. This would cause the car (after warming up to normal temp) to steadilly get hotter while under rough conditions. I dont know what your temp has been like over the time that you havent had the thermostat but if its been like this try buying a cheep one and cut the flapper guts out of it and leave the housing so that there is a little back preassure to slow the water down. If the symtoms or more recent the check the water pump itself. Also the water pump wearing out could cause the belt to loosen. Just some things to look into, hope you figure it out.
 
rhythm_drifting said:
If the water was discolored then that might be a sign of corrosion which can eat away at the impeller fins on the water pump. Also in some cases running without a thermostat can cause the water to flow through the radiator too fast and not cool enough before entering back into the motor. This would cause the car (after warming up to normal temp) to steadilly get hotter while under rough conditions. I dont know what your temp has been like over the time that you havent had the thermostat but if its been like this try buying a cheep one and cut the flapper guts out of it and leave the housing so that there is a little back preassure to slow the water down. If the symtoms or more recent the check the water pump itself. Also the water pump wearing out could cause the belt to loosen. Just some things to look into, hope you figure it out.
Click to expand...

Thanx! I have been running the car without a thermostat for like a year with no problems. As a matter of fact, it usually takes a while for the needle to get to the usual almost middle reading of the gauge, specially in cool weather. The reason I am riding no thermostat is because when I got my HG changed a while back, the mechanic decide to change the thermostat and he put a Discount Auto Parts one. The car started to overheat right away so he took it out and the car stopped overheating. I went to get a Nissan thermostat thinking maybe the discount one was just too generic for the car to work properly. Indeed, I do see differences between the Nissan Dealer thermostat and the discount one. Well, I intended to put on the nissan thermostat on but other shitt came up and pretty much I just left the car with no thermostat since it was running normally anyway. The belt has been loose from when I got it changed like a month ago. The water is discolored (dirty) not too dark though. I have seen a lot worst on other cars that are running normally. What do you think about radiator been clogged? Is that possible? Any more troubleshooting ideas?
 
By the way, now that I am going thru this, I have decided to do a radiator flush to my car this weekend. Can anybody give me a run-thru of a good do-it-yourself radiator/water system flush to really clean up in there. Any particular cleaning fluid recommended? Would it be better to just take it somewhere to get this done or is a do-it-yourself good enough? please advise
 
JTNismo said:
Thanx! I have been running the car without a thermostat for like a year with no problems. As a matter of fact, it usually takes a while for the needle to get to the usual almost middle reading of the gauge, specially in cool weather. The reason I am riding no thermostat is because when I got my HG changed a while back, the mechanic decide to change the thermostat and he put a Discount Auto Parts one. The car started to overheat right away so he took it out and the car stopped overheating. I went to get a Nissan thermostat thinking maybe the discount one was just too generic for the car to work properly. Indeed, I do see differences between the Nissan Dealer thermostat and the discount one. Well, I intended to put on the nissan thermostat on but other shitt came up and pretty much I just left the car with no thermostat since it was running normally anyway. The belt has been loose from when I got it changed like a month ago. The water is discolored (dirty) not too dark though. I have seen a lot worst on other cars that are running normally. What do you think about radiator been clogged? Is that possible? Any more troubleshooting ideas?
Click to expand...

As long as its been running fine since you took the thermostat out then i wouldnt worry about that. Um as for the radiator being clogged, if there is a fill cap directly on the radiator you could start the car and then slowly take the cap off (shouldnt have anypressure if the motor is cold, recomend doing this with cold motor) and you should see the water moving around pretty in the radiator. That would almost rule out the water pump impelers being bad but still may have a clog. If it isnt flowing that well or barley at all it could be one or the other or both. To be honest its hard to say without seeing the car =( Another thing is to make sure that there is no air in the lines. I wouldnt think there would be but I'll be damned if I havent seen weirder shit happen.
 
rhythm_drifting said:
As long as its been running fine since you took the thermostat out then i wouldnt worry about that. Um as for the radiator being clogged, if there is a fill cap directly on the radiator you could start the car and then slowly take the cap off (shouldnt have anypressure if the motor is cold, recomend doing this with cold motor) and you should see the water moving around pretty in the radiator. That would almost rule out the water pump impelers being bad but still may have a clog. If it isnt flowing that well or barley at all it could be one or the other or both. To be honest its hard to say without seeing the car =( Another thing is to make sure that there is no air in the lines. I wouldnt think there would be but I'll be damned if I havent seen weirder shit happen.
Click to expand...

I did this during lunch time and it looks like the water is circulating just fine. Drove around during lunch time and no overheating.

So what about my question on radiator flush. Any one has any advise?
 
By the way, now that I am going thru this, I have decided to do a radiator flush to my car this weekend. Can anybody give me a run-thru of a good do-it-yourself radiator/water system flush to really clean up in there. Any particular cleaning fluid recommended? Would it be better to just take it somewhere to get this done or is a do-it-yourself good enough? please advise
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom