About a month ago, for some unknown reason, all of my belts snapped on my 95. I didnt notice because I was driving straight and not really looking at the guages, then I noticed I had no power steering, so I looked down and the heat was almost all the way up. I promptly turned off the car.
About a week ago I noticed that every time the car initially warms up the heat rises all the way close to the top, then it goes back down, to be normal for the duration of my drive (i've driven 150 mile tripps with no problem). It's my understanding that this is a symptom of a blown head gasket.
I have 3 cars so it's not mandantory that I drive it. But it is my 'cool' car, and I like to drive it occationaly, and race.... If I used the 'blue devil' sealant to "fix" the problem. Would it still last for a decent amount of time till I swap it with an SR which I plan on doing in the next few months. Or what are my other options? Or anything? I only drive the car maybe 100 miles a week. If that... But I usually race and drive it hard when I do.
Thanks,
David.
Blown Head Gasket?
I'll do those other things.. I'm too afraid to do a compression check. 
My front pully is off because i'm replacing the front main seal and the pully with an ASP. I was doing this BEFORE I learned that the heating problem was likely the head. Before that I assumed it was the theromostat. There does not appear to be water in the oil or oil in the water. But I guess i'm not sure. When I get everything back together i'll change the oil to check. The coolant seems clean though. If the head gasket is blown, will that blue devil crap work any good?
David.
My front pully is off because i'm replacing the front main seal and the pully with an ASP. I was doing this BEFORE I learned that the heating problem was likely the head. Before that I assumed it was the theromostat. There does not appear to be water in the oil or oil in the water. But I guess i'm not sure. When I get everything back together i'll change the oil to check. The coolant seems clean though. If the head gasket is blown, will that blue devil crap work any good?David.
If you say you drive it really hard then the sealant is probably not gonna last one drive.
its a realatively easy fix if you have the tools and the manual and the time. but remember to send the head to a machine shop to check for warpness and/or cracks ... you may not be able to see a hairline type crack in a head.
I've done one before (not 240sx) and it wasnt too bad but you have to pay to get the head examined.
Mark
its a realatively easy fix if you have the tools and the manual and the time. but remember to send the head to a machine shop to check for warpness and/or cracks ... you may not be able to see a hairline type crack in a head.
I've done one before (not 240sx) and it wasnt too bad but you have to pay to get the head examined.
Mark
i had the same problem but it went away. since then i wired in a GM electrical fan. Sometimes waiting in traffic and a warm day my temp shoots up very rapidly> i'm thinking of getting a bigger fan or new radiator. I put in a new headgasket when i did my timing chain. i am at a loss now what to do. Nick
Okay, so I change the water pump because it was leaking and replace the thermostat. I felt my exhaust and the air comming out of it felt a little moist. So I figured the head gasket had a leak, so I put this K&W seal stuff and go through the long process of flushing then using the product. After that I felt the exahaust again and it was the exact same. So I figured it was still messed up. But my girlfirend tells me to check the 91 to see if it's wet too, so I do and it wasnt, then she says mine wasnt either when I initially started it up, so I check it after 2 minutes of idleing and it was the exact same wetness as mine. Maybe that's just typical of exhaust, it was cold out too. Who knows.. Maybe the head gasket was never blown... It's not doing that overheat thing either during startup.. ?
David.
David.
most exhauts blow out some moisture.. its condensation
if the headgasket was blown, you'd have white clouds of smoke, not moisture. btw, sealant does NOT work. headgaskets are solid metal, not a cheap sealant.
if part of the cooling system was broken/leaking (ie leaky waterpump), that would definately cause overheating.
it sounds like you overheated too much. the engines gonna go soon, you just cant overheat a motor that often
. just drive it till it dies, theres nothing you can do for a blown HG short of installing a new HG.
if the headgasket was blown, you'd have white clouds of smoke, not moisture. btw, sealant does NOT work. headgaskets are solid metal, not a cheap sealant.
if part of the cooling system was broken/leaking (ie leaky waterpump), that would definately cause overheating.
it sounds like you overheated too much. the engines gonna go soon, you just cant overheat a motor that often
. just drive it till it dies, theres nothing you can do for a blown HG short of installing a new HG.i have the same problem i have not overheated my car. when i sit in traffic on a 60+ degree day my temp rapidly starts to shoot up. when i pull up to a stop light i start sitting the temp starts to shoot up. The car will overheat but i won't let it overheat by turning off. when i start going the temp goes back to normal. My friend brought this up the fins on the water pump might have worn badly with 173k on my car. Because it only does it at low speeds and when i'm stopped. Nick
Cooling problems are basically one of the following, and can be tested the following ways:
1) Head Gasket: Oil in water, water in oil. White smoke. Compression test. 2) Water Pump: Lack of coolant flow and pressure, take your radiator cap off and start the car and watch it for awhile, you should be able to see fluid move through, which would indicate a working pump.3) Thermostat: Stuck closed, car overheats, stuck open, car overcools. The thermostat is easily taken off and on, you'll be able to tell if it's stuck open or closed. It's also cheap to replace4) Coolant Leak: Look for a leak around the radiator, overflow tank, hoses, thermostat, and water pump5) Radiator: After the car overheats you will likely see lots of fluid being pumped into the overflow tank and actualy overflowing the overflow tank. Radiator failure is really your last option.
All in all, you can usually replace everything but the head gasket for under $300, if you can take the time to do it yourself.
1) Head Gasket: Oil in water, water in oil. White smoke. Compression test. 2) Water Pump: Lack of coolant flow and pressure, take your radiator cap off and start the car and watch it for awhile, you should be able to see fluid move through, which would indicate a working pump.3) Thermostat: Stuck closed, car overheats, stuck open, car overcools. The thermostat is easily taken off and on, you'll be able to tell if it's stuck open or closed. It's also cheap to replace4) Coolant Leak: Look for a leak around the radiator, overflow tank, hoses, thermostat, and water pump5) Radiator: After the car overheats you will likely see lots of fluid being pumped into the overflow tank and actualy overflowing the overflow tank. Radiator failure is really your last option.
All in all, you can usually replace everything but the head gasket for under $300, if you can take the time to do it yourself.
about two months ago my alternator belt shredded to pieces. After three days of being stranded in Fairfax(I have friends up there, luckily) I replaced the alternator belt, but failed to put back the waterpump belt (I thought it was JUST the powersteering belt... i know stupid me. But I know better now.) Anyways.... Car overheated pretty bad on the way to a parking lot to replace the belts. Long story short... Two weeks later I flushed, changed, and bled the antifreeze, threw in a new thermostat (old one was stuck), good as new.