Cooling Issues

[drivewaysk8er]

I have a '95 240 with an S13 SR. I have a Koyo aluminum radiator and a 14'' Perma-Cool electric fan on the radiator. I do not have the pulley-driven fan installed but I have it standing by. I live in Atlanta, GA and July (probably like any in any other place) is the hottest month of the year. Today was really hot and my car started overheating today and I had to turn on the heater to full to cool it back down. Should I put the pulley-driven fan back on or leave it off? I have neither the USDM nor the JDM radiator shrouds. Without a shroud will the pulley-driven fan do anything? What can I do about this. Oh, I took my thermostat out a while back too. Thanks in advance.

[180crafter]

I would definitly check for airpockets in the system. Drainout the coolant, replace with 70% h2o, a lil coolant, and a bottle of watter wetter.

I am in Miami FL and experience the same weather you do. I have almost the same set up and have no problems

[SR20Turbo]

yeah...you most likely have air pockets because there is no reason why you should be overheating with that 14" fan and aftermarket radiator. I have a koyo radiator and flex-a-lite dual 12" fans and stay in jacksonville, fl. Heat here is bad too...not as bad as miami though.

[jameson is dope]

taking the thermo out is a bad idea because if you drive in stop and go traffic the coolant in the engine and the radiator takes longer to heat up when you take the thermo out but it also dosent give the coolant time to cool off by sitting in the radiator like it was intented to. replace the thermo drain the system refill with a proper 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water and bleed the air out of the system (this step is a *****) and make sure the fan is working. the clutch fan that originally came on the car flows less cfrms than a electric fan.

[msaskin]

Was it overheating while you were at a standstill, or while you were moving?

If it was at a standstill, chances are the problem is air pockets.

If it was while you were moving, it's because the electric fan effectively blocks airflow throught he radiator once the car is in motion. This is the one place where the stock clutch-fan excels (since it slows down when the engine is at speed, instead of spinning full speed and blocking air).

I can explain more.

~matt

[s13sr20chris]

for gosh sakes put the thermostat back. that or get a nismo thermostat. if coolant is moving too fast through the engine it will never loose its heat.

[JJ240]

If you dont have a thermostat in, you have electric fans, and you are still overheating I would suggest you change your water pump. I know quite a few people who have had the same symptoms and tried the same things and nothing helped till they finally realized their water pump was bad.

[bootman]

I had the same thing going on with my car it would run hot on the freeway come find out the fmic that I have sets up to high and blocks the air coming in the front bumper I got a diffrent front bumper and the overheating went away .

[Hijacker]

for gosh sakes put the thermostat back. that or get a nismo thermostat. if coolant is moving too fast through the engine it will never loose its heat.

the real problem with running with no thermostat is that the engine will never settle on a temperature. The thermostat keeps the engine running at a specific, stable temperature. This prevents really bad issues like warping and cracking from where the engine will ve drastically changing temperatures depending on how fast you're moving, or if a strong gust of wind coarses over the radiator.