Engine's Dead from overheating, totally lost. PLEASE help!

[tmacks240]

It's a 95 auto with around 140k. The reason for overheating was dry- rotting for a year and a half. I had a guy do the s15 front end and clean the whole body of the car up and paint it. It sat in his garage, survived hurricane rita and finally got it back and drove it until it blew a hole in the radiator, from it dry rotting. Anyway i drove it one evening, coolant full watching the temp gauge the whole time, not to mention it was around 45f outside. All of the sudden the engine sounded like a bubbling pot of ****. It died. Tried to start it and it just made an awful sound like the starter and everything was ruined. about 15 minutes later the temp gauge shot up to way past the red line. i am totally lost, i have taken the cooling system off and got the cylinder head cover off. Any response is very appreciated, thanks... P.S. i'm trying to figure out what's wrong with the motor now
Modified by tmacks240 at 7:22 PM 4/20/2008

[AZhitman]

Temp sensor was bad. I gotta ask, why'd you drive it if you knew the cooling system was compromised? Ambient temperature outside is irrelevant, running without coolant at -30F is STILL gonna cause overheating.

Guys, let this be a lesson to you. NO modifications until the car is BACK to its original running condition, the way Nissan intended!

The good news is, DOHC KA's are cheap and plentiful, and it's a good candidate for a good high-hp rebuild.

[tmacks240]

I was wondering if anyone could lead me to how i could figure out what's wrong with it. that's the part i need help with.

[OldmanPurdy]

It dosen't say in your first post but you did fix the hole in the radiator right?

Edit: when I say fix I meant replace

[bimrtech]

First thing you need to do is see if the engine turns over.If it does not, pull the spark plugs and try again. If coolant shoots out of the spark plug holes then we can go from there.

I do not understand how a radiator can dry rot as you say.They are not made of rubber and it is not exposed to direct sunlight heat etc... sitting in a garage.

Was the radiator removed when at the mans garage?If so, cooling systems must be bleed of all air when the system is opened or steam pockets will form, as you may have found out, will cause major overheating. Did the radiator develop a hole in it from overheating (pressure) or did it run itself out of coolant due to the hole, then overheated.

You claim it was 45F outside. did you have the heat on? Was it working?If there is air in the system the heater will typically not work.

Joe

[tmacks240]

it would not turn over. no fire on clinder one, very little on two. no coolant. yes i was having trouble with the heater.

[tmacks240]

i threw that garbage away and have a new one

[bimrtech]

OK two things stand out.

1. Trouble with the heater. This is a great sign of low coolant or air in the system.

2. No fire on cyl 1..... No Spark or no combustion?No spark = look into ignition related issues.No combustion = see 3

3. No combustion on Cyl 1 and little on 2.Well this looks to be the sign of a blown head gasket or cracked head as it is with two adjacent cylinders.You stated that you purchased a new radiator. Did you preform a cooling system pressure test? When you pulled the spark plugs, did #1 and #2 look to be REALLY clean compaired to #3 and #4? IF you look at the top of the piston does it look clean as well compaired to #3 and #4?

Hope this helps Joe