First Post. OVERHEATING problem, but cant figure out why, read this and tell me

[1993Redhatch240sx]

yeah, basically my car has been over heating, it even broke the plastic radiator, it usually over heats with long drives, or when i drive at 4- 5 k rpm for like 1 minute or more, like driving up hills, and crap, to fix this, i got a new water pump, new radiator ( a got a used AUTOMATIC one just to be safe, becuase its bigger and no plastic ), i got about 1.5 inch hood rise, NO thermostat, right levels of antifreeze and water, EVEN A WHOLE BOTTLE OF WATER WETTER, , but today i was going up a hill, and it started to get hot, and i drove to Los Angeles, and it got hot too. so im hoping its not my head gasket. let me know, what i can do, or if its the deadly head gasket, thanks, peace out

[pr240sx]

Did you bled the system?How do you know that is really hot? by looking at the gauge?Sounds like a air bubble

[Arrow]

first off, when it overheats is it due to it burning off the coolant (by this I mean, are either the radiator or the reservior empty?) if that is the case then it could be either your headgasket, a broken coolant hose (doubt it b/c you probably would have found it), or it might even be that your cylinder waterjacket cracked allowing coolant to get into the cylinder and burn up w/o the headgasket blowing... to find out if it is your headgasket you'd probably want to do a compression test.

Now if the coolant is completely full and it overheats the only problem that I can see is either a sensor or thermostat... but in all honesty I really have no clue what the problem could be if the coolant lvls are still good and it is overheating.

and by the way, WELCOME TO NICO!!!!

[Eikon]

When the temp gauge starts to rise, does the engine fan kick on and start to move air?

At highway speeds you should get enough airflow even without the fan, but I'm just curious.

Are you sure your water pump is working properly? You said you had a new one... but just to make sure it's working...

Try popping the radiator cap off just after you start the car (DON'T do it when it's hot.. the pressure will be built up and the coolant hot and you will burn yourself). When the car is cold you should be able to see movement of coolant in the radiator. Then grab and pinch the bottom hose to see if the coolant level in the radiator changes... if it does that would prove that you have flow through the radiator.

Do you know where your coolant system bleeder screw is? (I don't remember, since it's been a while since I have had a KA)... If so, undo the screw and then turn the car on... you should get nothing coming out at first, then gradually as the car warms up you may get some bubbles and then eventually a constant flow of coolant out of the hole. When you get a constant flow, put the screw back in a seal it up. That will garauntee you have no bubbles. Then drive the car for a bit and a few days later try the same test. If you now have bubbles you may have a pressure leak somewhere (headgasket).

You could take it to a shop and have them pressure test the coolant system. If it holds pressure, chances are it is not a head gasket problem. If it looses pressure... then you may have a leak somewhere external to the engine, or you might have a crack internally or a bad gasket.

You can try hitting your local car parts store... some have a die that you can purchase to put into your coolant. If it finds a mix of oil or gas it will change color... that is a good head gasket test.

Give a few of these ideas a try and tell us what happens. Hopefully we can get through this with you.

Welcome to NICO!

[1993Redhatch240sx]

hey thanks fellas, yeah i know this pump works, becuase ive done the old taking the cap off the radiator and seing the flow, i have proper levels of coolants, like i said, perfect 50/50, and water wetter, ill try that ait in my sistem thing, but i doubt that i am bruning any collant my car does not smoke at all, runs like a cadillac, dang, thats what i dont get, whats up with my car, even Grease Monkey doesnt know whats up, and that fool knows his ****. ill do you guys think i should go to a radiator shop and ask that fool to check it out, i was at one today getting stuff welded, ( doesnt sound right, but yeah ), thanks for everyone, and thanks for your hospitality.

[naed240sx]

Bleeder screw is locacated on intake manifold. If i remember right, its a 10mm with a yellow sticker saying somethingl like do not open when hot

[1993Redhatch240sx]

i tried bleeding my cooling system, folowed the steps, and right away water started to just come out, so i let it drain for a second, making sure all the air, IF ANY , came out, and filled it back up with water to the top, then i did it again to see if i might have any air left, ill have to drive it hard to see if it over heats, but It SHOULD BE RUNNING COOL, WITH THE NO THERMOSTAT, WHOLE BOTTLE OF WATER WETTER, UPGRADED METAL AUTOMATIC 240SX RADIATOR, 1.5 INCH HOOD RISE, AND 50/50 RADIATOR FLUID. AND NEW WATER PUMP, LIKE 1 MONTH OLD. but dang, i dont smoke at all, no smoke out my radiator, my oil has not changed a milky white at all, dang whats up,

One thing though, Grease Monkey noticed that little tiny bubbles mostly contantly come out the radiator cap, not many but theyre tiny, what do you guys think, let me know if this has happened to you, thanks a lot, peace out

[naed240sx]

As long as the car was level when you did this, and water came out immeadiately, you can be sure that there was no air trapped in the engine. So its still overheating? If you know any local shop guys, go over it with them, see if they have any suggestions. Most are friendly enough to give you advice, even if they are not doing the work.

[drifter_for_life06]

hey guys im having an over heating problem as well

car runs fine for about 20minutes with the needle alittle bellow half way(on the gauge) then after about 20-25mintues of driving gradually goes up and if i go up a hill it goes up even faster. I got a new raditor, flushed and refilled. No visible leaks.

At first i thought it was over-heating b/c i was driving hard, but the next day i was driving normal(doing the speed limits, nowhere near WOT, more liek 25% throttle) and it still over heated about 20minutes into the drive. I'm stumped. And I've noticed a plug wire "pops out" about an inch when it over-heats....this mean anything? not sure on cylidner number im guessing cylidner 1(closest to the front of the engine bay)

Help?

[fatboy]

oil doesnt have to be milky for it to be a leaky headgasket. look at freeze plugs

[naed240sx]

have u checked thermostat?

[NoStickDrift]

My car went threw all sorts of over heating problems. I had to change the hoses, radiator and water pump. Check the thermostat to see if it is sticking or a leak somewhere. When you manually bleed the system and refill you can get air pockets in the system that are a ***** to get out. You have to run the system for awhile after you put coolent in and watch it drop and fill up more. I dunno, just my 2 cents.

[drifter_for_life06]

well i went out and i was "squeezing" the upper pipe to fluctuate(sp?) the coolant elvel and the first few times it did nothing, thena few bubbles came out then nothing then a few bubble sthen all of a sudden it started to almsot over-flow so i stopped

lelve looked kinda low so i think ill add some more in tomorrow......also when the car was REALLY hot the level of coolant int eh over-flow tank was a godo 2.5" OVER the "MAX FILL" line....if that means anything

[heavy1metal]

Cant remember where i read it, but allowing the fluid to flow straight through your block constantly isn't a good thing, thus a thermostat. Might want to pull up a search on thermostats if you're really stuck with the solution.

[naed240sx]

All Im saying is pull your thermostat and check to see if it work. Put it in a pot of boiling water and check for any change. Either that, or just replace it cause they are cheap.Try to run more water in your system(if at all possible in your climate) with redline water wetter. Just the coolant flush and new coolant mixture with 70% water and ww made my car go from 1 bar below the H to only 2 bars up, even when a WOT for a long time with ac on.

[Eikon]

I beleive it is better to have a thermostat in there for emissions and efficiency reasons.

Having the thermostat close the loop when the engine is cold helps it warm up faster. An engine runs cleaner and more efficiently when warm... until it get's too warm.

Basically... having no thermo will do nothing to keep your car from overheating. All that you will accomplish is to make your engine take longer to warm up to operating temp.

[drifter_for_life06]

took my thermo out today looked fine...never did boil it though

put back on teh car and still over heating after about 25minutes of driving....topped off radiator fluid