Here we go, overheating woes...the end of my poor 240?

[nismoracingsx]

Okay, we'll start with background. Got done running yesterday and was driving back to my house. Noticed steam coming from front and looked at gauge and it was like 2/3 up at least. So i was like and put that bish in neutral and cruised into my yard.

I popped the hood and noticed my radiator was cracked by the water neck.Let the car cool off and turned it back on, fired up, sounded good, but there was chirping coming from the front (Which i figured were waterpump bearings).

TODAY::::

Gimped the car to work. Ordered parts. Replaced:RadiatorWaterpumpThermostatCoolant Temp Sensor for giggles (6.00 cost, no biggie)

Put the whole shabang back together and filled with coolant. Topped it off, then cranked it up. Let it idle for a while, then noticed the temp started to climb . Checked the coolant level and it was fine. I cracked the bleeder open and left it open for air bubbles. Still runs hot..

I'm at home now. My car runs hot but doesn't overheat. Checked the oil and theres no coolant in it or anything. Also doesn't smoke or anything (unless i rev around 4k, then a little puff of smoke comes out..). Exhaust doesn't smell like coolant that I can tell...

I'm out of ideas and this is my only transportation, so i'm literally having just a really ****ty day. School is an hour away, so i had to skip today and I'll have to skip tomorrow . The car never even got past that first bold mark, before H, its so frustrating because I never abused this car and always tried to take care of it..now this.

Heres a pic of where the temp sits at, every once in a while it will actually touch the bold bar, but then settles back to where it is..

[Slappy]

Alot of KA do this. Simple fix.

1. Take off your rad cap.

2. Jack the front of your car up a high as you can

3. Let car run for 45-50 minutes , dont worry about the mess.

4. Massage the top rad hose. This helps in getting rid of any air bubbles.

5. Rev the RPM's up some a couple times.
Modified by Slappy at 2:25 PM 10/26/2007

[nismoracingsx]

its an air pocket making it run THAT hot?? Its late and i'm stressing, but i'll try it first thing tomorrow morning i'm totally beggin the nissan god that thats all it is , has anyone's headgasket ever blown from getting hot one time? thats my biggest fear as I can't afford anymore down time than i already have.

So while I'm running the car with it jacked way up, I don't have to crack the bleeder valve as well do i?

[OutToWinPAHC]

How many miles on the car. Check your oil for coolant, you might need a head gasket. try to bleed the air first, but since it overheated the way it was then again after you fixed it I would think a gasket. Dont drive it or overheat it. You dont want to warp the head or deck.

[x240xdrifter]

yes, air pockets can do that, or should I say will do that, dont worry, a head gasket wont go if you overheat it one time, it will if its for a long period of time, or multiple times, just keep you eye on the gauge why you let the airr bubbles out

and relax, everything will be fine

[nismoracingsx]

car never went past the temp shown in the pic, even last night when it caught me by surpise, the temp never went past that bold mark...i'll try bleeding the system with the above method tomorrow (i got my fingers crossed) and to the above poster, i already checked the oil for coolant and its clean, no milkiness or anything..

[x240xdrifter]

if your headgasket went, smoke would just be pouring out your tailpipe, and it would run like complete **** and you would smell coolant strongly, I would put money down on airing out the system, its really nothing to be alarm about, unless you get the above symptoms

[Slappy]

So while I'm running the car with it jacked way up, I don't have to crack the bleeder valve as well do i?

The bleeder valve on my new KA is broken off inside , i didnt even need to use it but i did on my old KA , only for one reason though , to see if it poured over or spit out. If coolant spits out , that means you have an air pocket , if it runs over then your ok , but not always , air pockects are funny.

Just do EXACTLY what i told you to do , and while doing so , keep an eye on your temp gauge. Your KA should be fine , its not like you went drifting while your temp was on H.

If your headgasket would've blown , you would've seen thick white smoke coming from your exhaust ect.

[eazye2000]

Air pockets will have those same symptoms. It will run, and not overheat, but run hot as a *****...

I've been trying to pound this into peoples heads.. Please follow carefully. It's very tricky...

Drill a 1/8" hole in your thermostat. In the outer-most ring of it. Place the hole in the 12 o'clock position. Put everything back together.

Now drive it and enjoy no problems. I will swear by it. I've been telling people to do this in the KA-T forum forever now, and it works every time. Or be like me and drill about 6 holes in that bastard.

Or you can take this with a grain of salt. It's up to you. I'm sure someone will say I'm wrong and it wont work.. HAHA Just trying to help people out.

[Pho King]

its an air pocket making it run THAT hot?? Its late and i'm stressing, but i'll try it first thing tomorrow morning i'm totally beggin the nissan god that thats all it is , has anyone's headgasket ever blown from getting hot one time? thats my biggest fear as I can't afford anymore down time than i already have.

So while I'm running the car with it jacked way up, I don't have to crack the bleeder valve as well do i?

Yeah, or you can park your car on your driveway, if it's slanted. And if I remember correctly from reading this somewhere on this forum, that you keep revving your car up, build pressure, turn off your car, unscrew the bleeder just a little until little fluid comes out and quickly tighten it. Then you repeat it until you see anymore air bubbles coming up.

One way to really find out if your headgasket is gone, is through compression check.

Goodluck with everything and hope it helps!

[nismoracingsx]

about to head outside and try the bleeding method now, i'll keep you posted, and what does drilling holes in your thermostat do exactly? keep air pockets from getting trapped? esplain

Update*Cars all jacked up and its been running since like 8:45, so comin up on 45 mins now, the temp its staying between 2nd and 3rd bar LOTS of bubbles came out of the radiator, thought it was gonna spaz, but now very few come out, 1 or 2 every 3-4 minutes. I'm gonna let it idle till 9:30 then top it off and put the cap back on, and drive it. I'll let you guys know what happened, and thx so much for easing my hg fear
Modified by nismoracingsx at 9:23 AM 10/26/2007

[nismoracingsx]

just test drove it, temp bounced all over the place but didn't get too close to overheating or anything...still more air bubbles?? car drove great, but i was skeptic of actually accelerating any faster than a crawl...help

[dalzell240]

my car did the same exact thing, the bouncing probably means theres still a couple air bubbles in the systemwe had to jack the car up about a foot, take the cap off, hold it at abou 2500rpms for about a half hour, and then it ran fine

[nismoracingsx]

before work bump, ima try topping the system off with the bleeder screw removed, but my car still jumps up in temp, then down..then up. I noticed if i rev a little in neutral then shut the car off and turn it back on...the temp cuts in half?? I'm guessing that only reinforces the idea that I just a stubborn air pocket in my systeM???

[silpena]

how many miles on ur car teh ehad gasket could go. Mine went out but i had to overheat my car like hella times and just a little crack on the head gasket but i warped the and had it resurfaced barely passed the minimun of head thickness. If no go ur over heating issues do a compression test and test the pressure in ur coolant system (i think block test..i forgot) but if u do and lose compression slowly then u have a little crack in ur head gasket which could be making it run hot but i highly doubt thats the case. Just keep on burping it. Took me almost an hour to do mine and lots of coolant.

[MoldyOldy240]

When I had a 240 the same thing happened to me. I was just driving like normal, and I literally watched my temp gauge climb like there was no tommorrow.

I just took the cap off and bounced my bumper and sure enough, after about 10 mins of bouncing it was a bubble... but man was I freaked out about it.

[Florida240sx]

When it's cold open cap. start squeezing the radiator hose, shake car whatever. Then have some cran the engine for a couple seconds, continue squeezing hose. I've done probably this 20 times NOT ONCE has it failed. Just squeeze the top hose a bunch of times turn the engine over...continue. takes about 3 minutes.

[Jadesr20det]

I had the same the issue with my SR and I sat outside for 30 min with the rad cap off revving it at a steady 1500rpm to get the massive bubbles out of the rad. Try it a while it'll work

[Slappy]

before work bump, ima try topping the system off with the bleeder screw removed, but my car still jumps up in temp, then down..then up. I noticed if i rev a little in neutral then shut the car off and turn it back on...the temp cuts in half?? I'm guessing that only reinforces the idea that I just a stubborn air pocket in my systeM???

Are you massaging the top rad hose while its running? That helps in working the air out. Is there any loud snapping/popping noises when the car is running and your adding coolant? If so , the means more air is in there.

Yea , and do what he said , rev the motor a bit.

[nismoracingsx]

yeah, i would hear a large snapping noise, but i thought that it was the thermostat opening or something . I took teh bleeder screw out after work and cranked the car (rad car still on) and squeezed teh rad hose and **** load of foam and bubbles came out, so i kept squeezing it while i put the screw back in. I drove it a few miles and the temp stayed low...

then on my back from the store it started climbing up there again , so i revved it up while cruising and shut the engine off. Turned it back on and the temp dropped down and stayed put for the remaining 5 miles home, but as soon as i hit my driveway it started climbing again?????

The only good part is that i can gimp it to work and back, so it gives me chances to see what its doing (i only live about 10 mins from work.)

i refuse to give up on my 240 though

okay, so tomorrow i'll try holding the revs up with the car jacked up and rad cap off

and i'll jounce the front bumper as well? What do i do, just bounce it up and down, lol

[Jadesr20det]

do this:

1.pop your hood2.take off rad cap3.leave bleeder screw alone cuz obviously its not helping any4.turn car on 5.let car warm up6.after you see car warming up a bit put heater on full blast (all the way to 4)7.hold your revs steady doesnt have to be at 1500 just around there sumwhere 7.watch those bastard bubbles come up8.stand outside for about 45 min like a nut job with your car revved and wasting gas like ur house was built on a gas line9.turn car off10.go inside make cookies (i like toll house so send me a few)11.by the time your done making my cookies and after the subsequent nap go back outside and follow step......12.turn car back on 13.dont go anywhere and sit in drivers seat and watch to see if temp gauge goes nuts (you can also put heater on full blast at this point to make sure)14.enjoy

[Slappy]

yeah, i would hear a large snapping noise, but i thought that it was the thermostat opening or something . I took teh bleeder screw out after work and cranked the car (rad car still on) and squeezed teh rad hose and **** load of foam and bubbles came out, so i kept squeezing it while i put the screw back in. I drove it a few miles and the temp stayed low...

then on my back from the store it started climbing up there again , so i revved it up while cruising and shut the engine off. Turned it back on and the temp dropped down and stayed put for the remaining 5 miles home, but as soon as i hit my driveway it started climbing again?????

The only good part is that i can gimp it to work and back, so it gives me chances to see what its doing (i only live about 10 mins from work.)

i refuse to give up on my 240 though

okay, so tomorrow i'll try holding the revs up with the car jacked up and rad cap off

and i'll jounce the front bumper as well? What do i do, just bounce it up and down, lol

Snapping noises = air. Its going to take a few tries cause sometimes air is a ***** to get out. Good luck. Just re-read what i posted.

[drape123]

A Nissan master mechanic thought me easy way to bleed KA's, no need to jack car up or anything, so here it goes:

1) open bleeder screw2) fill radiator till all air shoots out of bleeder screw and then close screw3)put a SMALL tie wrap between the pressue valve on the radiator cap (so it wont build pressure) put cap on4) fill up reservoir all the way5) start car, let it warm up and run until thermostat opens up (may need to run it at 2k-2.5k rpms) [you will see all bubbles go into the reservoir]6) let car sit until cools down (you'll notice the coolant will be low, it replaced all that air with coolant)7) remove tie wrap and enjoy!

[FandZ]

It's air bubbles. The post above sounds interesting and I may try it for my next flush. What I have done is jack it up fill it, turn on heater, start it and let run and keep filling it and playing with the upper hose. Turn it off and then grab a body panel and rock the crap out of the car. I'm almost wondering if maybe you have a loose hose or something since you keep having to redo it.

[nismoracingsx]

pressure tested teh coolant system today (was worried about the hg after so much trouble with the heating), turns out one of teh hoses was leaking at the water neck (top hose) so we kept the pressure pumped up and i tightened it until it quit leaking.

I bled the system with the bleeder and the temp stayed at the 3rd bar for like an hour. SOon as i put it in drive it starts climbing . I drove it to subway and the temp just sat the the third bar, and i just ignore it cuz i'm waitin for it to overheat.

I get out of subway, get stuck at light, no overheating, soon as i take off temp starts messin up. I don't even wait, just throw that bish in N and shut her off as i approach another red light. Light turns green before i get to it, so i turn the engine back on and cruise down the highway....the mofo stays at the 3rd bar from bottom for the next 10 effin miles

Even when i stop to check my mail and creep down the driveway, nothing happens. I'm happy that it stayed down yet so pissed because my car will not stay consistant with its cooling

I'll drive it again once it cools off, if it doesn't stay at the 3rd mark, i'll try bleeding with the rad cap again.

also, where exactly does the tie wrap go? i'd like to try that

thx guys just thought i'd update you

[nismoracingsx]

Update bump, the temp problems are getting less, but i must have a really stubborn air bubble as my car is still bein an overheating turd

tightened all the hose clamps, pressure tested the coolant system and it stays @ 13 lbs

as i'm typing this my car is sitting out in the yard up on a jack, idling w/ the cap off (again) but hopefully this will be the last time, i rocked the shiz outta the car and squeeze the hose and some more bubbles came out. Hopefully i'll be able to go to school tomorrow

[nismoracingsx]

this is so frustrating i just wanna sell this car The car sat with cap off for an HOUR As soon as i put it in drive and drive around the yard (like 30 yards distance) it heats up, wtf is going on!?! This is the 3rd day trying to bleed this thing...all the hoses are tight and i'm not losing coolant, i don't understand..

[Jadesr20det]

join the club bro. i had the car sitting for 2 weeks (turned it on and let it idle every couple days though) with a caliper problem so i didnt want to drive it. so i replace the seized up caliper today take the car for a test drive nothing beat it up a lil nada, then i get home to get some cash to get gas and go outside and the son of a bish is heated up ridiculous!!!!!! im waiting for it to cool down to start all over again . what can you do.

[nismoracingsx]

was gimping to napa when it settled to 3rd mark (whatever temp that is). Doesn't heat up, get to napa and they're closed so i drive the opposite direction to another town and go to advance and pick up a new radiator cap (only thing i haven't replaced, ha), total distance driven w/o problems was like 15 or so miles, get home and hit my driveway...

car heats up

btw, i'm still in the market for a second car (backup wheels )If anybody lives close to gainesville or chiefland area and has a cheap vehicle for sale, pm meh

[BubbaJoe]

Have you checked ALL your hoses? a slight leak could cause low coolant/allow for overheating. Check your petcock, mine had to be tightened like a **** before it'd stop leaking when the car warmed up. Have you noticed any drips on the ground? What I've done in the past to bleed it, fill to top, then open the bleeder valve, add more coolant while massaging the upper hose. If you want to just try to, take out the bleeder screw, take a hose to your radiator cap and just "flush" it. With the right amount of pressure the water won't flow directly to the valve, it may or may not help.