The Return

[GodDrivesA240sx]

What's up ladies and gentlemen, been almost 4 years since I've been on here. Just wondering if anyone is still around from the old days. I've got a problem with my still pumping 95 240 but I'm working everything out before I break down and ask (not that this community has ever let me down) just making it easier on everyone. Anyways...yeah...represent..nico '03

[PapaSmurf2k3]

it says your from NICO 02... but whatever. How long before you tell us the problem?

[Zydeco]

yeah old skoolers unite.

[nsrZ32]

Holy old school member batman!

Welcome back man.

[GodDrivesA240sx]

Eh, ok I'm going to need a mod to move this to the appropriate forum since we're moving away from general to technical, anyways here it goes. My car overheated last week and blew the radiator, not sure what order but I'm guessing overheat first then boom. Now I'm the biggest advocate for checking gauges and never running a car hot, but on this day I had so much crap from school on my mind that I just wanted to get home to eat and study. All that aside, so..replace radiator. Fill and bleed and start motor and realize water pump is now bad, probably from running dry. Replace water pump, refill and start. Motor overheats while idling. Hoses and thermostats were replaced 2 months ago when we replaced the front seal. So...we check to see if coolant is even flowing, and it is not. Using a temp gun the head gets plenty hot to open the thermo, but check the space behind the thermo to be sure and it reads about 210 and the thermo is a 170. So, decide the thermo is bad. replace it. still overheats. replace fan clutch. still overheats. pressure test on radiator. holds steady at 13 lbs no drop. the radiator holds pressure overnight. So I'm thinking surely the head gasket isn't cracked. Coolant just isn't circulating. So you are probably saying "hey dumbass it's your waterpump, its defective" that's what I was starting to think, but we gutted the thermostat and water flows like a freaking river. Oh, before gutting the thermostat we drilled a 5/16 hole in another one (where the jiggly valve is). Car idled fine with a/c on and would not overheat, but after 10 mins of driving it would overheat, but sitting at idle cool back down. So, WTF ?!? With the gutted thermostat it warms up to normal operating temperature and runs fine, which i imagine will be fine during the hot *** Alabama summer but come winter it may not warm up enough to get out of the closed loop cycle (or open loop whatever it is) Oh and we filled the coolant system up and let it run to get the air out, but without the cooalnt circulating it doesn't seem to be able to do that method. We did fill it through the upper hose several times until it came out of the top of the radiator, and we filled it throught he radiator until it came out the burp hole with no air. I dunno wtf could be wrong. One huge air pocket maybe? it circulates just fine without the thermostats and we've tried 3 different ones.

Hope all of that made senes, I'm sorry it's so long but I hope it has all the information you excellent people need to help me.

Thanks in advance,

Chris,

[GodDrivesA240sx]

and just to add...we checked the exhaust system too and it was free of obstruction (from what we could tell) thought maybe it was just heating up too fast for it to handle.

[GEO]

OG ftw

[GodDrivesA240sx]

you're telling me....

anyone know what the auxillary air valve is? we offer them at work on this car, just wondering if it has to do with how the knock sensor works. I'm getting a knock sensor circuit 1 malfunction and a manufacture emission control malfunction when I scan the codes.

[GodDrivesA240sx]

**attention ops, can this forum be moved to the technical section please, thanks

Ok, another question that may or may not help. I was always under the assumption that the radiator would stay under pressure after the car was off and not leak down. This is what mine does, in fact today (after not running it for two days) i went out to add some coolant and removed the burp screw and it let out tons of pressure/air. This also leads me further away from a cracked head being my problem. Anyways, I was describing my problem to one of the mechanics at work and he was completely floor, but when i mentioned the radiator holds pressure over night he said it should not do that.

any thoughts??

Danke

,chris..

[frapjap]

You may have fried the head gasket, along with not getting all of the air out. Try to keep burping it through just the bleeder screw without sucking in more air. It might take some time, but could be as simple as that.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

+1. Take off the bleeder screw on the intake manifold and run her. Also, are you sure you aren't putting the thermostats in upside-down? That stupid flappy valve thing has to be on the top. Try massaging your hoses too.

[GodDrivesA240sx]

Super bump!!!

Figured I'd give the answer, just in case anyone else ran into this problem. The head gasket had a 2mm?1mm? split. It was pumping exhaust in (and I guess would seal against itself after the car was turned off?) Anyways..yeah..blown head gasket. Picked up a junk yard motor for 300 and it has been running strong ever since. Now, after 10 total owning years.....time for the swap.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Holy f*** zombie thread!

I wonder if your radiator cap was messed up too? It SHOULD have bled off the excess pressure...

[Bwana]

I want to post in an OG thread too!

[sx moneypit]

Super bump!!!

Figured I'd give the answer, just in case anyone else ran into this problem. The head gasket had a 2mm?1mm? split. It was pumping exhaust in (and I guess would seal against itself after the car was turned off?) Anyways..yeah..blown head gasket. Picked up a junk yard motor for 300 and it has been running strong ever since. Now, after 10 total owning years.....time for the swap.

So, it took you 4and a half years to figure that out?????

[IanS]

Super bump!!!

Figured I'd give the answer, just in case anyone else ran into this problem. The head gasket had a 2mm?1mm? split. It was pumping exhaust in (and I guess would seal against itself after the car was turned off?) Anyways..yeah..blown head gasket. Picked up a junk yard motor for 300 and it has been running strong ever since. Now, after 10 total owning years.....time for the swap.

So, it took you 4and a half years to figure that out?????

Quiet now, Adults are talking.....

[themadscientist]