Water Probs.. Getting Alot Back Up Thru My Radiator

[GTAAAH]

K so i just pulled my radiator off and reverse flushed it, was getting alot of brown water coming out depending on the angle i held it but it eventually cleared up..

The car has been overflowing from the cap for a fair while now (overheated other night to), and so far a gasket test and co2 test show that it's nothing engine related and a new radiator cap and overflow hose didn't help.

I thought the radiator might be blocked, so i ran the hose thru and the flow was fine.. So tomorrow i will reverse flush the engine in the same way.

Now i have 2 questions:

1) does anyone with a gtr know whether i'll have to remove the water pump & intake manifold to get to the thermostat? Theres not enough room to move anything, and the workshop manual only has info on testing it not removing it for some reason?? Pictures are at the bottom of this page

2) I've noticed the lil hose thing on my car is pinched in 2 places, first pinch is about a 40% pinch (40% obstruction) and 2nd about a 20% pinch, i've enclosed pics but was just wondering if this pinching was likely to be what is causing pressure to build up and over flow the radiator? If not, should i replace it anyway (it's pretty much off)

Thanks in advance peeps

Have also put a pic of the brown stuff in the radiator (which seems to be rust, but makes no sense as the last owner definitely ran coolant and the radiator is brand spankers)

Edited November 16, 2007 by GTAAAH

[GTAAAH]

Was hoping to get this fixed for tonight's cruise hehe, think i might be pushing it a bit

[B0oStEr]

Have you checked your thermostat is opening properly?

[GTAAAH]

Uh, how would i do that? remove it and boil it? because i can hardly even tell where it begins and ends lol

[GTAAAH]

Anyone else got any input? only got a few hours b4 i go home and start working, still wanna go uot at around 10 tonight

[kjb_r33]

I had a similar problem with my 33, even went as far as getting head pressure tested, put it all back together and it still done it. Took thermostat out, got a mirror and looked in through thermostat housing to find that my water pump had NO blades left, had all rusted off.

[GTAAAH]

oO ouch!

Did you have some circulation still? my water level increases slightly as the engine rev's increase (wasn't sure if this was pressure/heat related or because the water pump was spinning faster)

I'll whip the thermostat off and try see the pump, dad thinks it sounds like a fair bet, thanks

Anyone got any idea on whether the pinched steel line would cause me a problem?

Where is the pressure release exactly? (feel free to circle my pic)

thanks

Edited November 16, 2007 by GTAAAH

[GTAAAH]

found the pressure release

Now just wondering answer to 2) thx

[GTAAAH]

K so

2) would the pipe being pinched make any difference to flow etc, i.e. should i worry about it

and

3) where is the thermostat in these things.. some pics enclosed, i'm trying to find it so i can boil and test it, it doesnt seem to be in the same location as the 33 one in pranks guide

Cmonnn sum1 out there has to know the answer to 1 of these >.<

I was thinking it was part of the inlet piping that the radiator was attached to, now i'm thinking it's on the block side of the thing i'm touching with my finger in the 3rd picture.

I will have to remove the inlet manifold to get this off correct?

Edited November 16, 2007 by GTAAAH

[kjb_r33]

Your in the right area for the rb25, not real sure with the 26 but the 25 is in the block right about where your finger is, right behind the water pump.

[GTAAAH]

MM ur right i am pretty sure it's what i'm looking for but, does anyone with a gtr know whether i'll have to remove the water pump & intake manifold to get to the thermostat? Theres not enough room to move anything, and the workshop manual only has info on testing it not removing it for some reason

Edited November 16, 2007 by GTAAAH

[GTAAAH]

OK so on the RB26 u need to remove the inlet manifold piping that comes from the battery tray (the rubber 4" tube) to get at the back bolt, and to remove the top one u need to pull one of the hoses that runs fuel apart and use a ratchet with an attachment that allows u to use it from angles other than straight

huge pain in the ass taking the thermostat out !

The water pump blades i can't see but can feel, they feel perfect so am hoping a new thermostat will fix it, my old thermostat seemed to be jammed half open so i'm not sure (cbf boiling it either, new one was $30)

Anyone got any idea on whether the metal tubing being pinched in post 1 would make a difference to flow, and should i bother fixing it/replacing it?

thanks

Edited November 17, 2007 by GTAAAH

[West]

Flushing your radiator with a garden hose wont' work,

Best to get done by a radiator place.It need to have the top tank remove, cores get clean throughly......etc . My old gtr over heated right on new year's eve coz i got stuck in traffic, checked Thermal Stat, then changed to a new Thermal stat, flush 3, 4 times.

Also skylines radiator is alluminium isn't it?

[GTAAAH]

Yeh it's an aftermarket aluminium racing style one,

[Trust33]

stock skyline radiators are copper core.

mate you have to earth out the radiator if it is aluminium. not related to your water level though it is related to aluminium radiator corrosion.

good luck with the problem.

[GeeTR]

- The thermostat is where you are pointing in your last pic I believe

- The pinched pipe your referring to, is the return for the turbos water supply.

Water comes off the line that goes through firewall, then around back of head to the banjo "T" piece. Coolant that doesn’t go down the "T" piece and through both turbos, back towards the block, goes around the front of the motor and connects to that alloy piece (where top radiator hose connects)

The idea, I would think (putting my mind into that of a Nissan engineer) is that it feeds the turbos with close to constant engine temp coolant, because it effectively is always flowing past the banjo "T" piece. This is unlike if you had a pipe going from cool side of radiator to the turbo, as water would head up in the line (close to exhaust manifold) before going through turbo.

Its very very unlikely its causing your cooling issues, it might just up the temp of the water feed to the turbos (as the kink is reducing flow through the pipes (that are very close to manifold)

Cheer'oss

PS: The engine is brown in my paint shop pic, just like your motor ha

[GTAAAH]

- The thermostat is where you are pointing in your last pic I believe

- The pinched pipe your referring to, is the return for the turbos water supply.

Water comes off the line that goes through firewall, then around back of head to the banjo "T" piece. Coolant that doesn’t go down the "T" piece and through both turbos, back towards the block, goes around the front of the motor and connects to that alloy piece (where top radiator hose connects)

The idea, I would think (putting my mind into that of a Nissan engineer) is that it feeds the turbos with close to constant engine temp coolant, because it effectively is always flowing past the banjo "T" piece. This is unlike if you had a pipe going from cool side of radiator to the turbo, as water would head up in the line (close to exhaust manifold) before going through turbo.

Its very very unlikely its causing your cooling issues, it might just up the temp of the water feed to the turbos (as the kink is reducing flow through the pipes (that are very close to manifold)

Cheer'oss

PS: The engine is brown in my paint shop pic, just like your motor ha

TURNS out after all that, that the thread for the cap to go on, on top of the radiator was slightly bent, letting the water seep out, 2 taps with a hammer and hasn't leaked since, ._.

Edited January 11, 2008 by GTAAAH