Skyline Overheating

[Jay_R33]

hey all

once again i am faced with another problem and before it goes to the mechanics just thought i would try and get a grip and see what im dealing with

The Radiator hose that connects from radiator to the engine to keep it cool has popped off twice within a week now...first time the air con was on and figured this was the reason and was gona get my mechanic to look at it when the next service was due...it pretty much popped off and coolant went everywhere all over the engine bay but i fixed it all up put coolant bak in and it was fine but on xmas day whilst driving down westall rd the car started making funny noise when taking off and i started seeing smoke which turned out to be steam coming from engine bay and quickly pulled over as soon as the temperature gauge started rising...

oped it up and same hose popped off but no air con was on so now im abit concerned...people have been saying my thermostat is F***ED which im guessing would be a big job as it looks as if its in the engine block....

anyone had this problem and what was the soloution?

ive checked the clamp and it was dead tight so its building up pressure in the hose from somewhere

thanks people

[Moodles2]

Could possibly need a new radiator cap

[Jay_R33]

Could possibly need a new radiator cap

well would definatly be a cheap problem solver how did you come up with that though?

[No Crust Racing]

If the hose is popping off then it's either the clamp, the connection between the hose and the radiator connecting pipe (the metal part sticking out of the radiator that the hose slides over).

Check the surface of the metal radiator pipe and make sure it's clean, you might also need a new rubber hose as the existing one may be stretched/stuffed. You say the clamp is dead tight, is it an old one? new ones are cheap as shit so try that also.

If the thermostat is not opening up then the car would run very hot very fast and that shouldn't cause the pipe to bust off. If the thermo was stuck open the car would take a month of Sundays to warm up and the pipe would have no reason to pop off either. What you have is a weak point in a highly pressurised system, that weak point is where it keeps popping off.

If it keeps popping off then you start there, try cleaning the metal pipe from the radiator, try and new clamp, and try a new pipe if that fails.

If the radiator cap was faulty it would be leaking from there and venting coolant everywhere from the cap itself so that shouldn't be the issue.

Let us know how you go, it should be a simple fix.

[Jay_R33]

well today i changed the hose clamp and put some coolant in their to do me over until it gets to the mechanics and i have it flushed completely

ill see what the mechanic reckons but will keep you posted just so u's know for future reference

thanks for the help people

[NA_Goodness]

Could be the radiator cap. If the spring is stuck, it wont control the pressure inside the system, and allow it to build up until something goes pop.

Worth looking into

[Amec]

does the car heat up quickly or does it only get hot say after a decent run on the freeway? it its the latter then there could be a blockage in the radiator which can be fixed by a radiator specialist.

[89CAL]

also did u bleed the cooling system when u replaced the coolant?

probably wouldnt cause ur problem but will make the car overheat if it isnt done properly.

It probably will be to do with that pipe but as ActionDan said thermostat alone wont do it. Possibly the cap if its stuck closed for some reason but that ones a bit sketchy

[Jay_R33]

well...it doesnt heat up quickly...the last time it done it i was travelling down the frankston freeway and then onto westall road and when i got the end of westall rd thats when it started going up....i didnt bleed the radiator to be honest but ill get the mechanic to do it and see what he reckons which should be by thursday....its really difficult to tell because the other time it happened it was a hot day and i had the air con first time since i had the car and it came off down nepean hwy on the way to southland....i just figured first time on not much water in the car to run it so i figured thats ok replaced everything but then happened again so now its a concern....im going to drive it tomorrow and see how it goes...will keep posted when i figure out what problem is...ill try and get a new radiator cap aswell see f that helps

[CRoNic...]

The connecting clip is faulty, a new cap is required or there's a block in the system causing excessive pressure.

Hopefully you haven't blown/damaged the head yet, either!

[Jay_R33]

The connecting clip is faulty, a new cap is required or there's a block in the system causing excessive pressure.

Hopefully you haven't blown/damaged the head yet, either!

which connecting clip are you talking about....the one that connects the hose to the radiator?

and yes i pray i havnt damaged the head yet...is it advised not to drive it?

[No Crust Racing]

I think he means the clamp on the radiator hose.

You should avoid driving it if you can, the possible damage from exces heat is not worth it.

[89CAL]

yeah it shouldnt blow hoses just cause its hot

my gauge sits at about halfway constantly when its warm just for reference, where abouts was yours sitting?

Bleeding the cooling system is easy it just involves filling the radiator up with coolant and undoing the bleed screw on the plenum (has never open when hot written on a little sticker next to it i believe, at the front of the plenum up top) and then just running the car till u get some coolant coming out fairly constantly and the radiatornot taking any more coolant

i dare say the system wasnt flushed after changing coolant one time or something and youve got a blockage because of it

[Jay_R33]

The temperature gauge normally sits a fraction under halfway so that is all good, I think I'll bleed the coolant out so thanks for the advice on how to do it dude, everyone keeps saying it has to be a block but I'm holding off driving it ATM till the mechanic opens again thank god I kept my Honda LOL

[No Crust Racing]

Hahah, good stuff, daily's for the win

[Amec]

the symptoms sound like a partially blocked radiator, which can be unblocked by a radiator specialist.

[DaGr81]

If it's not a blocked radiator try putting silicone hoses and new clamps on, don't use cheap ones get the same style ones as your intercooler piping uses, but I once had a hose pop off at 120km/h it was due to air build up in the system, so bleed it from air as well (and I know it wasn't blockages because the radiator was a brand new aluminium one at the time)

[Jay_R33]

and to bleed out the air you just turn the heater on full ball when flushing out the old coolant, that's my understanding?

[DaGr81]

There's a little valve which you open, another way to bleed the air is after you've filled the coolent up again, leave the radiator cap off, and let her get to operating temp heater on full blast helps, so just let it get to about 77degrees then put the cap on again, it's a good idea to do this once in a while before you start the car unless you want a blast of coolent. Or install a radiator breather tank so the air pockets always get released.

[DaGr81]

Also replacing the thermostat is an easy job the thermostat is located at the end of the top/bottom hose, I can't remember because it was a while ago for me, you just need a knife to fish it out as it's stuck via gasket goo + there's a few bolts as well But a mechanic will be able to get it out within 10 minutes

Edited January 2, 2009 by DaGr81