Just Got Car Back From Shop Now It Seem To Run Hot.

[Tony de Wonderful]

OK I got some general maintenance done such as rocker cover gasket, timing belt, water pump etc, also radiator cleaned out.

Also added new 3" turbo back 'zaust, plus a POD filter.

That is it no other mods. It's a R33 GTST.

Now I drive it home with the widows down and thought it seemed hot but thought it was my imagination, also thought I smelled a bit of burning but dismissed it. I drove it tonight with the windows down and you can feel the heat from the foot well and fwd part of the central tunnel. Doesn't seem right. I wasn't boosting about and was driving fairly normal. Drove straight home and was worried about fire or something. I mean it feels REALLY hot.

Water temp gauge looks ok, but I notice quite a bit of activity from the oil pressure gauge; it's up and down quite a bit with the throttle. Always before it would seem to do very little, just show pressure in about the middle until the car was warmed up.

I'm thinking my engine should be a bit hotter 'cos I've probably gained 20 kw or so from the 'zaust but the heat has me worried. Can't call the shop 'till Monday so won't drive it until I check it with them.

Edited October 9, 2009 by Tony de Wonderful

[Mayuri Krab]

Did they put the stock turbo heat shield back on?

When I got my brand new turbo back exhaust system, I felt something similar as well. Could feel excess heat when I'm stationary with windows down & I had a burnt smell as well.

If the pipes are new, the burnt smell is mostly normal. But when I 1st drove the car back that burnt smell scared the sh*t out of me as I thought my engine caught on fire & I pulled over like several times just to check the engine bay on my way home from the workshop.

After a while though, the smell gradually disappeared & I don't seem to be able to notice the heat anymore.

Edited October 9, 2009 by Mayuri Krab

[Tony de Wonderful]

Did they put the stock turbo heat shield back on?

When I got my brand new turbo back exhaust system, I felt something similar as well. Could feel excess heat when I'm stationary with windows down & I had a burnt smell.

After a while though, I don't seem to feel anything anymore though...

Good point. I'll ask them on Monday.

The oil pressure gauge has me worried though. I don't remember it bouncing around before.

[Mayuri Krab]

You can check if the shield is on or not, just pop the bonnet & look for the turbo, if you can see it then the heat shield is not on. I would ask them for the old shield back & put it on, as it seem to block quite a bit of heat from the turbo coming upwards.

Also what are you seeing from your oil pressure? From what your description it seems to me like your gauge wasn't working correctly b4 & now it is...

As my oil pressure will move frequently with throttle once the engine has warmed up. Mine usually moves in the range of 2 to 6 (idle at 2 & goes up to 6 under heavy throttle).

[DR1FT4]

i dont know mine is quite high on cold mornings and when i get going sits around half way, but i dont really check it under throttle

[mad082]

only way to know for sure what is happening temp wise is to either get a proper temp gauge or borrow/buy a consult cable and hook it up to some software to read the exact temp. no point just guessing that it is hot if it turns out that the temp is actually fine.

edit: also you can pretty much ignore the stock water temp gauge. it will stay in the normal position up until a bit over 100 degrees when it will suddenly jump to hot.

[PUDZ 32R]

i reckon the burning smell is normal.. new metal and exhaust putty and new gaskets etc.

and witht the guage maybe you didnt notice it before cos you wernt worried by the burning smell??

check the heat shield on the cat as well as the turbo

[Tony de Wonderful]

Ha ha yeah it was just because of the lack of heat-shielding around the new front/dump pipe, plus also 'cos it is a wider diameter.