My Stag Is Overheating

[alu-siv_stagea]

Hay guys.

My stag has recently started to overheat while sitting in traffic or driving with the air con on, i have already replaced the thermostat and put brand new genuine nissan coolant, the radiator is the next step isn't it or is there anything else that i should be checking ? 

Allso are there any specialists that fix radiators or am going to have to get a brand new one ?

Im really over it at the moment, its an expensive time of year and i have just paid rego, the last thing i need is this...

Any help apreciated guys.

Cheers.

[M I K E]

get your radiator flushed. it's not an expensive thing to do and they'll tell you exactly how blocked/full of shit it is. my guess is there is quite a bit of crap in there

[Tangles]

yeh hit me a few xmas's ago.

original radiator went south as I was driving to the tuners for some work, leaked everywhere and was lucky was just around the crnr - so that added $180 to the bill for a 2nd hand R33 core.

6months later the replacement R33 radiator went south after a hard nights work...

so I bit the bullet & went to a NatRad outlet store, paid around $450 installed for a Koyo radiator to suit a R33

since then the temp has never been an issue. always always under half on the factory guage, even on a warm trackday

one of the best repairs / upgrades Ive ever done. not much wider than stock but oh so efficient. definately been proved (by me) to be damned efficient.

1st thing first, flush and check. repair. but eventually a replacement will be the only option- fixes to a broken radiator are only temporary in my opinion,

with the general age of the vehicle id suggest to replace with a new one straight out so its never an issue ever again

but then again if its only getting warm, you could get by a fair while with a flush./

[alu-siv_stagea]

will try get a flush done, the radiator looks immaculate and the car has only done 67 thousand k's, but if the flush dont work ill get the radiator, do i have to go to a specialist to tell me how blocked it is or will my mechanic be able to do the test and tell me ?

[STAGE1]

I over heated mine last Xmas going up the Toowoomba range so I had the radiator flushed ($400.oo) no real help.

I then had it cleaned by a specialist they took top tank off and inserted a bar down each core then replaced the top tank $170.oo it has been good ever since.

If I had done this in the first place it would not have cost me an engine rebuild $8,000.oo. I am now looking at putting in an aluminum one as soon as I can afford it just for extra piece of mind.

My opinion at least get it cleaned by a professional it costs a lot less than a rebuild.

[66yostagea]

Not a Stagea but bought a Sillycar and on the drive home it boiled. Replaced radiator cap with correct pressure type, still boiled. Took it out and had stripped and rodded out. It was 80% blocked.

Interesting though was my RMR30. I always flushed the radiator and filled it with proper coolant. It did 600k and has been in my MR30 for two years. Cleanliness is second only to cleanliness.LOL

[_Ryan_]

get it pulled apart and cleaned, budget for a new top tank. expect to pay 300ish drive in drive out.

[alu-siv_stagea]

thanks for the replies guys apreciate it.

[66yostagea]

I took the rad out and it cost $80 to pull apart and clean. Get a quote.

[GoldZilla]

Where do you usually take your car, Eddie? I know of a few places out my way (Parramatta and Hills areas), but nothing about who'd be available in or around the city, unless you look at the North Shore options..

[alu-siv_stagea]

car usually gets looked after by tunehouse is maricville, my mate told me last night that he knows a radiator specialist in st peters so ill go see him on the weekend first

[BezerkR32]

mate if it was the radiator it would get hot when driving and under loads like going up hill like mount ousley. Id be looking at your engine fan operation. Ive replaced a few clutch fan assy in R33s, you can buy the clutch assy for around $110.

It wont hurt to get the radiator flushed, but at least test the fan. Can do this by grabbing hold of it. It should spin freely when the engine is cold, but should be very hard to stop when the engine is up to temp.

The reason i think this is your issue is that airflow provides the cooling when you are moving and the fan provides the airflow when you are stationary.

[alu-siv_stagea]

Bezerk, that makes sence mate, i spoke with my brother this morning and he said the same thing, i will test it tomorrow and if thats the case ill get a new clutch fan assy, thanks for your help guys, i really didnt think my radiator was blocked because i flushed it when i changed the thermostat and all the water was clean coming out of it.

[BezerkR32]

it still might not be the case but worth checking.

Bezerk, that makes sence mate, i spoke with my brother this morning and he said the same thing, i will test it tomorrow and if thats the case ill get a new clutch fan assy, thanks for your help guys, i really didnt think my radiator was blocked because i flushed it when i changed the thermostat and all the water was clean coming out of it.

[blind_elk]

Just because the flush liquid is clean doesn't mean the cores are clean and unblocked. You need to run rods down each core to dislodge solid material stuck in there.

[BezerkR32]

no one dis-agrees, but this requires the removal of the top tank, costs about $88. all i am saying is check the fan first.

Just because the flush liquid is clean doesn't mean the cores are clean and unblocked. You need to run rods down each core to dislodge solid material stuck in there.

[_Ryan_]

I took the rad out and it cost $80 to pull apart and clean. Get a quote.

yup, I was quoted the same by NatRad for me taking it out and no toptank, in the end being in an apartment I needed drive in drive out, and the top tank was extra. cracked on pull apart along the flat bit behind the cap.

The fan can work perfectly, and if the cores are blocked it will still heat up in traffic with the aircon on. Plug something into your consult port and monitor it, the factory gauge is a normal range or OH SHIT.

[STAGE1]

When they did the flush on mine they ran a chemical in the coolant for 15min to loosen up any debris then connected there machine between the top hose and the top of the tank and forced the coolant through. The coolant that came out looked to be the right color (not dirty or Broun). When I had the radiator cleaned they said that the radiator was about 80% blocked. I also needed a new top tank that is why it cost $170.oo. What you have to consider is that it is only a single row radiator so it doesn’t take much to block it.

[RubyRS4]

Never had a problem with my Stag in the past, but one long trip did see the temp gauge climb ... I went and bought a 52mm alloy radiator anyway. Its now been thru some 40+ degree days without a problem at all. Best investment.

[QLDR31]

What was the outcome? Don't suppose it could be a problem with the water pump?

My car is experiencing a tiny radiator leak. I'm thinking it might have the wrong radiator cap. The radiator cap I have is a DORTEC PDR11 0.9kg/cm PUSH TYPE RADIATOR CAP, Are these stock ones? I put on cap from an R31 just to try.

I wonder if these radiator issues are caused by some importers putting in crappy coolant?