Overheating In A N/a R33

[brat81]

Righto about 2 weeks ago my car started overheating real bad so i checked coolant it was quite low so i topped up.

Car still overheated then i replaced the thermostat (that was quite f**ked)

Car still overheated i noticed that the thermo fan (rad fan) wasn't turning on at high temps

So i take car to the Auto Elecs couldn't find a probelm but noticed that the aircon fan wasn't working so they fixed that. Still thermo fan isn't working

Got the car back today haven't even got it home yet heated up again no change at all.

So my coolant is boiling, thermo fan not turning on and car heats up real quick.

any ideas what else it could be?

I thought about just chucking the thermo fan on a switch but i wouldn't have any idea how to do so.

[battery]

blocked radiator maybe...

will cost you about 150 ish to get it cleaned or u can hit ebay up and get an alloy replacement for $205

[mad082]

you are refering to 2 fans. the aircon fan i am assuming you are talking about the one in front of the radiator, and the other thermo, are you talking about the clutch fan attached to the motor? is that the one that isn't working? so when the car is running it isn't spinning, or when the car gets hot it is roaring louder than normal to suck extra air?

if it isn't spinning when the engine is running, well that is the obvious answer, but otherwise that shouldn't be all that much of an issue as long as you don't spend a lot of time in traffic and stop/starting when driving. at a constant speed there will be some airflow and it shouldn't boil.

as battery said it could be the radiator is blocked, but there is a chance it could also be your water pump. how many kms has the car done, and has it had it's major 100,00km service done? if so, do you know if the water pump was replaced?

[brat81]

The one attached to the motor is fine it's not roaring loud or anything else suss. i'm talking about the black fan at the front of the radiator it's not turning on even when the car is hot or when aircon is on.

sorry i'm slowly but surely learning about cars

lol after clearing that up i now realise that my first post kinda doesn't make much sense

[mad082]

the one at the front is an over temp fan. pretty sure it only kicks in once the temp is over a certain point. and if the radiator is blocked at all then there is a good chance that the sensor is covered in crap and not getting an actual reading (sensor is located at the bottom of the radiator AFAIK).

also the standard clutch fan (the one attached to the engine) should be louder when the temp gets higher, so there is a small possibility that it isn't engaging properly and is the reason for the higher temps, however i doubt it would be the main problem in your case.

if you have a second car, or can be without the car for a day, pull your radiator out and take it to a radiator place to have it inspected and cleaned. that would be my first recomendation. if they find that it wasn't very blocked (which is pretty much anything under about 10 or 15%) then start looking at things like the water pump and the clutch fan, but get the radiator checked first.

[brat81]

yeah i've been legging it out for the last week with no car. Taking the radiator to Natrad on Saturday.

So i guess i will update when i find out more info. Thanks for your help

[n/aTurbo]

good luck with it mate

[brat81]

ok small update:

I decided to clean out the radiator myself a fair amount of gunky water came out and i just flushed it out until the water was clear.

After filling radiator up and removing air bubbles and running for 15 mins with the heater open took it for a small drive seems to be staying cooler for longer but that will mosy likely be since the weather isn't as hot as it has been over the last few days.

So once again it started climbing past the normal temp so i pulled over let it cool down while the engine was still going. i decided i would turn the A/C on with fans full blast the fan at the front of the radiator (nose of the car) clicked on but quickly shut off (is that normal?) and didn't come back on.

Should i just take my whole car into Natrad instead of just the radiator?

[mad082]

i would just take the radiator so you don't have to pay them to remove it from the car.

also unless you actually removed the end tanks from the core you probably only got out 1% of any crap in it. generally it hardens in there and has to be phsyically removed with a brush type thing.

[brat81]

Right so got my car back today. the guy at natrad said it's running at normal temps even when up at H so his and my guess is that the sensor is giving incorrect readings.

Any idea where i can get this sensor from?

[mad082]

wreckers.

to verify what the guy said though, find someone near you who has a consult cable. then they can plug it into the ecu and verify what the radiator guy said as the ecu uses a different water temp sensor to the dash.

but hopefully for you it will just be the sensor (or the gauge in the dash) that is the problem

[brat81]

ok took my car to work today drove to work fine.

When i got home my Coolant in the resi tank was boiling.

this is doing my head in

[battery]

you need to hook it up to a consult unit so you can see what the temp really is...

also flushing a radiator with a hose won't do shit, it can be %80 blocked and it will still look like its flowing through fine but its not!

the temp sensors are located on the plenum where the top rad hose connects.

the single wire sensor is the for the dash and the 2 wire sensor is for the ecu...

you got two options replace the single wire sensor and see if it makes a difference or hook up a consult unit so you can get a reading from the more accurate 2 wire sensor.....

[brat81]

could be f**ked trying to work it out so i bought a good condition 2nd hand radi off these forums now my black beauty is back on the road.

Also is the N/a radiator smaller than the the turbo'd versions?

Coz mine was small and thin perhaps thats why mine was overheating

[central coast person]

No the turbo and NA one are exactly the same. I know because i changed the top tank on the NA one from a turbo radiator.

[08yannch]

just a small note concerning fans

u dont need a thermo. my thermo shat itself so i took it off and i haven't gotten around to replacing it and i have tracked the car with no heat problems

so as along as your engine fan is in good working order u should be fine (for air flow)

and also how is your water pump doing because u said that your thermostat was f***ed so were there is smoke theirs fire most of the time