Overheating?

[f3lix]

Hey guys..

havent had this car for long and only noticed that, once warmed up, the needle is 'sitting' on 2/3 up towards H!

I must of did a 2 hr drive back home when i first realised and seemed fine.. continues to be fine now

the car is completely standard bar frount mount and exhaust

I've already drained old coolant and refilled with new, checked and replaced radiator cap and thermostat.

im not sure what else i may be able to do?

been searching around i cant seem to find anything about it?

[HEKT1K]

Temp sensor could be faulty? Radiator could be blocked?

[f3lix]

sweet cheers for that.

ill try both!

[cobbadan]

If its overheating while driving ie: sitting on the highway at 100 --- I would be checking the radiator for blockages.

best way to do this (as far as i know) is to remove the radiator, boil the kettle, rad cap on , lay it down flat and poor the boiling water into it.

When its full, place your hand on the fins and move it all around feeling for areas that are cold.

When i did this with mine it was really easy to pick up,, i had a large area that was blocked.

If its overheating when sitting in traffic jams, then look at your viscous fan clutch.

google has plenty of advice about how it should operate and how to test it.

[gotRICE?]

So your saying that it gave you the same reading after you changed the thermostat, did a flush, new coolant and thermostat?

If it did, then as mentioned it can only be one of two things, dodgy temp sensor or blocked radiator.

[mad082]

might be worth to try and get your hands on a consult cable to see what temps the ecu is reading. it could just be the gauge in the dash is reading a bit high.

[Kinks]

Yes use a consult cable ASAP. Assuming the stock gauge is correct, any movement upwards means your temp must be at least 110C and you're about to cook your motor. I've had my temp (reported by consult) as high as 104C and the gauge still said halfway.

[f3lix]

After it's been warmed up, whether i'd be sitting in traffic or on highways at 110, the gauge would read the same or close enough.

After all the above where changed and replaced it remains the same. It did however go very close to the line below H after a long drive from City to Penrith and back last night but dropped shortly after, while still travelling at the same speed ?

I havent had the chance yet to try the temp sensor and radiator but will do this weekend if possible. I dont have a consult cable so i might just take it down to the mechanic to check this asap.

Cheers for the info guys i'll provide an update

[ZacZerbst]

also inspect the fins as a build up of bugs, grass, etc. can cause a blockage of air flow through the radiator causing it to overheat

[f3lix]

so i haven't yet been able to take it to the workshop to get it checked out as yet due to work and other commitments...

i did just come back from the garage after having another quick look at the car again.. had a quick look at the radiator and the core is only 15mm give or take!!!!??

i dont know how i missed it before but just checked the part number on the top tank... PAT-APP-48-86457.. quick research reveals possible DE radiator or some sort

does anyone have the part number of their OEM radiator to confirm?

I think a new radiator is definitely a must!

[GTRPSI]

Clogged radiator, or fins on the water pump after that, more than likely a clogged radiator

As mentioned could be a faulty temp sender too, you never know....

Edited February 1, 2012 by GTRPSI

[gotRICE?]

Nah, They are thin. I was surprised how thin mine was when i took it out too so dont worry about that.

[Kinks]

16mm is the standard core thickness. yes they are thin, but adequate for normal conditions and driving. there's something else wrong with your cooling system, mine was fine with the 16mm core until it got blocked.

[jhjones]

The alternate Part no. is Series 1

[The Bogan]

Thermostat ?

[blah_blah]

I had the same problem in my GTT the other week. Fixed with a new radiator

[f3lix]

I went ahead and just got a new all alloy radiator and silicone hoses. Got everything fitted fine. The workshop took it for a spin to get it up to temp and apparently thermostat wasnt opening!

Top hose was boiling and bottom hose was very cool.

After changing almost everything in the whole cooling system it ended up being a dodgy waterpump

Well at least the problem is now gone!

[TTT]

did you do a timing belt kit when you did the water pump?

At least you know now that you won' thave any overheating problems.

FYI - 3/4 on the temp gauge is about 105 degrees according to my ecudatascan device which connects to the consult port.

From there it gets to 115 really quickly.

May have cost you a bit of money but at least you are not up for a broken motor.

here are a list of things ot try in order of cost (cheapest to most expensive) for others who may eventually come here and search for "overheating" "radiator" etc

Radiator cap - New from nissan - part number available in forums

New coolant (personaly I'd dump coolant, hose out radiator, fill with demineralised water and bleed off and drive for 30-40 minutes and repeat 3 times - letting it cool in between obviously)

new thermostat - New from Nissan - part number available in forums

now starts to get expensive....

New radiator or get your one cleaned by a radiator shop (keep in mind that if you get a new Thicker radiator, you may have issues with the factory Viscous clutch fan touching or the shroud not fitting - Shroud is VERY important to have on the radiator for the fan to work to full effect.)

New viscous clutch for the fan

New Water pump (might as well do the timing belt and make it a proper 100K service)

My suggestion is to NOT use a radiator flush kit that you can buy from supercheap etc - By doing so, mine got blocked more

I'd also replace the top and bottom radiator hose if replacing the radiator.

[f3lix]

timing belt was changed along with the waterpump but didnt take any chances and changed both to be sure.

good info in here thanks for all the help guys