Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hey Guys. I just got done with an RB20DET conversion into an S14 pre-facelift silvia and im running into a few problems. Firstly, the engine overheats really quickly. I started the motor up this morning and took it for a little drive up my road. Less than 2 minutes of driving results in the temp guage reading HOT and removing the radiator cap also results in a spill of almost boiling water. The engine oil warning light is also always on even though i just did an oil change and there is plenty of oil in the motor. Could this be an electrical problem? Does this light come on when the engine oil gets really hot or is this just an indicator of low oil? The car is not running any fans at this point. But it was a cold morning and i have no bumper on the car so it is getting plenty of air. Surely it couldnt be the cause of this overheating after just two minutes?

There is also a lowd screetching noise coming from the belts. And my powersteering comes on and off for some reason (I did fill it up with power steering fluid).

There is also plenty of lag before boost kicks in. Mods are 600*300*100 front mount intercooler with 2 1/2 piping. 3inch exaust and hks pod. i suspect the blowoff valve may be causing some problems. Right now ive got the little hose that connects to the throttle chamber hooked up but the bigger hose where the air released is missing (i blocked the hole on the intake hose with a cap :( ). Could this be causing the lag and the shit drivability?

I know theres plenty of questions there but any help would be greatly appreciated. Il post some pics up of the car soon :)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/63687-rb20det-s14-conversion-problems/
Share on other sites

Is it actaully getting hot or is just the dash gauge saying so?reason I ask is if you have kept the RB20det water temp sensor it might read wrong with the S14 dash.I did the same with the RB20det in my silo,I put the R31 water temp sensor in the RB20det.

Hope it helps.

hmm, I have a RB20 in my S13 and I must say that the RB20 isn't as prone to overheat as quickly as the 25 or 26 so definately check your thermo and waterpump... As i have my rb20 in my car with the r32 radiator which isn't but like a 1/2 inch taller than the s13 radiator.. but the thing is that i am currently running without a fan as mine died (you know you can't fit the clutch fan) and mine hasn't overheated yet.. So make sure you check out your thermo and waterpump, one of those is most likely your problem. Good luck

fit the sr gauge temp sensor the rb one is diffrent from the sr.

the oil light is proly on if you didnt connect the oil pressure switch wire.

i ran my rb20 in my s13 on the stock radiator (tiny 1 row) for a good 2 weeks with no fans, granted the high was like 30 degrees (f) during this time.

as for the lag bit, the bpv needs to be connected to the dump tube that goes back into the turbo inlet.

Put a fan on it ASAP...

You have a masive intercooler blocking alot of flow to the radiaor as well....

My old RB20 was bad for over heating so i went and got a custom one made at "ARE" and he also supplied a craig davis thermo fan and controler... After these were installed i never had a problem again....

The front mount was the cause of my over heating problem and mine was only 77mm thick...

So put a fan on of some sort.... Check your thermostat..... Check your water pump for clicking (touch it with a flat blade screwdriver and put your ear to the other end)... If you hear clicking you need a new one.... This is common also.. The bearings wear out and the blades touch the other housing a bit... This reduces flow heaps.. Also did you bleed the air from the system when filing the radiator??? With air in the system this will cause the water to reach a super hot temp...

i would have suggested the thermostat is not opening, hence not circulating water through radiator, but if the water in the radiator is boiling, then that's not your problem.

did you remember to put the engine cooling fan on?

There should be a fan on front of engine, driven by engine (ie constantly on). Then there is an electric fan on passenger side of radiator.

i know im stating the obvious, but sometimes these things get missed.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I'm so far behind in the jobs I have to do at both work and home (including car) that I have become immortal. There's simply no way that I can die now.
    • Each to their own I guess  Me, I put just as much time into cleaning inside of the cars as I do on the outside As for getting wet, it is really no different than steam cleaning the carpets at home, apart from the cars carpet dries alot faster than the house, again, I only do it in the hotter months and leave the car opened up for a few hours As I only do it yearly, it is just before I do the diff and gearbox service, so I clean the carpets, then it's up on stands, wheels off, service, clean the undercarriage,  grease the bushings and do a nut and bolt check on everything  Disclaimer: I typically had all the time in the world to kill when I was working 🤣, so spending a full day or 2 cleaning, serving and "looking at stuff" was,  easily achievable, and a fun mental therapy day As for time to kill, I retired last Wednesday, so apart from my physical training, my days are filled with lots of random jobs around the house and garden...."Idle hands are the Devils something something" I am also buying a new house sooner rather than later, I'm actually looking at a potential property tomorrow, I'm looking forward to getting a car hoist as I'm starting to get to old to crawl around under a car, I can only imagine all the undercarriage cleaning and looking at stuff when that gets set up
    • Yeah, I'm not interested in wetting the carpets, and I don't care about brown dirt/dust that lives deep in the pile or underneath. It's not like I crawl around on them in my birthday suit or eat dropped food off them (because there is never any open food in my car). The seats are alcantara (cheap Chinese imitation alcantara, to be sure!) with barely 1" of foam pad behind the surface. That's not getting wet either. Any car that I would be happy to get the interior wet, I would not care to put the effort into.
    • We have one that holds 2.8L of water. On floor carpet that hasn't been touched in 2 or 3 years, will take a minimum of 2 fills of the tank to do a bedroom, and that's going AROUND the bed.   In the cruiser, I used an ENTIRE 2.8L tank, just on the front passenger footwell. But it had some fungus growing, and had been full of mud from being used as a 4WD for many years. I can do that floor again, and it will still pull mud out. However, the water now only looks dirty, not pitch black and leaving full sludge in the bottom of the tank it sucks back into. Oh, and, this is about a $1500 unit.
    • This is mine, works a treat for the cars, suction is good, I use the Bissell clean and protect stuff I have found giving it a good spray and light scrub with the soft brush on the head of the nossle for carpet, and a rub with a microfibre for cloth seats and cloth door trims, prior to another quick spray before vacuuming it up works the best @GTSBoy You would surprised on what it gets out of carpet and seats that actually "look" clean, I recommend that you test drive yours when you have a little time to kill, then post pics of the muddy looking water that I believe you will find
×
×
  • Create New...