tempurature spiking

[nacstate]

disclaimer: I searched and didn't find what I needed, so skip it.

Occasionally after running my car for a bit, the temp gauge will go all the way to the solid line thats before the line with the H on it. It'll stay there for a minute or so, and then come back down. It will only do that maybe once every other day, usually when I first run the car. If I turn it off and run it later that same day, it doesn't happen.

I've also noticed that the coolant reservoir doesn't stay full very long. I assumed its a leak of some type but I can't seem to find one. Even then I don't see exactly why the temp would just spike and then return to normal.

It shouldn't be the radiator, I just had it replaced this summer. Maybe the jabroni's that put it in didn't get all the hoses tight enough or something, I don't know. Bad water pump? Bad gauge? Bad thermo?

Insight is needed and appreciated.

[adey]

Hey, I like Tempura too!



...

Try burping the system; turn the heater on (not necessarily the fan, just switch to full hot), run the engine for a while, and before it gets fully warm/too hot, open the valve (a small 8 or 10mm bolt) near the intake manifold towards the front of the engine. there's a small washer on this, be careful not to lose it as I did.

The water that comes out should/might be a little bubbly/fizzy like... let this out until it comes out without bubbles.
Also, try running the engine (when it's cool) and opening the radiator cap. Squeeze the radiator hoses around to try to get any air bubbles out, if there might be any stuck in them.

Top off coolant and see if it (still) happens.

[tiki240]

this happend to me. i had to top off the coolant and replace my thermostat. sounds like your t-stat to me. pretty cheap to replace. like ~12 bux. hope that helps

[S13Nissan240SX]

I occasionally get this too. Here are some things you can do:

Radiator Cap: You may want to check your radiator cap (or just get a new one). If that's not holding pressure right then you'll get air into the system which will cause overheating. Also make sure that your radiator cap isn't designed for a lower pressure system.

Radiator Flush: You may not need this since your radiator is new. Every summer I give my system a flush and that does wonders. I use the Prestone Flush from autozone and it always cleans out nasty crap. I use distilled water to fill the radiator too. It works better then tap water. Also make sure that you're using the right mixture of water to antifreeze for your climate. I live in Arizona so I don't need to lower the freezing point as much as I need to raise the boiling point. Therefore I use more water and less antifreeze.

Just check for any fluid or air leaks. Keep it running for a while and inspect to see if you're loosing fluid anywhere. Also make sure that it's not getting into your oil. If it is, then you've either got a cracked block or a bad gasket.

I hope this helps.

Good luck,
Matt

[96twofourty]

the thermostat sounds like its sticking

[nacstate]

I checked the cap and seems ok. When it first happened I noticed that my coolant was pretty low, so I topped it off with a 50/50 mixture. I'm hoping that its the thermostat. I just really hope there aren't any leaks anywhere.

either way thanks guys. I appreciate the non-flaming.

[twitchy]

if you dont see leaks its probably the thermostat sticking. mine was doing it, i replaced the damn thing in 20 minutes and its all good now


damn fussy KA motors i tell ya

[nacstate]

I replaced the thermostat and it still does it. Could it possibly just be the engine coolant temperature sensor being screwed up?

[stp9154]

KA or SR? Not sure about KA. But if you have SR, try to squeeze the upper radiator hose after turning off you engine. With groves that is, can be very hot. If it is very hard to the point that you can't really squeeze it that much, there could be some type of leaking from the headgasket. How often do you have to refill your coolant since this problem has occured? Or perhaps that new t-stat is a bad one (not working.)

[nacstate]

KA,

I suspect that there is some leakage from the headgasket, I occasionally have to refill the coolant, at least more often than I think I should have to. Then again its always been that way, but without the temperature spiking problem

[Muzzy]

damn..i thought i was the only one that experienced that!!!

..idk wut i did to fix it...i know i replaced the thermostat and cleanrd the cooling system with that Zerex stuff then i filled it back up and flush it a couple more times.
finally i filled it up again and added water wetter. tada!!...i guess

[old_s13]

either you have a leak or you are burning coolant (ie, headgasket). you also should've checked your water pump while it was out to see if it spun smoothly.

- mike

[stp9154]

Like i've said, try to squeeze the top hose. If it is tight and hard, then you know there is a lot of pressure coming out of your engine (too much.) In turns, it will drive out some of the coolant from the radiator. This similar problem didn't happen to me, but it did to my friend. We went through so many things trying to figure out what went wrong (i.e. rad. cap, t-stat (2), water pump, cluster, etc.) Then he bought a new headgasket and everything went back to normal.

[nosegrindR]

the thermostat sounds like its sticking


yeah this happened to my car, i changed the thermostat, and the temperature reading hasn't spiked since.

Now i have another problem with my car's heating. Winters up in canada are ridiculosly cold and my car just never gets warm on the inside of my car, i put cardboard in front of the radiator, got a radiator flush, and now i'm pretty much out of ideas, has this happened to anyone? and what did you do to resolve the problem?

[THX1138]

This happened to me a couple of times after I replaced my upper and lower radiator hoses and thermostat a few months ago. It only happened if the car had sat overnight, and would spike for about 20-30 seconds after running at normal temp for about 5 minutes. In my case, I just hadn't gotten all the air out of the system. Try burping it again, making sure you set the temp on the HVAC to full hot.

[nacstate]

OK i found out my water pump is leaking, so I want to replace it myself. Being that I've never had to do this much work on my car, is there any advice you guys can give or potential problems I may run into?

[Junked240]

OK i found out my water pump is leaking, so I want to replace it myself. Being that I've never had to do this much work on my car, is there any advice you guys can give or potential problems I may run into?

If you want, you can bring your car by the house and my bf can help u change the water pump...show u how or whatever. Let us know :hsdance:

Melissa C.

[twitchy]

<b>nosegrinder:</b> Where in Canada do you live? I have the same problem....i just wear warm clothes in the car and drive in 3rd gear on the highway instead of 5th...makes it just toasty inside

<b>nacstate:</b> changing your own water pump is not too hard. I did it myself, took about 2 hours...There are many threads on how to do it, so I wont go into that itself....problems I had- spilling rad fluid on the floor everywhere, its kind of messy, burping the system after (not a big deal) and while your at it you might as well change the belts

good luck, just take your time

[nacstate]

^^ I might take you up on that, check your PM