KA24DE temperature issues

[JZenki]

Bought a 95 s14 a few days ago has hids which causes the alternator to stutter a bit @idle, it drives fine at proper operating temperature for the first 20-30 mins then the temp shoots up to 75%, cools down once I turn on the heater.. I've tried burping (loosening gold bolt & adding antifreeze until air pockets come out) but it still seems to do it all over again when I go for a drive. could it be the alternator is being maxed out which causes the fan to not properly operate? Don't know too much about trouble shooting problems, what should I try next?

[JZenki]

Btw it never reaches H it remains @ 3/4 and previous owner gave it a tune up before the deal and claimed that he didn't fully bleed the cooling system. Could it be he shitted me and there's really a crack in the head? I don't see any white smoke.. yet?

[n8RPS13]

Sometimes it takes a LONG LONG time to get all the bubbles out. My suggestion is to get a bottle that has a mouth that fits into the radiator fill hole. Cut the bttom out of the bottle, also it helps if you wrap the mouth of the bottle with electrical tape so it fits snugly, then insert the mouth of the bottle into the radiator fill hole. Turn the car on and fill up the bottle halfaway with fluid. Once the thermo opens up if it is functioning correctly you will start to see bubbles come up from the bottle. As the bubbles come up it makes room for more fluid. You will see the fluid height lower as it does a dd a little more repeat these steps until there are no more bubles floating up. THIS IS ALL DEPENDENT UPON THE THERMO FUNCTIONING PROPERLY! Good luck hope this helps!

[JZenki]

Yeah I'm using a rad funnel, coolant seeps out of the bottom of it, ill try taping it next time (I appreciate the tip btw). how long would you suggest I keep @ bleeding the system? Is this a day to day thing? If so, would it be safe for me to daily drive while I'm in the middle of this process?

[n8RPS13]

As I stated before...keep this process going until there are no bubbles floating up and your system is fully pressurized. It shouldn't take moe than 30 to 45 minutes. If this doesn't work I would start by buying a new thermo and a new water pump. I wouldn't drive my car around if it was over-heating....but thats just me.

[JZenki]

Drove to the gas station to fuel up, same thing, 75% (turned heater on, on the way home), got home jacked up the front in the drive way, heater on full blast, taped funnel to rad, did burp process 15-20 mins, overflow reached 80% point of overflow tank, cleaned up, drove hard for 5-10 mins straight, temp stuck @ 65% (w/o heater) got back to the driveway and temp rose up to 70% then I hit the kill switch.. MAJOR improvement, even if it went up to 70% when I got back home, I didn't have to use the heater.. asked previous owner if he bled the cooling system properly, Now the guy claims he didn't do a coolant flush... what the... Leads me to question, why is there air in the engine?!? I pray to God there's no other issues.. my s13 (my only other car) is out of service due to exp tags.. on my last leg with this s14 :\ I hope the issues are over with on my next attempt tomorrow morning.

[Walperstyle]

SSF = san fran? or where are you?

If I lived in the lower states, I would run without a thermostat.

[orion::S14]

A note: Don't use the factory temp gauge as ANYTHING resembling a proper temperature gauge.

It's basically a 3-position indicator.

COLD -------- Under 155F
WARMED UP -- 155-220F
HOT -------------- +220F.

So if you're thinking a small change in movement above the "normal" range means something...forget that.

If it moves above the halfway mark (or so), that is over 220F. Any other movement cannot be directly translated in "5 degrees cooler than last time", or "10 degrees hotter".

[nightsauce]

Sometimes it takes a LONG LONG time to get all the bubbles out. My suggestion is to get a bottle that has a mouth that fits into the radiator fill hole. Cut the bttom out of the bottle, also it helps if you wrap the mouth of the bottle with electrical tape so it fits snugly, then insert the mouth of the bottle into the radiator fill hole. Turn the car on and fill up the bottle halfaway with fluid. Once the thermo opens up if it is functioning correctly you will start to see bubbles come up from the bottle. As the bubbles come up it makes room for more fluid. You will see the fluid height lower as it does a dd a little more repeat these steps until there are no more bubles floating up. THIS IS ALL DEPENDENT UPON THE THERMO FUNCTIONING PROPERLY! Good luck hope this helps!

Yeah I'm using a rad funnel, coolant seeps out of the bottom of it, ill try taping it next time (I appreciate the tip btw). how long would you suggest I keep @ bleeding the system? Is this a day to day thing? If so, would it be safe for me to daily drive while I'm in the middle of this process?


my way, cheap and effective. Old radiator hose, old bottle, and radiator hose clamps. Bled it for 30 mins. Drove around. Bled it again for reassurance. No problems.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/319591_626502068220_54902144_32948278_1351646246_n .jpg

[wangan_cruiser]

does it over heat when you sit idle? does your car sounds like an airplane? lol most people overlooked the basic cooling problem. check your fan clutch is still doing its job. try to change that. they go for $39.99 from o reilly

[turbociv910]

damn thats creative.. haha. they sell bleader kits at autozone

[nightsauce]

damn thats creative.. haha. they sell bleader kits at autozone

they didnt have the bleeder kit at any place I went to around me. Weird because I had seen it before. I had a free bleeder kit tho. Cant beat free

[JZenki]

Went to the shop today, dished out $80 bucks for thermostat Inc. labor.. still the same thing, 75% got back home and tried burping alittle more.. lost all hope for a sec until I thought about feeling around, :facepalm: upper hose hot- lower hose cold DUH! Radiators clogged, any write ups on how to install radiator? Don't wanna dish out $100 for labor stupid rads go for 150+ wish I could buy godspeed+fans for 170 but this needs to be repaired by tonight atleast.

[Zenki_516]

Went to the shop today, dished out $80 bucks for thermostat Inc. labor.. still the same thing, 75% got back home and tried burping alittle more.. lost all hope for a sec until I thought about feeling around, :facepalm: upper hose hot- lower hose cold DUH! Radiators clogged, any write ups on how to install radiator? Don't wanna dish out $100 for labor stupid rads go for 150+ wish I could buy godspeed+fans for 170 but this needs to be repaired by tonight atleast.

Radiator is very simple to install... but here ya go.
How To: Replace a Bad Radiator : 240sx General Discussion (http://forums.nicoclub.com/how-to-replace-a-bad-radiator-t263723.html)

[n8RPS13]

Easiest thing to do on a 240....

[RedSiBaron]

this is an excellent thread full of great tips!!

[JZenki]

Right on 516, gotter done.. still heated up went back to the shop and ended up being the damned thermo not opening up, folks from next door (limitless motorsports) said to drill holes around the thermostat to let the coolant flow through.. stupid thermo... Still @ the shop waiting, hope this ka pulls through.. if not, thinking about grabbing another ka with 70k for $500

[JZenki]

After all the trial&error things worked out excellente! BUT now the the temp stays @ 35% lol maybe my mechanic drilled too many holes? :shrugs: anyone know the long term effects of the engine running cooler daily, than proper operating temperature?

[wangan_cruiser]

After all the trial&error things worked out excellente! BUT now the the temp stays @ 35% lol maybe my mechanic drilled too many holes? :shrugs: anyone know the long term effects of the engine running cooler daily, than proper operating temperature?

get an oem thermostat from nissan. itll solve your problem.

[SnakeKack]

When my thermostat went bad on my hatch I went through 3 of them from autozone before the last one worked....Go to nissan like the last guy said.

[wangan_cruiser]

When my thermostat went bad on my hatch I went through 3 of them from autozone before the last one worked....Go to nissan like the last guy said.

i would never cheap out when it comes to reliability for my car. specially cooling purposes. theres a reason why oem always works best.

[SnakeKack]

Yeah I'm the same way. I only went to idiot zone because I was living in Ohio for 8 months and the nearest Nissan Dealer was 2 hours away lol...

[wangan_cruiser]

Yeah I'm the same way. I only went to idiot zone because I was living in Ohio for 8 months and the nearest Nissan Dealer was 2 hours away lol...


stack em up from online store lol

[n8RPS13]

Mishimoto thermos FTW!!!