SR running a bit hot, any advice

[doridoridori]

so recently got my car up and running, bled the coolant and everything and sitting in the car at idle it will hang around 180-185F. I have an aftermarket water temp sensor in the upper radiator hose. Finally decided to drive it home from my buddys shop and about halfway home (from the shop home about 20-25mins). I kept my eye on the temp gauge and it would slowly creep up to 190F then slowly to 200F. It was also around rush hour time so there was a bit of traffic. Eventually it started to hit 210-215F so I pulled into a parking lot and let the car sit for about 20mins or so with the E fan on to cool it down. Once it got around 170F I got back on the road and right before i got home it was close to 215-217F and as soon as i got home i turned it off and let the fan run again for a good while to cool it down. I am in TX and it does get real hot here but im debating on either upgrading my E fan to something real high CFM, also might consider running water wetter and distilled water to help with the temps. Anyone know how hot is too hot? I definitely don't want to do any damage to the engine, it does have a metal HG but im not trying to run it higher than 190F. I did check the oil and coolant and didn't see anything to worry about.

[Will.]

Have you changed your thermostat? Could be blocked.


Also have you thought about upgrading to a thicker radiator like a Koyorad

[doridoridori]

Have you changed your thermostat? Could be blocked.


Also have you thought about upgrading to a thicker radiator like a Koyorad

to be honest for the time being i removed the thermostat, i had put 2 new ones in there, tested them in a pot before to make sure they were working but the thermostats literally would not open up in the car causing it to heat up at idle so after i pulled them out it hung around 180-185F at idle once it warmed up. I don't have heater or a/c so it won't hurt to run without one. and i don't have a koyorad but might consider upgrading that or possibly upgrading the fans as well to a higher CFM

[jedi03]

get better radiator and Altima fans or comparible...I used good thermostatic fan switch with it

[feito]

your fans are blowing towards the engine, right?

[doridoridori]

your fans are blowing towards the engine, right?

that is correct yes

[doridoridori]

get better radiator and Altima fans or comparible...I used good thermostatic fan switch with it

i was hearing something about the altima fans, any particular year ?

also the temps that i was getting at, is that something to worry about or am i overthinking it? either way i don't want to be around 210 just cruising after a little while

[jedi03]

i don't think it matters..i grabbed 94 off amazon...and name of my controller is DCC...just plug and play! dccontrol.com

[doridoridori]

i don't think it matters..i grabbed 94 off amazon...and name of my controller is DCC...just plug and play! dccontrol.com

gotcha well i ended up ordering something off of summit actually should be here in a few days, also the temps i was getting at, is that something to worry about or is it not that bad?

[OutlawLui]

CLutch Fan for the WIn

[LoSt180]

Those temperatures are fine. The factory fan relay is set to come on low at 203 and high at 212. So creeping up to 215 in stop and go traffic is kinda normal. The thermostat opens around 170, but doesn't fully open until around 194. These temps are from the FSM, and I've noticed the same behavior in my G35 as well in regards to fan HI/LOW temps. Pretty sure you're over thinking the specific temps.

Where is the cluster gauge during this? I know it doesn't tell you specific temp, but it WILL move up the the H if you're actually overheating.

[doridoridori]

Those temperatures are fine. The factory fan relay is set to come on low at 203 and high at 212. So creeping up to 215 in stop and go traffic is kinda normal. The thermostat opens around 170, but doesn't fully open until around 194. These temps are from the FSM, and I've noticed the same behavior in my G35 as well in regards to fan HI/LOW temps. Pretty sure you're over thinking the specific temps.

Where is the cluster gauge during this? I know it doesn't tell you specific temp, but it WILL move up the the H if you're actually overheating.


got it, well that does give me peace of mind. I have a buddy who was saying that was way too hot and it had me overthinking on it a bit. My gauge cluster doesn't work so I just run all aftermarket gauges, the coolant temp gauge was reading those numbers at the time. I ordered a permacool fan with a higher cfm than the fan I had before so I'm going to test drive it probably sometime tomorrow and see if the temps stay in check.

[kyral]

Anything under 215 is okay. if youre running a stock radiator upgrading might help. a bigger fan wont help if your overheating while driving (that's not what its for)

how clean is your coolant? you could try pulling the radiator and flushing it backwards and forwards with water to clean it out. (should be able to do this with the block as well just not as thoroughly) I know my stock KA rad had tons of nasty shit in it
your water pump might be going as well

my SR ran at a consistent 160 with an aluminum rad and no thermostat. it would creep up only when stopped and would cool back down while driving

what your saying makes me think a coolant passage is blocked, water pump is failing or your headgasket is leaking but you should be seeing odd coolant issues if the HG was bad

[tougefactory]

We can't stress enough how well this combo works/fixes overheating issues and keep your temps low..

Koyo dual pass N-FLO radiator + OEM Clutch fan and shroud and if you want to go a little over board run Motul (MOCOOL RADIATOR ADDITIVE and DISTILLED WATER).

Every car that passes through our shop with over heating issues and higher temps, we do this set up and it works wonders..

Also, might be one of the easier steps, but tend to be overlooked is bleeding the system properly.. Letting gravity help you is the best method thus far for us. Jack up front end as high possible, hook up the no-spill funnel (fill it up, keep it filled), turn on the car and just let it run for at least 20-30min.

If you need any help or questions on parts shoot me a message! I'll be glad to assist you.

TF-WORKS
Kevin

[shanelach]

What Kevin said above. Throw away the e-fans. New oem fan clutch, oem shroud, gktech fan, nismo thermostat, distilled water and water wetter.

I played the e-fans game, as well as many of other drivers I know personally. We all now run the setup I listed or similar. All cars run much cooler, and stay cool for longer on the track.

All of this only helps with a bled system. Get a coolant bleeder bucket that attaches to the top of the radiator. Lisle makes a great one.

[tougefactory]

What Kevin said above. Throw away the e-fans. New oem fan clutch, oem shroud, gktech fan, nismo thermostat, distilled water and water wetter.

I played the e-fans game, as well as many of other drivers I know personally. We all now run the setup I listed or similar. All cars run much cooler, and stay cool for longer on the track.

All of this only helps with a bled system. Get a coolant bleeder bucket that attaches to the top of the radiator. Lisle makes a great one.

+1 for GKTECH Fan and Nismo thermostat!

[doridoridori]

Anything under 215 is okay. if youre running a stock radiator upgrading might help. a bigger fan wont help if your overheating while driving (that's not what its for)

how clean is your coolant? you could try pulling the radiator and flushing it backwards and forwards with water to clean it out. (should be able to do this with the block as well just not as thoroughly) I know my stock KA rad had tons of nasty shit in it
your water pump might be going as well

my SR ran at a consistent 160 with an aluminum rad and no thermostat. it would creep up only when stopped and would cool back down while driving

what your saying makes me think a coolant passage is blocked, water pump is failing or your headgasket is leaking but you should be seeing odd coolant issues if the HG was bad

the coolant was fairly clean, didn't notice any oil in the coolant and i checked the dipstick super clean oil so HG isn't what i suspect although when i was bleeding the coolant after putting a new thermostat in it did get real hot once and i shut it off immediately. I flushed out the coolant last night and put all distilled water with a bottle of water wetter and that seemed to help a lot. I let the car warm up last night, and the temp gauge hung around 180F forever which is a good thing. Also I didn't turn the fan on at all so the water wetter had to have made a big difference.

[doridoridori]

We can't stress enough how well this combo works/fixes overheating issues and keep your temps low..

Koyo dual pass N-FLO radiator + OEM Clutch fan and shroud and if you want to go a little over board run Motul (MOCOOL RADIATOR ADDITIVE and DISTILLED WATER).

Every car that passes through our shop with over heating issues and higher temps, we do this set up and it works wonders..

Also, might be one of the easier steps, but tend to be overlooked is bleeding the system properly.. Letting gravity help you is the best method thus far for us. Jack up front end as high possible, hook up the no-spill funnel (fill it up, keep it filled), turn on the car and just let it run for at least 20-30min.

If you need any help or questions on parts shoot me a message! I'll be glad to assist you.

TF-WORKS
Kevin

Roger that, i haven't heard of the MOCOOL but i ran water wetter with distilled water, took majority of the coolant i had out and flushed it last night. Hasn't gotten hot again yet. Im going to warm the car up again in a few and drive it around to make sure temps don't creep up again but it seems to be good now. Much appreciate the replies and help!

I did fear it was a HG issue considering it got to 240F one time when the new thermostat i had would not open up, had someone watching the gauge while i was under the hood bleeding the coolant and they didn't pay attention sadly. I did check the oil and coolant after and both were still clean, also it was shut off immediately after I realized the Tstat wasn't opening. I hope that didn't do any damage, also the HG is a metal one which should help but it hasn't gotten that hot again since.

[TheRealSy90]

You need a thermostat to allow the coolant in the radiator time to actually cool down.

[kyral]

the coolant was fairly clean, didn't notice any oil in the coolant and i checked the dipstick super clean oil so HG isn't what i suspect although when i was bleeding the coolant after putting a new thermostat in it did get real hot once and i shut it off immediately. I flushed out the coolant last night and put all distilled water with a bottle of water wetter and that seemed to help a lot. I let the car warm up last night, and the temp gauge hung around 180F forever which is a good thing. Also I didn't turn the fan on at all so the water wetter had to have made a big difference.


I do not believe the SR and KA mix oil and coolant when the HG fails
also +1 on the coolant burping i forgot about that

Are you still running cool at 180 consistently now that youre running distilled and water wetter? I cant imagine those 2 things could account for a 30-40 degree drop.

[doridoridori]

I do not believe the SR and KA mix oil and coolant when the HG fails
also +1 on the coolant burping i forgot about that

Are you still running cool at 180 consistently now that youre running distilled and water wetter? I cant imagine those 2 things could account for a 30-40 degree drop.

well basic mechanics it's not like that can't happen i don't see why the SR or KA would be excluded from those signs BUT yea it's been around there for the most part hasn't seen 200F yet. I test drove it again last night and the hose clamp on the lower radiator hose broke so i replaced it last night when i got back home, it was still on but was slightly leaking cause it wasn't tight enough. I topped it off this morning going to cruise it around today to make sure but last night it hung a hair over the 180F mark and didn't keep creeping up

[doridoridori]

You need a thermostat to allow the coolant in the radiator time to actually cool down.

I see what you mean, i guess without it once it reaches op. temp. it will gradually keep going up

[LoSt180]

You need a thermostat to allow the coolant in the radiator time to actually cool down.

It's actually opposite. By not running a thermostat, there's nothing to keep the engine running at optimum temp. This would be really noticeable on cold days when the coolant is flowing through the radiator unrestricted, the engine may actually never reach op temp. Basically the thermostat keeps the engine running at op temp, opening as needed.

[kyral]

well basic mechanics it's not like that can't happen i don't see why the SR or KA would be excluded from those signs BUT yea it's been around there for the most part hasn't seen 200F yet. I test drove it again last night and the hose clamp on the lower radiator hose broke so i replaced it last night when i got back home, it was still on but was slightly leaking cause it wasn't tight enough. I topped it off this morning going to cruise it around today to make sure but last night it hung a hair over the 180F mark and didn't keep creeping up

The oil galleys were really far away from the cooling jackets iirc.

You need a thermostat to allow the coolant in the radiator time to actually cool down.
no. without a thermostat your engines temprature will be controlled by the ambient temprature and may never reach operating temprature on the streets. and on really cold days would be stupid low temps

[doridoridori]

It's actually opposite. By not running a thermostat, there's nothing to keep the engine running at optimum temp. This would be really noticeable on cold days when the coolant is flowing through the radiator unrestricted, the engine may actually never reach op temp. Basically the thermostat keeps the engine running at op temp, opening as needed.

I see well i finally took it on the highway for the first time yesturday it eventually hits 180F but gradually creeps up to 200 then slowly climbs.

[bmxguy08]

Just tossing this out there because my buddy had this issue one time and after a few hours of checking basically what everyone has said already I was checking all the hoses and one of the hoses that he had used to bypass his heater core had a small kink in it restricting flow, it was very hard to see but once I changed the hose with one that fit better the temps were a-lot better after that.

[doridoridori]

Just tossing this out there because my buddy had this issue one time and after a few hours of checking basically what everyone has said already I was checking all the hoses and one of the hoses that he had used to bypass his heater core had a small kink in it restricting flow, it was very hard to see but once I changed the hose with one that fit better the temps were a-lot better after that.

damn didnt think about that at all, definitely worth checking i will do just that and see, makes sense though if that was kinked it won't get proper flow etc

[kyral]

the heater bypass hose that bypasses the thermostat willc ause you to overheat if its kinked but it will stop overheating when you pull the thermostat

[doridoridori]

the heater bypass hose that bypasses the thermostat willc ause you to overheat if its kinked but it will stop overheating when you pull the thermostat

I see yea i don't have any kinked hoses, im starting to suspect the worse HG issue, going to try to do a leakdown test as soon as i can cause that's really the last thing i expect it to be at this point unfortunately

[jr_ss]

I do not believe the SR and KA mix oil and coolant when the HG fails
also +1 on the coolant burping i forgot about that

Are you still running cool at 180 consistently now that youre running distilled and water wetter? I cant imagine those 2 things could account for a 30-40 degree drop.

What? When a headgasket fails, catastrophic failure, oil and water will mix. If you have a small fissure, you can leak compression into coolant without mixing. Most of the time a head gasket fails, it's always a milk shake.

[doridoridori]

What? When a headgasket fails, catastrophic failure, oil and water will mix. If you have a small fissure, you can leak compression into coolant without mixing. Most of the time a head gasket fails, it's always a milk shake.

yup no engine is above those symptoms if it gets bad enough. I'm going to assume in my situation there has to be a very small leak. I drove the car today but it was raining so i didn't even get into boost at all. Normally for it to creep up to 210F+ it takes about a 10min drive which is about how much i drove it today. Without getting into boost it didn't even get hot. When I was on my street right before I got home i got into boost one time and the gauge went from 185F to 200F just like that so there has to be a small leak in the HG. Still want to do a leakdown test to confirm that 100% though.

[jr_ss]

Hydrocarbon test will confirm a blown head gasket.

[doridoridori]

Hydrocarbon test will confirm a blown head gasket.

true, even a slight leak? either way i'll have to do that tomorrow or friday hopefully. Really don't want it to be a HG but if it is then I need to get it fixed asap

[nisileighty]

The answers to your questions have been stated.

I had the same problem when I did my very first SR. Isis aluminum radiator, Mishimoto dual 12” e-fans. Overheated exactly as you’re describing, and got even worse going up hill.

I thought it was a blown HG until I realized that e-fans are fucking retarded. Buy a OEM clutch fan and a fan shroud for <$100 and ditch the e-fans. Don’t skip out on the shroud because the fan won’t do anything without ducting.


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[jedi03]

if you get quality e fans and properly wire in a relay its fine...most people skimp on the relay and fans and think its ok...Altima fans are good...autozone/oriellys 30$ special are not...

[nisileighty]

if you get quality e fans and properly wire in a relay its fine...most people skimp on the relay and fans and think its ok...Altima fans are good...autozone/oriellys 30$ special are not...



I believe Mishimoto is quite good and reputable. Either way, nothing will beat the stock clutch fan. Keeps my SR around 70 Celsius even on hot ass days.


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[the shocker]

I believe Mishimoto is quite good and reputable. Either way, nothing will beat the stock clutch fan. Keeps my SR around 70 Celsius even on hot ass days.


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Mishimoto being quite good.... well I personally couldn't agree with that just seeing the build quality beside a mishimoto, ebay, and a koyo. The mishi and ebay were about the same, the koyo was much better.
As a plus if you get the N-flo from koyo you get a triple pass rad which is sweet. You are definitely right that if you want good cooling keep a clutch fan and oe shroud. That's what I try and tell most people. Unfortunately the clutch fan wouldn't work in my application so the taurus fan is what I use now after using the mishimoto fans and shroud...

[feito]

Either way, nothing will beat the stock clutch fan. Keeps my SR around 70 Celsius even on hot ass days.


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clutch fan is what keeps my rb cool even in the hottest days here in TX. LOve to hear that thing hum after a spirited drive! I am now planning on building a shroud for it.

[nisileighty]

clutch fan is what keeps my rb cool even in the hottest days here in TX. LOve to hear that thing hum after a spirited drive! I am now planning on building a shroud for it.



https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171021/a04c833f604b2b5b90d7bc88e01c042b.jpg

+1 for the clutch fan on RB Schassis. What shroud are you using to modify? I was planning on trying a R33 GTST one... not sure yet though

[feito]

+1 for the clutch fan on RB Schassis. What shroud are you using to modify? I was planning on trying a R33 GTST one... not sure yet though
I went to the junkyard today and actually looked around the import section for a shroud that could be modified.
I found a mecedes 500 sec that has a very slim shroud and the radiator is around the same dimensions. I might have to buy that one to experiment with. The only problem is that the actual fan blade hole is too centered, whereas the rb's sits more towards the passenger (usdm) side. I also did a search on "500 sec fan shroud" and it shows two different kind of shrouds, the one that I saw, and another one with the blade hole a little offset, so I might have to look into that.

[nisileighty]

I went to the junkyard today and actually looked around the import section for a shroud that could be modified.
I found a mecedes 500 sec that has a very slim shroud and the radiator is around the same dimensions. I might have to buy that one to experiment with. The only problem is that the actual fan blade hole is too centered, whereas the rb's sits more towards the passenger (usdm) side. I also did a search on "500 sec fan shroud" and it shows two different kind of shrouds, the one that I saw, and another one with the blade hole a little offset, so I might have to look into that.



That’s very interesting. Let me know what you end up doing! Gonna need a good ducting setup this summer for my RB.

[doridoridori]

The answers to your questions have been stated.

I had the same problem when I did my very first SR. Isis aluminum radiator, Mishimoto dual 12” e-fans. Overheated exactly as you’re describing, and got even worse going up hill.

I thought it was a blown HG until I realized that e-fans are fucking retarded. Buy a OEM clutch fan and a fan shroud for <$100 and ditch the e-fans. Don’t skip out on the shroud because the fan won’t do anything without ducting.


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turns out it is the HG slight leak but nothing crazy, soon as i get more funds i'll get arp head studs and probably a stock hg over a metal one. Looks like when the engine was imported it came with a metal HG but the stock head bolts were reused so probably stretched. Either way i'll have to knock this out soon

[nisileighty]

If you need a head gasket I have a Tomei stock spec ready to ship


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[doridoridori]

If you need a head gasket I have a Tomei stock spec ready to ship


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might take you up on that, BNIB i assume?

[nisileighty]

might take you up on that, BNIB i assume?



Yep. Planned on using it on my hatch but I went RB before I had the chance. Check my for sale thread


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[R3b]

Just tossing this out there because my buddy had this issue one time and after a few hours of checking basically what everyone has said already I was checking all the hoses and one of the hoses that he had used to bypass his heater core had a small kink in it restricting flow, it was very hard to see but once I changed the hose with one that fit better the temps were a-lot better after that.

Didnt think of this, though I have a KA im seeing similar temps as OP in Florida. My buddies say they run 176f basically all day on there cars no problem but they have ebay aluminum and altima fans while I got Mishimoto fan shround and koyo. Got stock Tstat as well.

Ive got a circuit sports fan controller and im seeing temps for a short drive 15-20 to work I get to around 84c(183) regularlly on my drive to work in the morning. Then when I go to school about 10 miles away taking mostly I highway I hit 90-94c(194-201f) always and if Im driving a lot it will creep up to 95-97.

Also noticed if I drive and let it cool down then go to start it sorta like when I go out to our meets, hang out for a few hours and start the car but dont turn on the fan once it hits OP temp at 70-74c I will wait a bit and my temp gauge on the cluster is reading fairly hot and my gauge looks to be lagging behind. I did notice im not getting a reading on one of my probes for my fan controller. So could be my temp for oil is 194-201f which is normal for oil being 10-20 degrees warm than coolant or maybe my oil temp gauge got damage when I replaced the filter recently... The wires are so brittle.

First I'll see which sensor im reading, switch to water wetter and distilled instead of 50/50 mix and get one of those coolant funnels since i've herd good things about those.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91-6i-rcTJL._SL1500_.jpg

[doridoridori]

Yep. Planned on using it on my hatch but I went RB before I had the chance. Check my for sale thread


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roger that, i commented on it so i can view it later on. Should be starting a new job here pretty soon so if you have it in a few weeks won't mind buying it once i get the money.

[nisileighty]

roger that, i commented on it so i can view it later on. Should be starting a new job here pretty soon so if you have it in a few weeks won't mind buying it once i get the money.



Sounds good. My number is on the ad contact me whenever you’re ready to purchase


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[doridoridori]

Sounds good. My number is on the ad contact me whenever you’re ready to purchase


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perfect will do