Cooling system WILL NOT BLEED w/new tstat

[nxpoweredsr20]

Hey guys and thx ahead for any help. 95 240sx s13 blacktop sr20 engine. Engine runs fine all day with no thermostat but i know thats not a long term option. Brand new isis rad, oem thermostat, new oe waterpump, heater core is looped. I have the matco coolant "burping tool" designed to make the rad fill the highest point in the system. I jack it up and run it forever but the lower line will not heat up! ive tried everything. Like i said at the beginning it runs fine with no thermostat so i have no idea why it wont bleed out. OEM nissan sr thermostat. i also boiled it to verify it opens....any help is welcomed!!!!!

[MisawaJason]

are you just letting it idle while you are burping it, or do you rev it up?

[nxpoweredsr20]

I let it idle for about 15 minutes and when it started to get over half on the temp gauge i started tinkering with the idle reving it and idling both.

[Edwin562]

on the thermostat where is the weeping/bleed hole located?? it should be in the 12 o clock position

[nxpoweredsr20]

its at 12 exactly. is there any explination as to why it could run fine with no thermo but overheat no matter what thermostat i install?! if fresh out of ideas

[Edwin562]

if it really bugs u, just run it without a thermostat.. i know i might get flamed for it, but it was suits u... im running nismo thermo on my dual cam and it runs fine with no problem...

[nxpoweredsr20]

i would run no thermostat but bc the ecu makes changes based on temperature. It idles a little high with no thermostat but its drivable, which is better than sitting in the garage all the damn time

[Edwin562]

true... but its up to you buddy...

[MisawaJason]

i would run no thermostat but bc the ecu makes changes based on temperature. It idles a little high with no thermostat but its drivable, which is better than sitting in the garage all the damn time
exactly. You dont want to run a daily driver without a thermostat

[Nick_04K]

if it really bugs u, just run it without a thermostat.

Haha! Yes, overheating would really bug most people!
Fuel mileage sucks with no thermo...so thats not a good daily option.

OP,I have had this problem with thermostats several times after working on my car and changing coolant. It's just air in the system.

Jack up the front of your car.. place a funnel in the coolant neck and fill it so the water level is high above the rest of the coolant system... squeeze every location on the upper and lower rad hose to remove air bubbles, and add water as necessary to keep the level up high. I typically spend 20 minutes doing this over and over until no air comes out. Then do the idling/revving burp trick with the funnel still in.
This should get all the air out and the thermostat should work fine.
If you cant get it done that way, i guess its time for a swirl tank.

[upsdude]

i was in the same situation as you were...new thermo, waterpump and new isis radiator. it took forever for the thermostat to open up-took us around half an hour before the thermo opened. if anything drive the car around and check the fluid after a few minutes-it just takes forever to bleed out the air and get the thermo hot enough to open.

[PoorMans180SX]

I just did this. It's a pain in the butt.

You basically have to let the car heat up and idle for at least 30 minutes. The thermo will open a couple times and release air each time. You can jack the front up a couple times to help.

BTW, I used one of these:
Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM222409575P?sid=IDx20101019x00001a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM2011899701)

[fliprayzin240sx]

Umm...is it really overheating or you think its overheating because the stock gauge say so? Since its an S14 chassis with an S13 engine in it, did you change the water temp sensor for an S14 one?

[wangan_cruiser]

^^ this one too

lower rad hose shouldnt be warm anyway. thats the cooler coolant from the radiator that goes to the engine.

[xxCro55f1r3xx]

yea try changing your temp sensor.....
Nissan OEM ECU Temperature Sensor RB25 RB26 SR20 KA24DE (Round Type) (http://www.frsport.com/Nissan-OEM-ECU-Temperature-Sensor-RB25-RB26-SR20-KA24DE--Round-Type-_p_12663.html)

[buri_chan]

I know this is common little stuff but also when you doing it try massaging the hoses too adding a little extra pressure might help.. You have the radiator cap on your cooling tank and not your radiator too right? Some people make that mistake

[Jorgs_7]

Reviving a dead thread from 6 years ago.

I find all these threads but never find conclusions.

Im in the exact same boat as the OP:

Lower hose is 70* F. Upper hose is blazing hot. Temp gauge is high, in the about 3/4 the way up

-Bled through the bolt on upper coolant neck.
-Heat on full blast
-Front high in the air
-Burping through radiator with special funnel adapter
-Massaging hoses to relieve bubbles
-Block was flushed
-New mishimoto radiator was flushed
-Thermostat verified working, new OEM Nissan, jiggle valve @ 12 oclock position
-50/50 blend
-Clutch fan and shroud


Bled for 30 minutes, 3 separate sessions, including revs/jabs, etc.

Still fighting a cold lower hose, abnormal temps and heat is blazing hot.

Any help here fellas?

[KiDyNomiTe]

Are you jacking the car up when you are bleeding it?

[brndck]

Are you jacking the car up when you are bleeding it?

+1. you need to jack the front of the car up literally as high as you can get it. no matter how long you thing is a reasonable time to bleed a KA, it takes LONGER than that.

[di-devol]

Reviving a dead thread from 6 years ago.

I find all these threads but never find conclusions.

Im in the exact same boat as the OP:

Lower hose is 70* F. Upper hose is blazing hot. Temp gauge is high, in the about 3/4 the way up

-Bled through the bolt on upper coolant neck.
-Heat on full blast
-Front high in the air
-Burping through radiator with special funnel adapter
-Massaging hoses to relieve bubbles
-Block was flushed
-New mishimoto radiator was flushed
-Thermostat verified working, new OEM Nissan, jiggle valve @ 12 oclock position
-50/50 blend
-Clutch fan and shroud


Bled for 30 minutes, 3 separate sessions, including revs/jabs, etc.

Still fighting a cold lower hose, abnormal temps and heat is blazing hot.

Any help here fellas?

Are you jacking the car up when you are bleeding it?

+1. you need to jack the front of the car up literally as high as you can get it. no matter how long you thing is a reasonable time to bleed a KA, it takes LONGER than that.

he mentioned that he had the front end raised

[KiDyNomiTe]

I should read....


Is the thermostat put in facing the right direction? You could just try running no thermostat. Or remove the jiggle valve too.

[1on1]

If your temps are good at idling (not overheating) and the lower hose is still cold, drive your car around the block or so and then feel the lower hose; it should be warm.

This happened to me when I updated my cooling system. I had my car idle for about 30-mins and the bottom hose was cold. I drove it for a mile or so and the bottom hose was warm.

[RB25GUY]

Do yourself a favor, if all else fails, just go to a nissan or infiniti dealer to get it pressure bled via voodoo dealership magic! Shouldnt be too much and will save you a few headaches!

[Jorgs_7]

Little update here:

Bled again, and again for over 40 minutes. Decided to put a piece of cardboard in front of radiator,

Lower hose became hot as the top, and whole radiator was evenly hot.

Put in a digital temp probe into my burp funnel after 40 mins of idling/revving, holding 2k RPM even - it was barely 160* F

So I'm concluding:

-With a stock clutch fan
-SR not under boost
-3 row aluminum radiator

This will never get the engine up to OEM thermostat temp just idling - interesting.

I have an S13 SR in my S14, and was trusting the S14 dash reading (because it always was in the middle, and raised when I beat on it, so it seemed like it was making sense).
Turns out I was wrong,

I checked my AEM (S13 AEMv2 w/S13 SR20 in my S14) and temps were never reaching over 160*F, which is validated by my digital temp probe in the funnel.

Hope others find my situations and updates useful, rather than reading unconcluded shit like 90% every other thread.

[jr_ss]

Little update here:

Bled again, and again for over 40 minutes. Decided to put a piece of cardboard in front of radiator,

Lower hose became hot as the top, and whole radiator was evenly hot.

Put in a digital temp probe into my burp funnel after 40 mins of idling/revving, holding 2k RPM even - it was barely 160* F

So I'm concluding:

-With a stock clutch fan
-SR not under boost
-3 row aluminum radiator

This will never get the engine up to OEM thermostat temp just idling - interesting.

I have an S13 SR in my S14, and was trusting the S14 dash reading (because it always was in the middle, and raised when I beat on it, so it seemed like it was making sense).
Turns out I was wrong,

I checked my AEM (S13 AEMv2 w/S13 SR20 in my S14) and temps were never reaching over 160*F, which is validated by my digital temp probe in the funnel.

Hope others find my situations and updates useful, rather than reading unconcluded shit like 90% every other thread.

Do you have the correct temp sensor for your dash? The S13 sensor reads high in an S14.

[FaLKoN240]

Literally went through this last weekend.

Air was trapped behind the t stat after a heater core install.

Basically had to get the car to running temp, turn it off, squeeze the hell out of the lower hose as much as possible.

Then take it on a hard drive, a few freeway pulls with the release screw open (if possible)

Repeat a few times.


Then repeat the bleeding process. Car eventually burped out the bubble, then I filled the coolant again.

[Kingtal0n]

holy [email protected]#* I've never NEVER had a problem with an sr20 and air/bleeding. I don't know what people are doing....

1. Open air bleed valve
2. fill radiator until bleed valve spits water
3. close bleed valve (gently, the bolt can snap)
4. finish filling radiator

AND THATS IT! I dont jack up the car, or run the heater, or rev the engine, none of that nonsense. If it has the heater closing valve then you need to push it open but I've never had one of those that actually worked so...

[feito]

^lol, yeah, not sure why people make such a big deal when bleeding some systems...

[Agamemnon]

I've had an S-chassis for over 15 years and always hated burping the coolant. I finally got an Airlift bleeder tool.
https://www.matcotools.com/productassets/web-400x400/AC550000_ProductImage_PrimaryImage_400.jpg
Coolant system is now tested for leaks and filled with zero air in less than 5 minutes.

[Kingtal0n]

I've had an S-chassis for over 15 years and always hated burping the coolant. I finally got an Airlift bleeder tool.
https://www.matcotools.com/productassets/web-400x400/AC550000_ProductImage_PrimaryImage_400.jpg
Coolant system is now tested for leaks and filled with zero air in less than 5 minutes.

just messin with ya, but keep in mind there is always dissolved gasses in the liquid. same with blood, tap water, etc...

:D

[Agamemnon]

https://68.media.tumblr.com/f96b7eee9639a7c028d11b7af688de4b/tumblr_nag3x6dVTH1s2wio8o1_500.gif