95 KA Overheats

[jslamm01]

Have a 95 stock KA I have recently done a new front cover,new timing chains, new sprockets,new thermostat,new water pump and resealed the engine. I have a CX Racing double row aluminum rad with Off Brand Dual E-Fans with shroud. Car ran fine for awhile then it started to over heat. I felt the upper and lower hoses when it started to over heat and found the upper hose to be hose and lower hose to be cold so I removed the thermostat and ordered a new one from autozone. Car ran fine without thermostat for the days it wasn't in there. Put new autozone thermostat in there and before i could get out the driveway it was almost hitting the H on the gauge checked hoses again same thing hot on top cold on bottom, so I removed the thermostat again and drove for a week then winter came so I wanted heat and ordered a Nissan Thermostat from the dealership. Put nissan one in ran good for maybe 20 mins of driving on the hwy around 70-75 then it started to over heat again. Got home felt hoses hot on top cold on bottom again. So I let car sit for maybe a week and now it gets hot within 20 mins of idle. Did pressure test no leaks, Coolant is clean and oil is clean. Also I have a coolant bleeding funnel that I used to fill Rad each time. I cant seem to figure out the issue Im thinking since its a KA maybe rust is lodged somewhere from me driving in. PS the car sat for 3 years before I got it and gave it some love, have 267K miles.

Also ordered Coolant Temp Sensor today since one in car is the original one.

[anthony_240]

Remove the bleeder screw once car is cool


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[jslamm01]

Remove the bleeder screw once car is cool


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The one above the top coolant hose inlet ? and after i remove it then what?

[anthony_240]

There is a screw located where that top hose goes into the intake manifold, when you remove it you will be releasing the trapped air in the system, you wanna do this when the car is leveled.
It may take a few times but just remove the screw, then open up your radiator and fill with fluid until you can see coolant coming out from that screw hole, once you see that, seal it back up, start the car and run it with heater fully hot at full blast. It will take a while for it to warm up but once it does make sure it doesn’t over heat. If it starts to overheat stop the engine, let it cool down and repeat the bleeding process


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[jslamm01]

There is a screw located where that top hose goes into the intake manifold, when you remove it you will be releasing the trapped air in the system, you wanna do this when the car is leveled.
It may take a few times but just remove the screw, then open up your radiator and fill with fluid until you can see coolant coming out from that screw hole, once you see that, seal it back up, start the car and run it with heater fully hot at full blast. It will take a while for it to warm up but once it does make sure it doesn’t over heat. If it starts to overheat stop the engine, let it cool down and repeat the bleeding process


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Any other Ideas? Im a mechanic at toyota and our V6s bleed the same way,Ive drained and fill the system maybe 7 times now or many reasons while working on the car and ive done that process everytime now.

[anthony_240]

Well what’s the condition of the water pump?

Any blockage in the cooling system?

Leak down test on your cylinder to verify you don’t have a bad head gasket? Or Warped head?

When you turned the heater on did you open up the bypass valve it has ?

Or another idea would be to take it to another mechanic


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[jslamm01]

Well what’s the condition of the water pump?

Any blockage in the cooling system?

Leak down test on your cylinder to verify you don’t have a bad head gasket? Or Warped head?

When you turned the heater on did you open up the bypass valve it has ?

Or another idea would be to take it to another mechanic


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Water Pump Brand New

From what I can see no blockage

Leak Down Test Good

No on the valve but when heater was on air blew hot and temp was normal and good and no bubble in the funnel.

and Asked tech at nissan and he said thermostat or temp sensor is bad other than that he was stumped

[anthony_240]

Good luck with the sensor then. Seems like you’ve covered all the angles


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[jslamm01]

Good luck with the sensor then. Seems like you’ve covered all the angles


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Figured I asked people that actually own one to see what inputs I could get. Thanks for the help.

[Jrguzman]

Also check the tension of the belt on the water pump, I had a strange overheating problem that was due to the belt not being tight enough

[zer0c123]

THe KA is a complete PITA to bleed. I've been in situations where I think that I have bled all the air out and yet still overheats. This is even when using funnel from Lisle. I think you just have air still trapped in the system.

When you are using the funnel, run the engine for as long as possible. Seriously, it takes a long time with the KA to bleed. Don't bother with the bleeder screw. That thing is more trouble than it's worth. Makes a mess and the head could snap off... been there before.

There's a alot of info on the forums on what to do, but the best trick I've used is the Aspirin one. If you feel like taking out the thermostat again, do it and jam 2 asiprin tablets into the assembly so that it temporarily stays open. This will allow you to bleed faster and not have to wait for the engine to heat for the thermostat to open.

If it overheats again, pull over and shutoff the engine. It's best if you can do this on a steep hill. You should hear bubbling noise from the engine and it will likely burp the air bubble out.