Almost overheating problem? Temp goes up and down.. Please help! - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

wiggafly808 · 10-06-2009, 03:43 AM

Hi everyone,
i have a 1990 rb20det coupe which recently started giving me some issues.
I was driving it around fine for about 3 months, drove it from OR to WA then let it sit for 3 months (went home for summer) then started driving it again up in WA(worked fine).

Upgraded my SMIC to a small FMIC.

On the drive back down from WA to OR, after about an hour of driving, i noticed my temp going up.. I pull over at mcdonalds, let it cool a little, and check my coolant level (fine).
I resume driving again, but in the side lane in case i have to pull over, but the temp never gets close to the first H dot, so i just baby it along (roll down my windows, heater on full blast, no boost).
This is the dot im talking about because i know the clusters are different

The temp started to go back down to normal, then after about 30 minutes, went back up near hot. This continued (with the temp getting pretty close to the first H dot at some points) for the rest of the 4 hour drive, but never actually hit the first H dot, so i never pulled over.

The car seems to drive fine now, temp doesnt go up on my drives (although they are only short ones (<20 min).

However, i have an 8 hour round trip to make this weekend.

I did put in an extra puller electric fan (previously only had a pusher fan) which i think should take care of it temporarily, but i am wondering if it could be my thermostat or something else going.
I dont think it is leaking coolant, and i suspected that because i changed from a SMIC to a FMIC, that may have blocked a lot of the cooling for the radiator.

I will eventually upgrade to a better radiator and probably dual fans, but any suggestions to what else it could be?
Thermostat, water pump? etc..

Thanks in advance for the help,
Zac

NINJASPY · 10-06-2009, 05:40 AM

1 electric fan? and stock radiator? and fmic blocking the radiator? and turbo to heat up the engine bay? let me guess you are running open filter in the engine bay and no heat shields also.

you need more cooling, you are making more heat and moving less air than the radiator can cool. buy/change- fans, fan shroud, bigger radiator, hood spacer etc,/bumper vents/ducts/scoops, heat shields, and better gauges. stock gauges are known to be inaccurate.

wiggafly808 · 10-06-2009, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NINJASPY

1 electric fan? and stock radiator? and fmic blocking the radiator? and turbo to heat up the engine bay? let me guess you are running open filter in the engine bay and no heat shields also.

you need more cooling, you are making more heat and moving less air than the radiator can cool. buy/change- fans, fan shroud, bigger radiator, hood spacer etc,/bumper vents/ducts/scoops, heat shields, and better gauges. stock gauges are known to be inaccurate.

I do have a vertex bumper and hood spacers.. Guess its time to shell out some money for a radiator/fans.

Thanks for the input

10-06-2009, 03:43 AM	#1
wiggafly808 Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 346 Trader Rating: (11) Feedback Score: 11 reviews	Almost overheating problem? Temp goes up and down.. Please help! Hi everyone, i have a 1990 rb20det coupe which recently started giving me some issues. I was driving it around fine for about 3 months, drove it from OR to WA then let it sit for 3 months (went home for summer) then started driving it again up in WA(worked fine). Upgraded my SMIC to a small FMIC. On the drive back down from WA to OR, after about an hour of driving, i noticed my temp going up.. I pull over at mcdonalds, let it cool a little, and check my coolant level (fine). I resume driving again, but in the side lane in case i have to pull over, but the temp never gets close to the first H dot, so i just baby it along (roll down my windows, heater on full blast, no boost). This is the dot im talking about because i know the clusters are different The temp started to go back down to normal, then after about 30 minutes, went back up near hot. This continued (with the temp getting pretty close to the first H dot at some points) for the rest of the 4 hour drive, but never actually hit the first H dot, so i never pulled over. The car seems to drive fine now, temp doesnt go up on my drives (although they are only short ones (<20 min). However, i have an 8 hour round trip to make this weekend. I did put in an extra puller electric fan (previously only had a pusher fan) which i think should take care of it temporarily, but i am wondering if it could be my thermostat or something else going. I dont think it is leaking coolant, and i suspected that because i changed from a SMIC to a FMIC, that may have blocked a lot of the cooling for the radiator. I will eventually upgrade to a better radiator and probably dual fans, but any suggestions to what else it could be? Thermostat, water pump? etc.. Thanks in advance for the help, Zac

10-06-2009, 05:40 AM	#2
NINJASPY Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: So-cal Los Angeles 626 Age: 43 Posts: 1,009 Trader Rating: (13) Feedback Score: 13 reviews	1 electric fan? and stock radiator? and fmic blocking the radiator? and turbo to heat up the engine bay? let me guess you are running open filter in the engine bay and no heat shields also. you need more cooling, you are making more heat and moving less air than the radiator can cool. buy/change- fans, fan shroud, bigger radiator, hood spacer etc,/bumper vents/ducts/scoops, heat shields, and better gauges. stock gauges are known to be inaccurate.