temp
03-22-2006, 11:11 PM
#1
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temp
hey... i just got the 280zx and i was just working on the engin trying to change all fluid because it was sitting for like 1 or 1 1/2 years... and then i change all fulid but the coolant and then when i start it up for like 5 mins.. the meter was almost all the way up.. it was like 4/5 full... almost to the top... and then when i change the coolant and its still like that... where should the metter be at? around the middle? or... tell me what i should do or check.. thanks
03-23-2006, 06:22 AM
#4
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about that temp how hot is the engine actually take your hand and hover it around the valve cover and the head dont touch it you will obviously burn your hand but just see if it really is that hot because it could just be a sensor that is defective
03-23-2006, 09:02 AM
#5
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Location: Escondido (San Diego) California
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OK, first of all... You double posted the same issue, no biggie. But, there are many threads about this topic and the "Search" function really does work 
.
There are a lot of things that can cause these cars to overheat. Most common are thermostat and radiator. If the car sat for a long time, I can almost gaurantee you that it needs a new radiator.
There are some things that can cause the guage to read incorrectly, but usually it will read colder than it actually is.
When you drained the old coolant, what did it look like? Was it clear, green, brown, red, chunky, muddy, soupy, slimey, milky...? Kowing that would tell us a lot more in order to help you.
Rod.
.There are a lot of things that can cause these cars to overheat. Most common are thermostat and radiator. If the car sat for a long time, I can almost gaurantee you that it needs a new radiator.
There are some things that can cause the guage to read incorrectly, but usually it will read colder than it actually is.
When you drained the old coolant, what did it look like? Was it clear, green, brown, red, chunky, muddy, soupy, slimey, milky...? Kowing that would tell us a lot more in order to help you.
Rod.
03-23-2006, 11:27 AM
#8
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Put on a thick glove and grab the lower radiator hose and then the upper and see if there is a temperature difference when it's doing it's overheating bit. 5 min. is extremely fast for a car to overheat. Especially in this colder time of the year. Was that idling for 5 min. or driving for 5 min? If it was idling then it would probably take longer than that just to reach operating temperarture. It's just strange that a car would start overheating after only being run for 5 minutes.
03-24-2006, 09:37 AM
#12
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I'll go with the thermostat but I doubt sensor only cause like rod said, they usually fail on the side of reading cold.
You can figure out what the problem is by feeling the hoses as the car warms up. Dont wait til its overheating or you're in for burn. But if the thermostat is bad then then the upper hose wont ever get hot.
You can figure out what the problem is by feeling the hoses as the car warms up. Dont wait til its overheating or you're in for burn. But if the thermostat is bad then then the upper hose wont ever get hot.
Last edited by jfairladyz; 03-24-2006 at 09:39 AM.
03-24-2006, 11:55 AM
#14
alright... let's get to the bottom of this, eh?
If the engine always stays cold, it's almost always the thermostat.
There are few reasons for overheating:
-extreme load on engine,
-not enough coolant,
-coolant not flowing,
--which means either the thermostat is blocked, something in the system is blocking the flow, or the water pump not pumping correctly.
-no air passing through the radiator,
--either radiator fins are blocked / bent, or the fan isn't pulling air properly.
or
-if the engine has overheated before & the cylinder head has been warped / cracked, it will continue from that point on, to have overheating problems.
So... start w/ the simple:
-check all coolant lines & radiator
-pull out the thermostat & check it's condition
-check all the way around the headgasket for mineral streaks, or signs of leaks.
Then report back.
oh yes... and when refilling the coolant: DO NOT USE TAP WATER! USE DISTILLED WATER.
If the engine always stays cold, it's almost always the thermostat.
There are few reasons for overheating:
-extreme load on engine,
-not enough coolant,
-coolant not flowing,
--which means either the thermostat is blocked, something in the system is blocking the flow, or the water pump not pumping correctly.
-no air passing through the radiator,
--either radiator fins are blocked / bent, or the fan isn't pulling air properly.
or
-if the engine has overheated before & the cylinder head has been warped / cracked, it will continue from that point on, to have overheating problems.
So... start w/ the simple:
-check all coolant lines & radiator
-pull out the thermostat & check it's condition
-check all the way around the headgasket for mineral streaks, or signs of leaks.
Then report back.
oh yes... and when refilling the coolant: DO NOT USE TAP WATER! USE DISTILLED WATER.
Last edited by NismoPick; 03-24-2006 at 11:58 AM.
03-24-2006, 08:26 PM
#15
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If the thermostat wasn't opening then that top hose wouldn't heat up. But if the radiator isn't cooling properly then the lower hose will get really hot cause the coolant is not sufficiently cooling. It could be your coolant. It could be your radiator. Also make sure the fan clutch is good. If the fans not spinning fast enough then not enough air will flow through the radiator to cool the coolant.
03-25-2006, 12:05 AM
#16
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how do i check the clutch fan?... and how do i know if the radiator is bad? i just change the the thermostat.. and its still doing it... the thermostat houseing has corrosion all over it too, does that matter because its on the outside? lines seem to be find..
03-25-2006, 09:22 AM
#17
Big Poppa
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Location: Mission, British Columbia
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if your driving your car at highway speed, and it doesnt overheat, then its the clutch fan, if it still does the overheat thing, its the rad. if its no insured, get a day permit and try it, a little bit of sluth work and itll be fixed
03-25-2006, 10:02 AM
#18
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sounds like the termostate is stuck to closed ? take off the 3 or 4 i think 12mm blots and buy a 195 stock 180 if u live in high altiude and 165 if u want to run cool.. but if u were like me u wouldnt run an thermostate anyways... next thing i would do is redrain out all the antifreeze and put in stright water and some raditor flush cleaner and let it run .. u can buy the stuff at autozone napa etc thats hwta i had to do to my 82 280zxt it sat for over 12 years in the guys back yard with out a gas cap ! like omg !!! lol
03-26-2006, 08:21 AM
#20
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If you're having this much trouble just figuring out a coolant issue then pulling the motor will leave you in over you head big time. There really aren't that many parts of the coolant system and most are easily accessible, go through each part one at a time until you've narrowed down the problem. Also junkyards typically have several Z's not because of motor issues but, because of rust issues so you should be able to find whatever you might need for next to nothing. It really wouldn't hurt to go ahead and pick up a spare radiator from the junkyard just to see what might happen.
03-26-2006, 10:16 AM
#21
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Location: Escondido (San Diego) California
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Man, if I had a dollar for every time this issue came up, I'd be rich. No matter what else might be going wrong with your car... From your own description, the very FIRST thing I would do would be REPLACE the RADIATOR. You can get a good 3 row Radiator for 100-125 bucks. I'm sure if you search, you'll see a couple of other threads where people had the same issue and replaced everything BUT the radiator with no positive results. The car is how old????? and it's most likely the original radiator... Dude, before you go all crazy and pull the motor and all that crap just put in a new one. Replace the upper and lower hoses while you're at it and the t-stat. You will be GOLDEN. The key to a happy motor = a well functioning cooling system!
Now go get your new radiator and fix your car.
Rod.
Now go get your new radiator and fix your car.
Rod.
Last edited by RodMoyes; 03-26-2006 at 06:28 PM.
03-26-2006, 12:23 PM
#22
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I'd recommend doing all that anyways. Cooling issues or not. I replaced my radiator, thermostat and all the coolant hoses shortly after buying my car. I'd rather be fresh in those areas then risk having a problem and being left stranded somewhere cause my car is overheating due to it 24 year old cooling system. Only thing I didn't replace was the fan clutch and that's only cause I cracked it open and just replaced the fluid. Good as new. Oh and the water pump got overlooked. Unfortunately too, cause it went out on a cross country drive. So since I've replaced that I've got an all new cooling system and my car has never over heated before or since the pump went out.
03-26-2006, 03:46 PM
#23
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hey.. yea i didnt wanna pull the moter just to fix my coolant problem... i wanted to pull it out and clean the engin, change all the hoses and the vacume lines and all that... clean the bay.. and all my lines are like rust up and about to crack... i was about to pull it out anyways so i thought it was gonna be easyer to just pull it and change it out
04-02-2006, 07:45 PM
#25
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alrite.. still the same problem.. but this time i have an update... i took off my hood.. and i went to drive... and then it doesnt over heat anymore.... so it might not be my radatior.. it might be my fan not spinning fast enough?!?!
