ka24de running hot at idle

[fo0manchu]

Any of you guys with ka24de running hot at a stand still??? Just installed my rabbit radiator. Runs a bit better than my old setup. I have my fan mounted in the engine bay now. Before it was in front. Anyways, when I'm driving everything is excellent. But at long stops, my car starts to get hotter than it should. This usually just happens on hot days. Just wondering if anybody else has this problem. I might get another fan. For now, I am cutting some holes in my hood. Don't worry, the hood is far from perfect or straight or dent free. I would say its below decent. So I'm cutting away to bring down my under hood temps.

[Skib]

If its getting hot at idle its something more than just a matter of airflow

[fo0manchu]

hmmm... only other thing i could think of is water pump... :(

[WagDatto]

Are you sure that you properly bled the coolant system? Depending on the radiator setup you have, you may have some air pockets in there...

 

ONLY perform the following if the car is NOT HOT!!

 

Take the radiator cap off, fill it to the brim and start the car. Try "massaging" the lower radiator hose, and air bubbles may come up, refill as necessary. Try opening the "bleeder screw" located just in front of the intake maifold, and make sure that you have a stream of water coming from it. Rev the motor lightly and see if that makes any bubbles appear.

 

If these don't work, try jacking the front of the car up slightly, to help get the air running into the top of the radiator.

 

If that doesn't work, let the car idle with the cap off until the thermostat opens, and try the same (rev, massage, etc) just to make sure all the air works its way out...

 

Nismo sells a lower temp thermostat you can use. It will open at a lower temperature, thus keeping water temps down.

 

I've had good success with Water Wetter, too....

 

Are you sure the car is running too hot? What temps is it reaching? The KA operating temps are from about 180-230* at the hottest. That being said, I drive with my heater turned to hot, but I don't run the fan unless it's hard traffic, I keep my e-fans turned off (automatically turn on around 200*, and I can turn them on at any time), and my temps take a while to reach from 180-200. While driving/light traffic, I'm usually between 180-200*, and when it crawls any higher, I turn on my heater fans and things drop back down.

 

Try turning your heater core to hot and see if that helps!

[datlove]

check if both hoses are hot on the radiator if not then its not pumping

replace the water pump if so

( i have the same problem but only because my fan is dead :P)

[banzai510(hainz)]

cutting away isnt going to HELP.

its like Kinda pregnant. You are or your not.

 

Its getting HOT or it isnt. Newer car can take hot weather pretty good so you have a proplem some where. or or gauge isnt adjust correctly for the new motor? sender?

or as the previous Bleed out the system.

 

try running straight water(its a no no but see if it get cooler)

 

 

L motors use a 54mm size stat. If they are the same size as a KA get one of those in a 160deg and drill a 1/8 bypass hole in there and see what happens.

Datsun dont list a 160 but a 54mm is the generic size of these(at least in the L motor)

 

 

maybe run a overflow bottle and try another cap for a overflow bottle

Edited August 3, 2009 by banzai510(hainz)

[oldschoolrice]

I have my fan mounted in the engine bay now. Before it was in front.

 

This stands out the most to me. Did you reverse the polarity on the fan? If not you have a fan that used to be sucking outside air and pushing it through your radiator. Now that its facing the other direction you're sucking hot engine air and pushing it through your radiator.

 

 

Hopefully this helps.

[fo0manchu]

Thanks for the responses.

Radiator is bled properly. I run the motor with the radiator cap off until I can see the coolant flowing and let that run for awhile. Thats how I know that the thermostat and pump are working. Although the only thing i suspect is that at idle the coolant doesn't seem to flow that well. I need to rev the motor a bit and then it flows. I've bled the radiator twice, no air. Pretty positive on that.

 

200 degrees Wagdatto?? Wowsers, thats hot! Ka's operating temp is supposed to be at 170. Thats when the tstat is supposed to open. When heater is on and I have my heater fan on it does help a bit. Thats why I suspect its an airflow issue.

 

Fan is on right, polarity was reversed.

I've been running this motor for over a year as a daily driver.

 

When the tstat opens, my temp gauge is at the first mark of "C" on the stock datsun gauge, so i figure thats my 170ish mark. Its now reaches to the second mark after the "C". I should get one of those infrared thermostats and check it out. Maybe the temp sensor is going bad.

 

What are signs of a worn out radiator cap??

[WagDatto]

I mean at idle, you will not have any issues with the car getting above 200*. While driving, the temperatures should obviously drop back down, but unless you're climbing up to the 220* mark, there should be no issues at idle.