Heating up in a wierd way!

[nova_saloon]

Right the thermostat is out so i know that ain tthe problem and ive replaced the sender unit so that isnt the problem!

my C20XE. Basically driving along the car sits about mid way on the water temp gauge and can go a little under if i go really slow in 5th gear, but heats up a bit quick for having no thermostat!. but i go on the motorway and sitting at say 70mph and suddenly the water temp moves up to three quarters, but as soon as i lift off the throttle and start rolling down from 70 is starts cooling down :S somethings not right, and i check the timing so it aint pinking! also there doesnt seem to be oil in the water and no water in the oil, and the water doesnt go down, and if it does its very slow! tried rad flush it changed nothing. the rad drains fast aswell. tried kicking it to, didnt work. Please help its worrying me because i want to go to castle coombe but cant if its doing this!

[jimbob-mcgrew]

are the top and bottom hoses, and the rad getting hot ? u know its cycling round if they are. and is the fan cutting in and turning off ?

i know it may sound silly, but have you got enough anti-freeze in there and not just water like, makes a big difference.
also, the lil temp gauge sender, one with the spade connector on it, while the cars running, slacken that off and un-wind it till coolant spews out, then screw it back in, its a bleed point for the system to get any air out.

[nova_saloon]

Thanks youve been a great help i will do that, but the sender unit is at the bottom of the houseing so if there is more air it will just sit above wont it? they are getting hot yes. and will replace the level of ainti freeze water!

[nova_saloon]

anyone else as that didnt really work :S! ^^

[brainsnova]

is it not just an earth related thing so the guage it going up and down as the battery gets charged from accelerating.

[AlexW]

Does the fan kick in?

[nova_saloon]

the battery doesnt charge anymore on tick over then it does at 7,000rpm maybe by the tinyiest amount but nothing to do that, and i have the fan on a switch! actually after a cooler running fan switch from a calibra turbo!

[jimbob-mcgrew]

sender at the bottom ? i swear my mates xe's has it topside.

[nova_saloon]

lol small block xe or big block? and there rad hose is above it :S

[jimbob-mcgrew]

its a 2.0 redtop xe, same as yours

[General Baxter]

my patrol did this,

never found the problem, changed the engine instead lol

[nova_saloon]

my patrol did this,

never found the problem, changed the engine instead lol

whats your patrol? did it cool down after changing the engine without any modifcations like changing the radiator or cutting the top part of the fire wall out or bonnet vents?

[let_nova]

can you not just fit a thermostat?

oh and a patrol is a nissan patrol

[nova_saloon]

i would but i took it out because it lets a bit more flow so cool downs a little better but not great, but still heats up pretty quick without thermostat!

[jimbob-mcgrew]

had a look today at his temp sender, yeh its upside down, my bad.
u tried running it for ages with the expansion lid off, to get any excess air out, sometimes pushes aload thru with a hefty rev or 3.

[Benn]

Is the water pump ok? Propeller still attached ok? Had a friends corsa doing the same kinda thing. The propeller was slipping on the shaft..

[nova_saloon]

Is the water pump ok? Propeller still attached ok? Had a friends corsa doing the same kinda thing. The propeller was slipping on the shaft..

well it was new when i fitting the engine but to be honest now thinking about it when we had that cold weather there was ive in the system and could of possibly damaged a blade, but i bet you if i pull it out it would all be fine, but is deffinatly worth a shot, might aswell buy a new water pump and timing belt and tensioners! grrr more money! anybody else possibly? :thumb:

[Benn]

Plastic blades? You want cast metal, they are the best. Just something to check really.

[nova_saloon]

naw it was a metal pump from chris astley. what you recon just pull it all apart check and put it back together? or pull it all apart and replace the timing belt and tensioners? im tempted but im off to uni and not really in the mood for spending money i may end up needing later, and i got well excited just then when i saw you were from fareham i miss read it as farnham where i will be going to uni! would be so cool with another nova mad man around! what you reconing on the engine if not that im thinking rad possibly!

[Benn]

Its something to remember, i'd put a new thermostat in tbh, its there for a reason. check what other people have said too.

The check the pump is all else fails.

[Steve]

Mabe a good rad flush, if you haven't tried that already? May not be much help but on my 2.0 8v I t-pieced the water return from the inlet (which on the cav would have gone back to the header tank) into the return that goes into the thermostat housing. Afterwards it ran really hot, over half whilst driving along. Anyway I know most people just block off the return at the inlet so was wondering if that would make it run hotter? Ive now t-pieced mine back into the header tank and it doesnt really go above 1/4 on the temp gauge. :thumb:

[Benn]

Shouldn't block it off.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

it froze up in the cold did it ?
didnt blow and core plugs at the time did it or the head gasket ?

yeh give the rad a lookover buddy, pull it out and get a hose pipe in one end, see if it floods out the other, i got a feeling your gonna see alot of rust gush out of it, if u find out its knakered and your strapped for cash, a corsa rad or similar vaux might possibly fit, could prob get one from a local scrappy for a tenner

[nova_saloon]

Its something to remember, i'd put a new thermostat in tbh, its there for a reason. check what other people have said too.

The check the pump is all else fails.

Doesnt have a thermostat in it so it would run alot cooler!


Mabe a good rad flush, if you haven't tried that already? May not be much help but on my 2.0 8v I t-pieced the water return from the inlet (which on the cav would have gone back to the header tank) into the return that goes into the thermostat housing. Afterwards it ran really hot, over half whilst driving along. Anyway I know most people just block off the return at the inlet so was wondering if that would make it run hotter? Ive now t-pieced mine back into the header tank and it doesnt really go above 1/4 on the temp gauge. :thumb:

Tried rad flush. and t-pieced the bit from the inlet to the header tank, didnt block any hoses.


it froze up in the cold did it ?
didnt blow and core plugs at the time did it or the head gasket ?

yeh give the rad a lookover buddy, pull it out and get a hose pipe in one end, see if it floods out the other, i got a feeling your gonna see alot of rust gush out of it, if u find out its knakered and your strapped for cash, a corsa rad or similar vaux might possibly fit, could prob get one from a local scrappy for a tenner

No core plugs blew and there is no water in the oil and no oil in the water, water doesnt seem to be going down at all if so maybe a little but hardly noticeable. flushed it with a hose a few times, gushes right out! apprently the astra diesel mk2 mk3 rad fits really snug and across the whole front end! cheers though :thumb:

[Steve]

Could be badly blocked, rad flush doesnt always do it, reverse flushing might work though, if you can get access to a pressure washer that would do the job.

[nova_saloon]

A pressure washer would be messy lol, and i ran a hose through it backwards, i do all the right drills, just its not making sense! lol sauch a pain, btw nice SR btw, yellow ftw!

[Benn]

Doesnt have a thermostat in it so it would run alot cooler!


Thats a huge bodge. Fit one and get it sorted.

[nova_saloon]

well i know you dont need one in the summer! but im trying to get it sorted that why ive got the thread and a request for a new radiator in the wanted section, but whats the point of sticking one in at the moment when it runs a risk of getting hotter quicker and buggering the engine. so its a pretty good bodge but few people take theres out in the summer.

[Benn]

Corse you do, the engine runs at it best when its up to temp.

[nova_saloon]

but it runs at the mid way mark without the thermostat in that the problem, goes much further if the thermostat is in! so its like running with a thermostat when its not in with the engine having heating troubles, but as soon as its on the motorway its starts getting near the three quarter way mark with the thermostat out, dont wan to imagine what its like with it in!