overheating and not to sure why?

[6boltpwr]

ok so my car like most DSM's is a PITA. my current setup is a punishment racing radiator with two slim fans. my turbo has a blanket on it to help reduce heat. The two fans are controlled by aem ems to turn on which they do at 170. The car has just been built so head gasket is good as should my water pump. T stat housing should be ok ### before i setup the aem to control fans like it is now. fans did come on at about 180-190 degrees. Car was on the dyno this saturday and temps limited us for the tune. went on the highway home and my temps climbed to 220 which is so ass backwards due to the amount of air flow at those speeds. got off on some back roads and then temps went to about 200-210. The only thing i can think of is that maybe the fans are inadequate or that i do not have a oil cooler on the car right now. i plan on geting a better fan but please give me some idea's as i am lost. would no oil cooler make coolant rise that much? yes the system has been bleed/burped.

 

[yokotabrat]

At speed, the fans aren't doing much any more. The biggest difference you can make is usually ducting. Do you have any of the factory still in place between the bumper and the radiator? If you don't, then air is more than likely going around the radiator instead of through it. Do you still have AC? Do the temps drop back down when you're stopped and the fans are on?

 

[6boltpwr]

I have no ducting really underneath anymore. Previous owner cracked it all up so when I was doing the build I ripped it all out. I do still have ac on the car. It's not hooked up but the condensor is still in place. I could try using the two holes either side of the intercooler and try using plastic or something to make a funnel for air. Any ideas for what i could use. More of a motor and electronics kinda guy. Thanks in advance

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Yank that condenser out of there if you don't plan on using the a/c. That should help get some fresh air through your radiator.

 

[6boltpwr]

I do plan on using the ac which is why it is still in place. Even with that out it wouldn't help that much with air flow. The condensor is very thin on our cars. Any other ideas to why my temps are so high?

 

[turboglenn]

I'm creature of comfort and cooling issues have probably been my biggest hgeadche. After putting my t3/t4 in originally, i had put in every brand of aftermarket, slim puller fan that i could fine and NOTHING would keep the car cool with the AC on (gotta have my AC) I have haltech EMS controlling my fans similar to your setup)

and I eventually had to build all new IC piping to get the stock fans back in shrouds and ll..., but then there was a time i changed some things and ended up with too much piping simply setting BEHIND the main fan and that caused me to overheat with the AC on as well... didn't know what it was untill i tried EVERYTHING in the book (TT 300z cap/ 180* stat/ water wtter etc...) then i recently rebuilt the IC pipes AGAIN (to go all aluminum) and by simply getting some crap from behind the fan so it could pull the heat off i can now agin cruise in 95* + ambient temps with the AC cranked up and not pass 213* )

And when i say i was having cooling issues i was hitting 3/4 the way up the stock gauge or 240's as logged on the haltech EMS

 

[6boltpwr]

I do have aluminum ic piping. None of the piping runs in front of the radiator or behind fans. My intercooler is very big and may be to big and blocking fresh air to the radiator. I saw 220 230 on the highway with ac off. I have not had ac on since the rebuild because it's not hooked up. Ducting seems like a good idea. I am just not familair with what to use n such. Anybody ever run with no tstat. Kid I know said he did and it helped and I could try that. I don't think that is a solution though?

hey turboglen.... have you ever tried the dual FAL shrouded fans. i heard the move a lot of air and are pretty slim?

 

[6boltpwr]

Got a friend who might have a stock radiator with stock fans. Might try that and see what it gets me. Maybe that will tell me my fans are inadequate
if the stock system is cooling better. Keep you guys posted

 

[ChillinGST]

Once you reach highway speeds your fans are doing absolutly nothing. So those can not be to blame. Your problem lies elsewhere. Are you sure the is no air in the system? Even a small amount of air can lead to issues your having. Have you pressure tested it?

 

[Guzman08]

would it be possible that your fans stay on in highway speeds and they maybe dont let as much air flow in since they are trying to push air out. i have only one fan on and i tend to get higher temps in city but i drive a lot on highway and its normally 196. . what fluids are you using for the radiator

 

[turboglenn]

I still need my fans on the highway with the AC on because of the FMIC. IF i turn them off i overheat. Simply because the FMIC and condensor are blocking too much wind from the radiator

As for running with no t-stat, i wouldn't do it.. the car will take longer to warm up but once it's hot you won't be able to cool it down very well because the coolant won't stay in the radiator long enough for the heat to be drawn out of it before it circulates back into the engine.

Have you "burped" the system of air bubbles yet? This is how I do it.. Turn the heat on full blast and run the car with the coolant cap 1/2 twisted (notice it has 2 notches on it's way to closed) i will usually drive it around the block like this and evenutally the air will work its way to the cap area and you'll just seem to be low on coolant... add some more to top it off and repeat untill there's only coolant coming out and no air pckets showing back up. (this can take 3 or 4 trips around the block for me) A good way to tell the air is out or not is by turning on the heat and seeing how long it takes to get hot... if there's no heat at idle you've got air bubbles.

between the FMIC blocking air and the condensor adding heat in front of the radiator these cars can be a PITA to keep cool when running the AC. I've ran every fan i could find as mentioned above and nothing has cooled as well as having both stock fans and using the "high" mode on each (along with the low mode on... you cna hook up one "channel" high or low and you can notice an increase in fan speed when you add the other one in...say having the fan on high and unplugging the "low" relay the fan will slow

I wold try flushing the radiator if you haven't that can make a big difference as our cars are getting old at this point and the cooling system is getting corroded from years of use and abuse..

Try running your coolant at 70/30 (heavy on the water) and add some redline "water wetter" and keeping the fans on before they're needed can help delay the car getting hot.

mine will climb up to the 240's if i'm not on top of burping it and making sure everything is perfect with the cooling system, but as soon as i turn the AC off it will cool right back to 200'ish within a mile of driving

 

[jdsoza]

Replace your radiator cap! That seems to be your culprit. Its driving ok in the city, but hot on the highway so its either going to be your radiator itself, the cap, or its clogged in the block/head and needs a flush. I learned coolant systems are the easiest thing to diagnose from a Nissan technician. it takes 15 mins maximum for this guy to diagnose a cooling system, and hes been right 99% of the time and since i learned how hes done it, i have been right about 95% of the time with my own vehicles ! Also check your heater core to see if it has a leak. Thats another possibility. And bleed that cooling system.

 

[6boltpwr]

my fans stay on all the time as long as the temp is above 175. the aem controls all of that now. they are puller fans so working against the wind coming in isnt the case. there shouldnt be any air in the system. i filled it with the front on a jack to help with creating less bubbles. i did burp it by running the heat in the car for awhile. i am already running about a 70/30 mix of water with no additives at all. there are no leaks in the system that i can spot. my radiator cap holds pressure. car is brand new motor wise and the same goes for the radiator so i highly doubt that it is clogged. the car is in maryland at my mom's right now so i dont have access to it during the week. i will try burping it next time i go up but i think i am going to try some ducting since mine was cracked all the hell.

also i have no oil cooler which could be adding some headache to this situation.

hey turbo glen what kind of fans do you have? i think our setup's of turbos and with ac in the car and EMS types we have the closest setups.

thanks for the responses. many of the things i have checked and checked which is why i am so

 

[turboglenn]

I'm back to stock fan. None of the slim or aftermarket ones i bought would keep it cool with the a/c on so i built new IC pipes to let me fit the OEM fans back in. after that i could run my AC, but depending on what was blocked or where things were determined how cool i could keep the car. NOw i just have a switch on pin 20 on the factory ECU wiring and have the switch on at all times so i can use the output from the haltech for something else

 

[6boltpwr]

gotcha, i found a friend with a stock radiator who is giving me it to test. i didnt have any problems that i could tell with my stock fans. seems i got all my issues when i bought a new radiator and had to ditch my stock fans for the crappy slim fans. of course i didnt have the temp gauge installed then but the aem was reading 195.

i think if i wanted to keep my racing radiator the FAL fans with the shroud are about my best option besides trying some ducting.

 

[bastarddsm]

gotcha, i found a friend with a stock radiator who is giving me it to test. i didnt have any problems that i could tell with my stock fans. seems i got all my issues when i bought a new radiator and had to ditch my stock fans for the crappy slim fans. of course i didnt have the temp gauge installed then but the aem was reading 195.

i think if i wanted to keep my racing radiator the FAL fans with the shroud are about my best option besides trying some ducting.

I have a punishment alum rad and fans in my 1g with a condenser in front. going down the highway the car is fine, but If I squeeze it at all the temp gauge instantly starts to climb. I'm gonna try the stock main fan on the punishment rad, and see where that gets me.

 

[6boltpwr]

hey bastarddsm.....first off your name cracks me up ### these cars are bastards.

anyway i am going up to my moms this saturday and i am putting on the whole stock rad and fans. will post up and let you guys know what becomes of it. i tried sticking the stock fans on the punishment radiator but the passenger one didnt fit with my turbo. the driver side fit in the passenger side with a lil modification. let me know how that works out for you though........

i read a lot of reviews on the punishment before i got it saying it was pretty good. not to sure now because since i put it in i have had nothing but problems.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

Subscribed because I have an extremely similar situation. I won't hijack the thread with my details, but I'll add in my own two cents when I can.

 

[6boltpwr]

turbotaloon...if you have a similar problem go ahead and post it i dont care. i have gotten a lot of responses and some good ideas. if you have a sim problem then post it and maybe we can help.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

turbotaloon...if you have a similar problem go ahead and post it i dont care. i have gotten a lot of responses and some good ideas. if you have a sim problem then post it and maybe we can help.

Thanks brother, I'll give a quick rundown....

2ga Talon with a 2gb bumper, huge FMIC, A/C still in the car (belt not hooked up though), small FP 50 trim (FP3150), new Punishment radiator with slim fans and shroud. No ducting.

Car runs great on days that aren't too hot, maybe 90 and below. If it's hot out, after driving on the highway for 30 mins or so, the temp will start to rise somewhere between 210-225. My gauge isn't horribly accurate so I'm estimating. It will either stay in that range or sometimes cool down a little.

Both fans are wired together and go on at like 165 through DSMLink. I burped the system many times, but I'm running 50/50 mix no additives.

I was planning on trying to change the mixture to like 70/30 water/coolant and add some water wetter, plus add some ducting.

 

[6boltpwr]

your setup is almost damn near identical to mine. i have everything you have except i have two different fans and a AEM EMS. all the ducting was ripped out of my car and i know this will be a huge help if we route some in. i am running a 70/30 with no additives and still see high numbers. My fans are not shrouded like yours but if you got the one from punishment racing......well they are crap. i had one fail on me the first day i had it. shit melted and warped ### it couldnt keep heat away from it. the second one the wires got so hot they desoldered themselves fromt he fan!

like i said i am putting in the stock radiator and fans hopefully this weekend and i will let you know how that goes. if this works, i dont wanna lose my new radiator so i might have to suck up the cost of the shrouded FAL fans. from what i have heard they are the only fans that out flow the stockers.

 

[kidtsi]

I do plan on using the ac which is why it is still in place. Even with that out it wouldn't help that much with air flow. The condensor is very thin on our cars. Any other ideas to why my temps are so high?

Im sure it makes a difference, i just put the condensor in my car and my temps are higher like around 210 and 220 and without the condenser was a steady 190 no more.

 

[nek]

After a trip, feel your lower radiator hose. if its cold, then you know the radiator is doing its job and there is an issue somewhere else.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

Yea, the driver's side fan (from punishment) practically touches my o2 dump, so the wires are damn near melted already. I wrapped the remains in heat reflective tape in hopes it won't get worse. I guess I really need to just get two GOOD fans with shrouds that will fit and mount them. But I'm sure ducting will help too.

 

[TuRBoTaLooN]

Just wanted to post some updated information. I drove it out the tri-state meet in PA which was about 80 miles each way for me, mostly highway. It wasn't TOO hot out, but maybe 85 with a lot of humidity. Cruising at 65-70mph the coolant was steady at 195. Stop and go traffic got it up to maybe 215-ish but it would always go back down. When I really got on it, it would warm up quite a bit too. I also noticed that a good engine brake (decel) would seem to make the temp drop fairly dramatically....weird.

I also attribute the better behavior to finally having a good working alternator in the car keeping the voltage above 14. I think I'm going to build some heat shields and get a good FAL fan to replace one of the punishment ones I have now. Plus heat shielding for all the wiring so it doesn't melt!