Thread: Mild Overheating

Hey Guys,

Yesterday I started to notice my temp gauge(OEM) starting to climb higher as I drive down the freeway. I've been able to control it by using the heater in the cab and it brings it back down to about normal. When the temp is higher the fans don't seem to be kicking in, so I'm thinking its the temp sensor(not the gauge sender). The fans do kick on when I turn on the AC. I haven't testing driving with the ac to see how this affects things.

I've checked for fluid leaks and both radiator hoses seem fine but I've also noticed my coolant level is still at max when the car is fully warm and on the higher side. Is this sign of the water pump going?

One final thing to note, the rad cap is not hot to the touch when the car is in this higher temp area.

Thoughts here? I'm thinking temp gauge, maybe rad cap and hoping its not the pump.

Thank you for your feedback.

-Sean

I always start by checking the fans ...which you say they both work,so thats done,
Next,I would just replace the cap if it is old....since they are so cheap.
I am assuming that your coolant is ok and not looking like Yoohoo,or else I would go ahead and drain/ flush it during this process.

After that,then I would start to look elsewhere.
Usually if the water pump goes,it will leak or squeal.It seems like thats how they fail....it cant just stop spinning,due to the design.

Sadly,alot of people dont go through the whole cooling system when they start to overheat and they cut corners.
I ,personally go through the whole system on any cars that have issues with cooling,just for peace of mind.

you forgot about the thermostat... which is the first thing i replace, not the cap.

he says the cap is cool to the touch, that tells me thermostat. the heater helps keep the car cool, again that tells me the thermostat.

rubber, im betting thats your problem.

Thermostats are nothing to mess with, I would replace that first. I lost an engine to a stuck thermostat, its not fun, melted the knock sensor and spark plug wires

Thanks guys. It's gotta be the t-stat like you said. It didnt even occur to me that the hoses are also cool to the touch with no pressure. T-stat is stuck close. Thank you!

yeah,your right,I didnt specifically post the t-stat.I did say that I always go through the whole cooling system....that includes the thermostat...but I would still get a cap first and check the fans first.
Then on to the thermostat ...
please post your findings when you fix this.

heres the thing bro, your fans rarely come on while driving, atleast in my exp. the air rushing through the radiator does a way better job then the fans. an he said its while on the hwy..

another thing is he said the coolant level is ok, if the cap was bad it would be leaking an stuff so he would be missing coolant, again this is not the case.

him having to turn the heater on is a dead give away in my opinion that the t-stat is bad, plus he just said the rad hoses arent pressurized an are not hot to the touch, Yet Another sign..

im not sayin your wrong an yes its always a good idea to check things, but when your diagnosing a problem that is so obvious then theres no need to beat around the bush lol.

I replaced the thermostat and all seems to be back to normal. My plan is to still work on replacing the cap and temp sensor just to get things up to date.

Thanks guys!

when you get a cap make sure it's one of the sealed ones....i got one from the local parts store and didn't realise it wasn't sealed till i got home.......it leaked out of the rivet that holds the spring on........and i thought i scored on a 16 pound cap for $6....thats more pounds than a nismo cap BTW

Now just to confirm, the Nismo cap should just be used for turbo set-ups right?