Thread: Can't get motor above 160

This summer I flushed my block and yanked out the a/c system along with the condenser.When I filled the radiator up I used 3/4 a gallon of antifreeze one bottle of Water Wetter and toped off with distilled water.
During the summer driving along at a 65 to 70mph pace the car would stay at 175 to 180 degrees.Well now that winter has come along the car stays at 160 mabey 165 tops.
I know these motors like to run a little warm but is 160 degrees to low.Also what could I do to get it a little warmer for the winter months if needed?

stuck thermostat manybe. What radiator cap and radiator are you using? Stock? Also, it will run cold as all the cold air is hitting the radiator directly with no condensor in.

Brent

You can always run it with the AC on..lol

Or you can block of the radiator a bit

Stock SE-R radiator,stock radiator cap had a 300zx one on but changed it back to the stock one.

"You can always run it with the AC on..lol"
No A/C stuff from the firewall forward.

reading > me

stuck t-stat...or maybe what are you using to read the temps? Maybe inaccurate gauge. how is the heat? is it blazing hot or just luke warm? hows the rad lines feel? hot/cold what?

id bet a stuck t-stat if its luke warm. do you have a garage you can run the car in and pipe the exhaust outside, someplace a little warmer than outside, see if it does warm the car up drasticly. but hell a tstat is only like 10 bucks, but in cold weather a royal pain in the hands to change

My sisters Maxima is having a hard time warming up, and doesn't blow hot air. I'm replacing her thermostat this week.

get a high temp thermostat you probably have a 170 or 180

i stuck cardboard infront of my radiator to get some heat
it's not gonna overheat cause if it even got warm the fans would kick on

How're the fans going to pull air through if you've got cardboard in front of it I would cover like half or something or keep a good eye on the gauge. I was unaware SR20's were supposed to run above 160, mine has been running about 160 for months (and I just replaced the tstat then too).

The heater works great and so does the defrost.Before I flushed the motor out it was running around 195 to 212 degrees all temp readings are taken from the top coolant hose using a SPA Design gauge.