Silverbullet951

I was driving my car today (60 degree day) and I noticed that the fans went on full force every minute or even less. The temp would go up FAST when not driving and it would drop considerably when I started drving. Could it be the thermostat? I checked for any leaks and there are none. The coolant is practically new. Any suggestions? I'm worried here, I don't want to warp or blow anything up. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />

Aegean racer

Not claiming any level of expertise yet with the 951, but have you bled the air out?

My SR20DE powered Nissan had similar symptoms with just a little air trapped in the system. As a matter of fact, the problem repeated itself even after the first bleeding of the air.

Good luck, Peter

Silverbullet951

well it's normal to have a little air isn't it?

Aegean racer

Well, by little i mean that after opening the bleeding cap (highest point of the system) there was a definite puff of air coming out.
I don't know how little is normal but i would suspect it must be really tiny, so that it doesn't get drawn in the flow, thus preventing cavitation from the pump blades etc. Then cooling becomes really inefficient. Keep in mind also that as the engine heats up the vapor expands and the problem worsens.

Ahmet

I would bleed correctly and look for leaks, also check to see if the radiator is blocked with something. There should be very little air in the system, definately not enough to hear/watch air/stem come out of the bleeder for several seconds. Remember overheating causes warped heads, blown headgaskets and sometimes even warped blocks! Engine temp sensor will not show the true temperature of the block once the coolant level decreases enough either so I'd suggest taking care of this problem while it's still small and cute!
Ahmet

Silverbullet951

Sounds good, when i look into the overflow tank, there are a considerable amount of air bubbles in it. I did hear quite a bit of air coming out. But, this is a sudden thing. I haven't had this problem before. I'm going to check the thermostat, too just in case. Thanks guys.

Danno

"when i look into the overflow tank, there are a considerable amount of air bubbles in it."

Uh oh.. could be a blown headgasket...

Silverbullet951

how do I check for a blown headgasket? If that's the case, wouldn't i be losing coolant? I'm not losing any.

Stefan

Check your thermostat.

Silverbullet951

Stefan, that's what I figured, but now I think the whining noise that I originally thought was my turbo is my water pump. I think I'm going to have to buy a new one. I'll change everything just to be safe. Thanks for the replies. I'll let you guys know by the end of this weekend.

TCarrera

SilverB
If the headgasket is blown, once the car stops and cools down, you probably won't be able to start it again. Often the cylinder that is blown fills with coolant and when you try to start it, it is hydrolic locked. Water just won't compress like air will. A leaky gasket, starting to go might show you a little white puffy smoke coming out of the tail pipe. If you see this happening, carefully take a smell of the exhaust. If it has a sweet odor/taste to it, that is the antifreeze burning.
Hopefully it is something less drastic.
Good luck
Mike Lindsey

Tadi

[quote]Originally posted by TCarrera:
<strong> If it has a sweet odor/taste to it, that is the antifreeze burning.
Hopefully it is something less drastic.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Lets just hope hes not tasting his exhaust!

Silverbullet951

Hey, thanks Mike. I'll do that. I hope to God that's not the problem. Should there be white smoke constantly, or just when I start the car?

jimbo1111

if there is no white smoke,not losing coolant.
check the radiator. you may have a restriction.

Ski

When you check or replace your thermostat make sure you get the small seal that goes into the water pump before the thermostat goes in. I found a few gaps in mine a couple of weeks ago, replaced, and running nice and cool again.