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Car overheating after a/c removal.

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Old 04-19-2014, 09:27 PM
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Car overheating after a/c removal.

1984 z31 turbo, removed the a/c to make room for a (future) relocation pipe for an upgraded turbo. Removed the a/c compressor, and lines as well as the coolant line from the radiator? And the little and shroud that went up to the injectors and now my car is overheating.. I did notice that when I turn my car off after even a little 5 minute drive and I her bubbling from the front end.. Could it be the radiator fan? And advice is mutch appreciated. I did look in the forums a but but found nothing pertaining to this specific problem.
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Old 04-19-2014, 09:47 PM
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Second look, again. Coolant is overflowing out the reservoir out the overflow tube and car hit the top end of the temp gage..

Last edited by Anfurnyy; 04-19-2014 at 10:31 PM.
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Old 04-19-2014, 11:28 PM
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Fan Belt

Make sure the fan belt is tight, you only want a little flex in the belt
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Old 04-19-2014, 11:51 PM
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Yeah fan belt is tight
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Old 04-20-2014, 07:50 AM
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Can't see how removal of AC would affect cooling unless you removed or disabled something else too. Check thermostat. Would be odd coincidence if water pump decided to kick out now. Maybe blockage in radiator? Kink in a hose? How long since system was flushed out and filled?

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Old 04-20-2014, 08:12 AM
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What fan belt?

I thought the turbo cars all came with twin electric cooling fans on the radiator. If the car has a standard belt driven fan, then it must be a converted NA model.
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Old 04-20-2014, 08:16 AM
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@ken99 it's got the the block fan driven by the serpentine belt or a clutch fan and then also on the very front is the condenser fan. I noticed that the condenser fan doesn't come on at all, even when the temp Guage was maxed out.
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Old 04-20-2014, 08:18 AM
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The only think that I could think of (if anyone is familiar with it) is there's a little fan right behind the driver side headlight on top of the coil pack that has a tube that goes up right under the intake plenum that I've read goes to your injectors to help cool them off?
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Old 04-20-2014, 08:23 AM
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@zxguy1986 I'll check the thermostat today. And honestly I have no clue when the system was flushed. I've had the car for about 8 months now and it's run great up until now. If all else fails, I've got a donor 86 n/a that I Might Be able to steal some parts off of. I did keep all the parts except for the hose from my condenser to my compressor because I had to cut it to get it out.
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Old 04-20-2014, 09:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Anfurnyy
@ken99 it's got the the block fan driven by the serpentine belt or a clutch fan and then also on the very front is the condenser fan. I noticed that the condenser fan doesn't come on at all, even when the temp Guage was maxed out.
I think the motor has been replaced at some point. The serpentine belt setup indicates a W-series motor from a 87+ car. The block fan indicates a NA motor. The 84 turbo only had oil lines to provide lube and cooling, no coolant lines to the water jacket. Download a copy of the FSM to look at the details and check for coolant lines to the turbo.

Regardless, I think the block fan is marginal for cooling the turbo'd motor and the condenser fan made up the difference. Disconnecting the A/C wiring also disconnected the condenser fan circuit. On a car this old, I wouldn't over look the condition of the radiator. It may be partially plugged. The easiest solution may be to ditch the block fan and install an aftermarket electric cooling fan and control relay.
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Old 04-20-2014, 09:59 AM
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@ken99 hmm interesting.. I don't know the early years of my car but I guess it's not out of the question. The question I've got now is the only wiring I had disconnected, was the ground wire for the compressor. No Other wiring was messed with other than the little "injector" fan which has got a simple plug and play type clip. I'm going back home today and going to backtrack and see if I can get something to work.
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Old 04-20-2014, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Anfurnyy
@ken99 hmm interesting.. I don't know the early years of my car but I guess it's not out of the question. The question I've got now is the only wiring I had disconnected, was the ground wire for the compressor. No Other wiring was messed with other than the little "injector" fan which has got a simple plug and play type clip. I'm going back home today and going to backtrack and see if I can get something to work.
I'd try reconnecting the ground wire. It's not uncommon for sensors to be wired on the ground side of the fan control relay circuit. I don't think the injector cooling blower is wired in the same circuit, but you can check the schematics in the FSM to make sure.
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Old 04-20-2014, 10:20 AM
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@ken99 Alrighty, will do! Thanks for staying on top of this and I'll be back later with any updates
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Old 04-22-2014, 09:53 AM
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Well, I ended up blowing an upper radiator hose.. Not just off.. But into pieces trying to get back from town. Replaced that hose but now there's another spot where there's a cracked "T" of PVC pipe right by my firewall, next to my battery? I poured coolant into the radiator cap and it starting pouring out of that Crack. Ugh.
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Old 04-22-2014, 04:07 PM
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Rigged up

PVC isn't normally used in the heater supply and return lines, how about some pictures of the mess. You should be able to get some brass fittings, hose clamps and heater hose and fix the leak.
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Old 04-22-2014, 04:12 PM
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First one is the cracked type of "T" I mentioned. Second is the blown hose and 3rd is where it was, that I had replaced.
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Old 04-22-2014, 04:17 PM
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Pictures?
Attached Thumbnails Car overheating after a/c removal.-fb_img_13981459714436344.jpg   Car overheating after a/c removal.-img_20140421_192650521.jpg   Car overheating after a/c removal.-img_20140421_223042351.jpg  
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Old 04-22-2014, 04:25 PM
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Radiator Flush

That looks like the plastic pieces they sell with radiator flush kits. From the looks of your hoses, you might want to do some preventative maintenance and replace all your hoses and belts. Do you know the service history, was the timing belt changed recently?, if you are not sure, then replace the timing belt asap.
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Old 04-22-2014, 04:52 PM
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@predatorZ yeah that's what someone told me. And timing belt was changed about 12k miles ago as well as the injectors and I've just recently replaced my fuel rail because it was leaking. All the belts are new but hoses, I have no clue when those were replaced.
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Old 04-23-2014, 12:42 PM
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I'm having the same issues with my car and I checked the hoses and no leaks and I am thinking of flushing my radiator by taking it out and just pumping water through it and getting it all but I took a video and it looks like the coolent is going though fine but when I look at the coolant bubbles are coming out does that mean that I blew a gasket? IMy car does have a leak so I was planning on just replacing them all Anyways but don't know what do do first??
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Old 04-23-2014, 02:13 PM
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P.S. my car is na and I haven't taken out ac
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Old 04-25-2014, 07:12 PM
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Well guys, all the malfunctioning coolant hoses replaced.. But still overheating. I even replaced my compressor and plugged it back in. Water pump is working because coolant flows through the hoses when the thermostat opens up. The fan shroud is replaced as well. Any prolonged drive will cause the car to overheat and boil coolant back up into my reservoir .. I'm desperate for any ideas, because cannot think of anything.
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Old 04-25-2014, 08:49 PM
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OK, this will sound like a dumb question at this point: If you go out to the car in the morning, check that the radiator is full, put the radiator cap back on tight, start the car, get out and just let it idle there until it heats up... Does it go on to overheat by itself or just get itself up to running temp and then keep idling normally with a steady temperature gauge reading on the dash?

Last edited by zxguy1986; 04-25-2014 at 08:57 PM.
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Old 04-26-2014, 09:15 AM
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I usually pull the thermostat ( not the easyest on these) to see if the coolant flows racing thru and it starts building heat . if the coolant is slow ,likely the radiator needs a "Rod out " . or your fan clutch is not funtioning, my bet maybe both. coolant is thinned to 50/50 right?
a infa red digital thermometer is a good tool to diagnose these problems.

dang cool imodicons on this site
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Old 04-26-2014, 10:55 AM
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Radiator Shop

I would get a good radiator shop involved, get your radiator cleaned out, they have a process where they run metal rods through your radiator, cleaning out scale and deposits. I'd say from the condition of the hoses, your cooling system has not been maintained properly and needs a little work. Pull the radiator out and take it to a local shop ! If even a couple passages are blocked that could severely reduce your systems cooling ability.
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