gabrielzzz

ok, i dont know what exactly is going on, but here are the facts and what i think is going on, correct me if im wrong please, and any hints would be much appreciated.

lately i have been noticing that my cars water temp gauge is reading extremely hottttt. it got up to almost 270 dgs f. after maybe a 15 minute drive on surface streets...oil level is perfect, but the only thing is the fan clutch seems weak, i noticed the belt for the fan clutch and the alt. is freyed on one side, telling me there is a nick on one of the pulleys, and that one pully is not moving as easily as the other. i think the solution to the problem is to replace the fan clutch, but to replace the fan clutch, do i have to get a new water pump, because that would be extremely expensive and aggrevating. one other thing that tells me the fan clutch is bad is while it is running, i can put my hand on it and stop it from spinning with little pressure, is that normal, and while the engine is off, i can move it with ease as well. any thoughts or comments?

duowing

if you can stop the fan clutch, while the car is running that is a definite problem. It could be your water pump is bad. You do not have to replace the water pump to put on a new fan clutch, you don't even need to remove the water pump. Check around your alternator and everything for what might be causing the belt to be frayed. The little metal fan that goes around the alternator on my car at one point got bent and was causing the belt to shred itself apart. It could just be an old belt. But it sounds like it might just be your fan clutch. So I'd definitely say go about replacing that and be careful about overheating your car. All you need is to warp your heads and then you'll have yourself a nice little project ahead of you. It could be that the belt is just loose to the point that maybe it's skipping on the pulleys and when it catches it can cause it to fray.

jmmorriso

make sure you check the water pump shaft for end play. If the fan clutch is bad, it might take the water pump bearings with it. Did on mine anyway.

EatmyDust

well your clutch fan is not always engaged for one, so you could be able to stop it somtimes when it is runing. when it is engaged you would hear a ror. when you turn the car off if it free spins that will tell you it is bad. but you should be able to turn it with the engine off.

jfairladyz

First off all, does the car get really hot like that while it's just sitting there idling? Also, does it overheat when you're on the highway cruising along? Those two questions can narrow down your problem quite a bit. The fan clutch should be easy to spin before you start your car, but not so easily after you've driven it for a while. Take the clutch off and spin it by hand. It should turn freely. Now turn it back and forth rapidly and it should get tougher to turn. This is a sign of a good clutch. If its hard to turn when cold or doesn't build up a resistance as you turn it back and forth then its bad.

You don't neccessarily have to change the water pump, but check the shaft for play as was mentioned by jm above. If it does, the pump is not an expensive job. The pump itself can be had for $30 or less at an auto parts chain and changing it out is a easy job. Especially if you've already got the fan clutch off. It's just a few bolts to take out and then you install the new pump with a gasket and tighten the bolts. Done. If you fanclutch is already off it should only take a few minutes to do.

gabrielzzz

wow, thats a relief, all test it all out today, see what happens, i am almost positive its the fanclutch

thxone

I had a similar problem a few days ago, I would drive for a bit and the car would get up right at 270 degrees. It did it twice before I found the problem. The first time it happend I took the car right home because the warning light came in in the little "check" box With a picture of the radiator. The overflow was almost empty as well as the radiator...I filled them and it was fine. The next day I had to drive a bit further and sure enough it did it again, this time I could smell antifreeze. This time the car was making a nasty hissing noise when I got it home but I could not see a leak, (come to find out, there was no more water to leak). The problem was the upper radiator hose right at the thermostat housing. I did not see it the first time because the tear was on the bottom of the hose. It was about 10mm long and when there was no pressure in the hose you could not see it. Two new clamps and a new hose and it doesn't even get to half on the temp gauge now.

I just thought it might be prudent to mention because as well as a bad water pump or fan clutch, low coolant or a leak could make your car hot too. A thermostat not opening could do it too.

gabrielzzz

valid points, i checked the fluid, and its topped off, and at first i thoght it could be the thermostat could have been stuck because i recently changed the radiator fluid, but if it was not opening would that mean it wouldnt show the car getting hot at all? thats the only thing that made me move from that thought

thxone

From what I understand is if the thermostat does not open then the fluid cannot escape or enter the engine to cool it and what is in the engine will get hotter and hotter until something bad happens. It will only get so hot without finding a way out.

jfairladyz

the sensor in the thermostat housing are located before the thermostat for that purpose. So that they can read the temp even if the themostat was not opening. If the sensors were located after the thermostat then you would never be able to tell your car was overheating by looking at the gauge cause the sensors would never see the hot coolant.

For example, when you see those adapters for aftermarket temp sensor that mount inline with the radiator hose. If the thermostat was stuck closed then the hot coolant from the engine wouldn't reach the sensor and your gauge wouldn't tell you you were overheating. Once that coolant sees a cetain temperature it boils and converts to high pressure gas (steam). Thats when things start to blow. I had a radiator blow out when my Z overheated once cause my temp gauge wasn't working It blew the top tank of the radiator all the way along the seam.

hoov100

check your water pump, if thats good and your fan clutch is bad, just go with elelctric fans, easiest/cheapest (in the long run) fix to most over heating problems, if those are all good, then thermostat, if that doesnt solve it, then you might have a clogged radiator, for some stuff that REALLY works good, drain your radiator, refill it about half way and drop about 3 bottles of "water wetter" in it and just be sure to only use water, no collant/antifreeze.


its what we use on the race car anyway and we have no overheating problems yet.

gabrielzzz

well this weekend i went throught the cooling parts of the car, what i found was that the belt to the water pump was damaged and threads were showing, so i replaced that belt lubricated the bearings, slapped it back on, and then i started the car and it ran like ****! so i thought, throught the rage of getting that damn belt on, maybe i pulled a connector or vacumm hose, found one vacumm hose that was unplugged plugged it in and still ran like ****, then i found a wire that was pulled out of a plug so i put it back in and used some electrical tape, and now that car runs better than it ever has before. it was a wire that connected to something directly under the afm, that connected to what looked like vacumm hoses? i dont know, anyways, the car doesnt overheat on the freeway anymore now, but driving on the street it still gets hot, not as often but it gets up to 250 when it does, and when im at a stop it heats up?

NismoPick

Sounds like your radiator is clogged / not flowing correctly. I'd take it out & give it a good flush. Also... make sure the fins on the front don't have debris stuck in them, and make sure they aren't bent.

Do you have the plastic fan shroud on the rad too?

nismo619

165 * thermostate. 70/30 anti freeze.. or 50/50 ...personally i run NO thermostate and 70/30 in my 82 280zxt... never over heated in this HOT 99* + New Mexico Sun.. almost forgot i deleted the hole Air Condishaning unit in front of the radiator to give my radiator more cooling... also im getting ready to put in a front mount intercooler... so yea..

gabrielzzz

yea, i do have the shroud but its kind of warped, and not completely connected together

gabrielzzz

and also i dont know why i didnt think of checking the fins for debris or damage, thanks for the tip

EatmyDust

The shaft was a little loose on my waterpump in my z when I first boght it, you could hear it roar, I took it off and it scrached the **** out of the housing. its fine now that I have a new one.

gabrielzzz

alright! replaced the fan clutch yesterday, doesnt go past the dead center of the gauge, easy job, no problems, and checked the water pump, didnt see any leaks, and it wasnt loose at all, so i left it as is.

jfairladyz

good deal

EatmyDust

Glad to hear your movin that air man. always an important thing to do.

gabrielzzz

yeap, i also did my first weld job today, for the catalytic converter, i sawed off the flange because it restricts air flow, so i heard, and welded a 3- way converter by magnaflow, what a huge difference, drives very smooth now, and much faster acceleration.

EatmyDust

did you loose or gain top end, and about how much?

gabrielzzz

i gained top end, and by how much im not sure, but a noticable difference, let me put it this way, i can feel my skin stretch when i hit it, before i didnt notice that, g-force i guess you can call it.