Hey guys. Thisis not a zed its for my 94 Nissan Bluebird (but theres no area for non z related techincal. Given all the mechanical minds around here i thought id ask you guys. So basically.. I have a cooling system problem in it and i wanna exhaust some options myself over the weekend. I plan on taking out the thermostat (its new but may be faulty?) and i will test that myself (i hear they usually open in 60 degrees + so ill boil up some water and test it in maybe 80 degree water and see if anything happens. My knowledge on this stuff is weak at best so any further tips would be great I also was told by a mate that you can kinda test the radiator/flush it simply by draining it and just doing a pressure flush with any hose etc available.. sure its not gonna do the job properly but it may help. So yeah, i was gonan try these two options (removing/testing thermostat) and possiblyremoving but def. pressure testing the radiator. If im unsure about the thermostat i hear you cna drive around without one (which just means the water will always flow through the engine and wont be regulated like normal) but i hear its still okay. And ifthe overheating stops then i may have pin pointed the problem. I also got told that you can spray degreaser in the radiator and swish it around or something to loosen any blocks (is that gonna cause any damage?) But i guess radiator flush stuff would be better. Any ideas or additional info anyone can help me with?
Don't know about your other questions, but you can definitely drive around without a thermostat. All that will change is that it will take longer for your car to come to it's operating temperature (usually somewhere near midway on your temperature gauge). Cheers, -Kirill
Good news. Yeah thats what i thought. I'll probably end uptrying to drive around without it for the weekend n check it out. Thanks for the help.
you don't need a thermostat in there, it will take much longer to reach operating temps, and possibly not at all in winter. But you can do it. Secondly, run some radiator flush through the system first before dropping the coolant, this should loosen any particulate matter clinging to the system. I don't recomend this on old systems as it "can" block some of the smaller galleries, but on the flip side it can work really well. Choice is yours. Hosing out the radiator won't do as good a job as getting id rodded by the radiator shop. Choice is yours.
Would it help to run boiling hot water through the radiator to loosen blockage? Such as grime and whatnot? Cheers, -Kirill
remove the radiator and take it down to your local rad place. get them to do a full flush + rod. should come out like new...probz cost about $90 take thermostat out and test as you suggested, just put it in boiling water and test. if youve gone the depth in taking out the thermostate you should do an english flush. push water thru the block and flush out all the coolant in it. youd have to get an adaptor which has two going into one. one input will be water, other input will be air from the compressor. output will be pressured water ...flush the block...auto shops should have this otherwise your rad place can do it...ud have to take car there though dont use any rad flush products.
Hmm all sounds like i should just take it to a shop. The car doesnt always overheat... only now n then after about 20 mins. Should i take it to a proper radiatorshop or just to a mechanics? or will mechanics be more xpensive? Is the engine flush a must? Cos i obviously dont have any machinesfor an engine flush.
Radiator shop definitely. Most mechanics probably will just send it to their nearest shop instead and charge you for doing so. And flushing the engine, you mean coolant lines I assume. Just buy some muk-out and follow the directions on the bottle.
Yeah ill take it to a raditor shop. But like..is the engine flush neccesary if i take out the radiator? cuase like i wanna see what i can do over the weekend to try and find/fix the problem. If the engine flush IS necessary can it be home by a nub?
engine flush is not necessary. purpose of it is to flush out all the coolant in the block. if its dirty, and you just flush out the rad and then re-install then the water will be dirty again lol....but if the water is pretty clean then thats fine. dont need to do it....
