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Temp Issues


Kittamaru
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Well, I think it's time I winterize my truck this year... I was waiting for the cold to come to show me a few things I thought may have been amiss, and it seems I'm right:

 

1) My temp gauge NEVER goes more than a few mm off of C, even after running around for an hour. However, there are no warning lights, my heater works fine, and there is definitely coolant circulation to some degree as all the hoses heat up. How hard is it to replace a T-State following the instructions in, say, a Haynes manual? Is it accurate? Also, I saw a few people here mention thread grease or something - whazzat and is it needed? Another symptom is my MPG has dropped a bit, so maybe I'm in closed loop the entire time? I dunno *shrugs* Or wintermix fuel... lol.

 

2) Should I drop down from 10w-30 to 5w-30 considering this winter is already getting very cold and snowy? She makes a racket when she first starts until oil fully circulates, and tonight she was slow to crank (she had been sitting for 48 hours in sub-30 temps).

 

3) Coolant and Water mix - is the Haynes manual accurate for this? Also, how much does the old gal take? And I saw someone mention a second bolt to loosen, but I don't recall where. I'd assume fill the radiator first then the aux tank, or other way around? (never done this myself, and I don't trust my mechanic anymore after one of his little mistakes... long story)

 

4) What temp range T-stat is ideal for central PA area? I saw some people mention using ones that open at a higher temp to help warm the truck up - good idea or no?

 

Gratzi all!

Edited by Kittamaru
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1) its farily simple, its more work getting to it than it is changing it. Haynes should put you in the right direction.

2) 5w30 is a good choice for winter and a little lifter tap on an old engine @ startup esp after stting is normal. if it persists (more than 30-45sec) or comes back while engine is running try running seafoam or atf 100mi b4 the next oil change. If that don't help consider changing the lifters.

3)50/50 is fine, coolant is actually LESS thermally efficent so running more coolant 75/25 in the winter can speed your warm up.

4) I belive nissan used to offer 180 deg thermostats for colder climates. 175 or 180 will do you fine all year round. (I use a 175 and its fine, 15 deg rt now and it still warms up fine)

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I think I need to change my tstat too. You have to drive around for well over an hour to get really really hot heat. Otherwise you have a choice, defrosted windows, OR warm feet. The mix setting will not warm your feet and the fog starts to encroach around the windshield :ohno01:

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Well, I think it's time I winterize my truck this year... I was waiting for the cold to come to show me a few things I thought may have been amiss, and it seems I'm right:

 

1) My temp gauge NEVER goes more than a few mm off of C, even after running around for an hour. However, there are no warning lights, my heater works fine, and there is definitely coolant circulation to some degree as all the hoses heat up. How hard is it to replace a T-State following the instructions in, say, a Haynes manual? Is it accurate? Also, I saw a few people here mention thread grease or something - whazzat and is it needed? Another symptom is my MPG has dropped a bit, so maybe I'm in closed loop the entire time? I dunno *shrugs* Or wintermix fuel... lol.

 

2) Should I drop down from 10w-30 to 5w-30 considering this winter is already getting very cold and snowy? She makes a racket when she first starts until oil fully circulates, and tonight she was slow to crank (she had been sitting for 48 hours in sub-30 temps).

 

3) Coolant and Water mix - is the Haynes manual accurate for this? Also, how much does the old gal take? And I saw someone mention a second bolt to loosen, but I don't recall where. I'd assume fill the radiator first then the aux tank, or other way around? (never done this myself, and I don't trust my mechanic anymore after one of his little mistakes... long story)

 

4) What temp range T-stat is ideal for central PA area? I saw some people mention using ones that open at a higher temp to help warm the truck up - good idea or no?

 

Gratzi all!

 

Funny you type this, because my vg30i had the same issue;

 

I thought my temp gauge was busted or lazy. Wouldnt get above the 1st mark. I had heat, so I didnt think too much of it. However after removing the clutch fan for the winter, my temps shot up and hung in the middle. I then thought I didnt have a thermostat. So I tore it down to inspect it- sure enough there WAS a t-stat in there. However coolant I guess was leaking around the tstat, so I replaced it with the OEM nissan one, and used some permatex Gray, made 100% sure it was sealed and properly seated.

 

Temps are perfect now.

 

Im currently using 5w30 PP. But i have some amsoil signature series (ow30) I may drop in and see how it does in this -8* weather.

 

 

Dont ever go below 50% coolant. I just had to fix my little brothers truck today because we didnt put enough glycol in the mix. You dont want to know what happens when the coolant freezes in your car, and you go for a drive.

 

Just use the OEM one, dont get a higher temp, it wont make your engine warm up any faster.

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so maybe I'm in closed loop the entire time? I dunno *shrugs*

 

If the stat is stuck open, sounds like it is, you would be left in open loop mode which by-passes your O2 sensor allowing the engine to run rich for warm-up. Hence the poor mileage. At least that happened to me on my old Jimmy; new stat fixed it right up. The temp gauge should run somewhere near the mid point typically, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 on most vehicles that do not have graduated gauges.

Edited by BowTied
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stick a turkey thermometer in your radiator near the upper hose. If it can't get above 150 you are definately wasting gas. For the greatest fuel eficiency the coolant temp should stay as colse to 180F as possible.

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More info:

 

19 gallons

270 miles

 

14.2 mpg...

 

No WAY WinterMix fuel alone is doing that...

 

Thing is, with the temps up a little today (43 degrees) a brief run on the highway and I hit the 1/3rd mark (which used to be normal)... so yeah, now I'm confused.

 

Things I've checked:

 

Plugs/Wires/Cap/Rotor (all checked out)

Tires - properly inflated, though one has a broken radial belt (will replace when I can afford to, doesnt' seem to have any real effect)

 

Things to check:

Codes (though no CEL)

Fan Clutch

Cat (how would I check this)

Muffler (again, how would I check)

 

Things to change:

Oil + Filter (moving to 5w30 for winter)

Fuel Filter (last changed start of summer)

Coolant (needs flushed + filled)

 

Known issueS:

Exhaust Manifold Leak (ticking and the like)

Slight valve cover gasket oil leak (only under high RPM, currently not leaking)

 

Any other ideas on what to check?

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Tungsten, if anything, it's the opposite - I'm running on the cool side. On days when it's really cold, the t-stat doesn't seem to move at all, but when I feel the upper hose it's warm. The engine seems to run fine, though MPG is down. The heater is nowhere near as hot as it used to be (used to be so warm it'd almost burn you when you put your hand right next to it), now it's just lukewarm.

 

I have an original cat though, so I figure it could be plugged anyway...

 

Damnit... I wish I had some money... I still have to do my christmas shopping (got $43 to do it with) and while I get paid tomorrow, it won't be much more than two hundred if I'm lucky... ugh. How much does a cat cost anyway... I don't think I WANT to know...

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Tungsten, if anything, it's the opposite - I'm running on the cool side. On days when it's really cold, the t-stat doesn't seem to move at all, but when I feel the upper hose it's warm. The engine seems to run fine, though MPG is down. The heater is nowhere near as hot as it used to be (used to be so warm it'd almost burn you when you put your hand right next to it), now it's just lukewarm.

 

I have an original cat though, so I figure it could be plugged anyway...

 

Damnit... I wish I had some money... I still have to do my christmas shopping (got $43 to do it with) and while I get paid tomorrow, it won't be much more than two hundred if I'm lucky... ugh. How much does a cat cost anyway... I don't think I WANT to know...

 

Yeah I was just saying when you get it fixed...

You might have had a cooler thermostat installed from before because the cat or radiator was plugged and it was overheating the engine.

 

I remember I had a problem where my thermostat was stuck open and it wouldn't even go to the C mark.

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Tstat. Gotta be. THey are not expensive, new stat and gasket might be $10. You'll save that in gas over the next coupla tanks!

 

Do a flush soon or the new stat will suffer the same fate. Ideally do both at the same time, but I understand about the money thing. Also a new rad cap should be on your list before summer.

 

G/L

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Hm, aighty, so planning for a t-stat + rad flush:

 

Coolant

Rad Cap

T-Stat

Gasket

 

What do I use to flush? I don't want to use tap water (minerals and @!*% around here)... would I want to acid-flush the radiator?

 

It would probably also be a good time to finally install the aftermarket tranny cooler I have sitting around... my big holdup with that is I can't get the front grille off without breaking the last few snap-tabs holding it on, and even then I dont' think I have enough room to get it in there :(

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Neither of my pathies ever heated up on its own

I put a piece of cardboard over 3/4's of the radiator and I have heat but the truck never gets too hot.

5W-30 is what I run in the winter

a reverse flush for coolant, use regular water as it all comes out anyways.

 

How did you get 19 gallons in the tank? :scratchhead:

16 gallon/270 = 16.8 mpg I wish I could get that or close to it!

Guess I shouldn't have added 500lbs of metal?-)

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Go up from underneath in between the radiator and the front grill with the cooler, that's what I had to do. A 180F thermostat and gasket only cost me $8 when I replaced mine. You could flush it out with distilled water, they're like $.75 for a crappy brand gallon at a food store. I also bought a tube of the "red" high-temp Permatex gaket maker to make sure everything was sealed properly.

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Neither of my pathies ever heated up on its own

I put a piece of cardboard over 3/4's of the radiator and I have heat but the truck never gets too hot.

5W-30 is what I run in the winter

a reverse flush for coolant, use regular water as it all comes out anyways.

 

How did you get 19 gallons in the tank? :scratchhead:

16 gallon/270 = 16.8 mpg I wish I could get that or close to it!

Guess I shouldn't have added 500lbs of metal?-)

 

My tank is the 21 3/5s gallons tank. Strange size, lol.

 

 

Go up from underneath in between the radiator and the front grill with the cooler, that's what I had to do. A 180F thermostat and gasket only cost me $8 when I replaced mine. You could flush it out with distilled water, they're like $.75 for a crappy brand gallon at a food store. I also bought a tube of the "red" high-temp Permatex gaket maker to make sure everything was sealed properly.

 

Hm, aighty. I'll give it a shot. How did you go up from underneat though? I have a plate in the way... I don't think it's a skid but I don't know what else it is... damn, I need to get some pictures up. Maybe I'm mistaken (was almost 5 months ago I last tried to figure it out)

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It was a tight fit, but it went in. :rolleyes: That's what she said!

 

The core support vertical brace did hamper where I put it so I had to stick it on the driver's side of the radiator. If I remember correctly, a cooler won't pass in between the vertical support and the grill but will fit on either side of it, if that makes sense.

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Hm... aighty, maybe that was my problem - i was trying to center it. I heard some people used zip ties to mount them... seems a little... uhm... insecure? How did you do yours? I was thinking of making a bracket to mount to something, haven't decided what yet.

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Ok I changed my thermostat today, WOW what a difference. If your heat isn't as good as it used to be, like mine was, change it. I put a 170 degree motorad one in now my heat is so hot it hurts to hold your hand at the vents.

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I had a similar issue with my temp gauge. It would just barely rise past the Cold mark, but felt perfectly warm from the vents. It would idle like it was cold regardless of how warm it was. I replaced the engine coolant temperature sensor to no avail, then I replaced thermal transmitter located right next to it. Thermal transmitter was my culprit ;)

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  • 3 weeks later...

hmm ive got the same issue, the tstat was done in june along with a new rad what else would cause this?

 

I replaced thermal transmitter located right next to it. Thermal transmitter was my culprit

 

ive also done that

Edited by Nismojunky
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