Jump to content

Overheating While Idling


EscuderoTerrano
 Share

Recommended Posts

WD21 Z24 2.4L Gas Carb 4x4.

Apparently my engine's temperature rockets upto 3/4 of the gauge when idling in about 30mins especially when the traffic is heavy.

I already replaced/repaired/checked the ff:

-1row rad to 2row rad

-added 2 auxiliary fans in front of condenser

-checked radiator fan blade

-added silicon oil to radiator fan

-cleared air flow from grille, cond and rad

-checked water pump

-checked oil pump

-changed engine oil, spark plugs and filters

-replaced spark plug wires and dist cap

-wrapped the exhaust manifold w thermowrap

-overhauled the carb, new carb kit

-replaced valve cover gasket

-checked all electrical wires

 

But still it kind of overheats upto 3/4, only when idling. The temperature lowers down when I rev the engine up to make the rad fan rotate faster. And it completely goes back to below 1/4 or even 1/8 when running at speeds.

I'm a bit frustrated and I need help. I want to post the pic of my WD21 but I dont know how to. Lol. ;)

Thanks.

Edited by RedPath88
Cleaned up text for better seperation between welcome and help threads
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for replying. Yes, the 2 fans are pushing air TO the radiator, and the radiator fan sucking air FROM the radiator to the engine. Blade has no damage, no hairline crack, not wobbling. Earlier today, I was stuck a little in traffic for about 30-45mins and the temperature went up to a little over half the gauge. But when I ran at speeds at the highway, temperature went down drastically to almost 1/16 the gauge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe a small leak... Almost a six months ago that happend to me... It was a loosen screw...

In the coolant reservoir the level was ok, but in the radiator was a little down.... I tighten al the screws and when I was doing that one hoose was humid... That's where I found the leak that affected the temperature.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks!

I already removed the engine thermostat. Coolant is very clear because it was flushed before rad was replaced. I made sure that water flow was clean and clear before it got replaced. We also couldn't find any leak. My mechanic has been telling me that it could be possible that the cause might be the head gasket. This is too much of a labor, but if this is really the cause, I'd proceed. Please advise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could be the head gasket but I think you'd notice other issues. Is it losing coolant? Does the oil look okay? White smoke out the tailpipe?

 

The other thing I'd check for is air in the system, especially if the issue started when you had the system apart to change coolant or replace the rad or whatever. The 3.0 engines have a bleed screw near the back of the intake manifold to bleed the air out, and I assume the Z24 would have something similar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I check almost every day if I ever lose coolant, but until now no coolant was lost. No traces of oil or rainbow in the coolant. No smoke from the tailpipe. And the engine oil is as good as new. I will definitely check this bleed at the back of the manifold, but is there a process to bleed the air out?

And if the z24 has none, I guess the head gasket is where I'm really lead to. I'm just hoping there's something easier than that.

 

Out of topic, I really thank u all. I wasn't expecting this forum to be this helpful. Thanks! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No worries! The way I bleed my VG30: with the engine cold, remove the bleeder bolt. Leave the rad cap on. Squeeze the upper rad hose until coolant starts coming out of the bleeder--squeeze gently, you don't need to spurt coolant at the hood, just make sure there's coolant to the top of the hole so you're not trapping air in there. Then, still holding the hose, thread that bleeder back in and snug it up. Release the rad hose. Then pull the rad cap and top up if needed.

 

I've also heard of people parking on a hill with the front end facing up to try and burp the system. I'm not sure if this is a different way to do the same thing or what the advantage is.

While you're at it, take the rad cap off and run the motor. A bad head gasket can make a steady stream of bubbles coming up through the coolant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This^ if you take the rad cap off the coolant should slowly rise and spill out as it warms up. There may be air trapped. On my 95 it would not stop bubbling, and it was a lot of bubbles. It's normal for there to a be a few every so often but if it is a constant stream that is bad.

 

My 95 had a headgasket that leaked exhaust into the coolant. If you started it up cold, the coolant would fly out of the rad like the old faithful geyser.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a leak in my head gasket that was causing overheating. There was no coolant in my oil and no oil in my coolant but the dealership had some sort of device that would detect something in either the oil or coolant that indicated that there was a leak. I guess I should have paid better attention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will try to bleed or burp the system a little later today. And hopefully, this solves the issue. But could anyone tell me what the normal operating temperature of a Z24 is? I asked a few who have TD27 engines and they told me that the normal operating temperature is just a little below half the gauge. Unfortunately I have not met anyone with a Z24 yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some quick googling showed me that there is a 180 and 195F thermostat available. So I guess around that temp is what it should be? Have you verified the gauge isn't just wrong?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

You probably have a clutch fan and the clutch is going out. They're pretty cheap and fairly simple to replace. I'd start with that. Be careful to not overheat the vehicle. If you do you could end up with a head gasket leak that will be very expensive

 

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

So I just had the engine overhauled. New gaskets. New valve seals. New timing guide and tensioner. New o-rings. New temperature sensor. Head machined. All interiors cleaned. Engine flushed and cleaned. Carb choked and cleaned. New spark plugs. New spark plug wires. New engine oil. New filters. Etc.

I was observing for a couple of days, and the problem is still there. The temperature still rises to between half and 3/4 when idle.

I'm frustrated and I'm desperate now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...