Bigger Radiator - Car Not Reaching Operating Temp

[kingtube69]

Hi All,

I installed a bigger radiator a few weeks ago in my R33 GTST because it was getting warm on the wet pan and I intend on going on a few track days. At the same time I put in a new genuine thermostat just as a precaution.

Since this has been done the car doesn't get anywhere near operating temperature (roughly 80 degrees) i.e. sits at 45-55 most of the time and gets to 70 on hot days. I just wanted confirmation that this is safe/normal/OK?

I spent some time looking for similar threads where someone upgraded the radiator and had low temps but didn't turn up anything helpful.

Thanks!

Edit: Forgot to mention that I'm getting these numbers off an aftermarket gauge using the GKTECH upper radiator adapter thingo. Factory gauge sits at 1/4 - 1/3 when I see 45-55 on the aftermarket gauge

Edited April 18, 2016 by kingtube69

[KiwiRS4T]

Have you checked that the thermostat is working correctly by say letting the motor idle and feeling the hose to see when it opens? In fact at those temps (if correct) the thermostat should not open. I would be inclined to pull it out and see if it is stuck open. Or first get another view of your water temps by say putting a thermometer in the radiator filler or using a laser gun type thermometer.

Running that cold is not ideal.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Get a new thermostat, they're so cheap any how... also could be an air pocket too

[tridentt150v]

Put your old thermostat back in and see what happens.

[kingtube69]

Have you checked that the thermostat is working correctly by say letting the motor idle and feeling the hose to see when it opens? In fact at those temps (if correct) the thermostat should not open. I would be inclined to pull it out and see if it is stuck open. Or first get another view of your water temps by say putting a thermometer in the radiator filler or using a laser gun type thermometer.

Running that cold is not ideal.

I'll run it today and check what the temps are like on the hoses - What am I looking for when checking the hoses exactly?

Get a new thermostat, they're so cheap any how... also could be an air pocket too

I'll grab a new one from Kudos in the coming days - I let it run for ages and ages and ages to bleed it so I thought I got it all out but maybe you're right.

Is there some special technique to getting it all bled properly? I have just been filling a cut bottle past the engine (sealed in the filler neck) and letting it run that way - Tried cracking the bleed valve and it didn't seem very effective. I have a hard time doing it at my house unfortunately so I normally have to go to a park or petrol station because my neighbours complain that it's too loud

Put your old thermostat back in and see what happens.

Didn't keep it unfortunately

[jiffo]

Those temps are very low.

Are you sure your temp sender is reading correctly?

Is it earthed properly etc?

Post a photo of the setup.

[MatthewT85]

to bleed my system i usually jack the car up pretty high eg so i can get under the car, then put a bottle in the neck and run the car.

no a hundred percent sure its necessary but i also have the heater fan full and hot.

Edited April 19, 2016 by MatthewT85

[tridentt150v]

I wrap a couple of rags around the bleed valve and crack it open and closed a few times. The first time I tend to leave it open until I get flow, then its just open till it dribbles then off. Its not that hard. On a slope [on jack or ramps] would create cavities and not bleed properly I'd reckon [but don't know], I do mine on all four wheels.

I tried the coke bottle trick once but it didn't make any difference for me, just added another complexity I didn't need so haven't used it since.

[KiwiRS4T]

I'll run it today and check what the temps are like on the hoses - What am I looking for when checking the hoses exactly?

- Tried cracking the bleed valve and it didn't seem very effective.

If you start it up from cold and let it idle you just feel the top hose and when the thermostat opens it will suddenly get hotter. Of course this will not be the case if your thermostat is stuck open. In this case it will just slowly get warmer.

If your bleed valve does not work clean it out until it does work. Where exactly is you temp sensor for your aftermarket gauge? I cut the top hose in half and put an adapter in there.

[kingtube69]

Those temps are very low.

Are you sure your temp sender is reading correctly?

Is it earthed properly etc?

Post a photo of the setup.

Its odd that both would read low (stock and aftermarket) I'll check the earth just in case

http://www.gktech.com/index.php/r33-silicone-radiator-hose-with-water-temp-fitting.html

This is what I'm using - The temps were always fine on the gauge till I went bigger radiator from what I remember

to bleed my system i usually jack the car up pretty high eg so i can get under the car, then put a bottle in the neck and run the car.

no a hundred percent sure its necessary but i also have the heater fan full and hot.

I normally do this with the neck and tape to seal it, never tried jacking it up though

I wrap a couple of rags around the bleed valve and crack it open and closed a few times. The first time I tend to leave it open until I get flow, then its just open till it dribbles then off. Its not that hard. On a slope [on jack or ramps] would create cavities and not bleed properly I'd reckon [but don't know], I do mine on all four wheels.

I tried the coke bottle trick once but it didn't make any difference for me, just added another complexity I didn't need so haven't used it since.

I'll give this a try tonight (take it to the servo near my house) I'll let you know how it goes when I try it

If you start it up from cold and let it idle you just feel the top hose and when the thermostat opens it will suddenly get hotter. Of course this will not be the case if your thermostat is stuck open. In this case it will just slowly get warmer.

If your bleed valve does not work clean it out until it does work. Where exactly is you temp sensor for your aftermarket gauge? I cut the top hose in half and put an adapter in there.

The temp sensor is in the top hose (http://www.gktech.com/index.php/r33-silicone-radiator-hose-with-water-temp-fitting.html) last time I checked the hose it was a progressive warm up. I also don't recall the lower hose getting very hot but I'll double check

[kingtube69]

I'm possibly being a little over dramatic about this all maybe too cautious.

I took it down the road, cracked the bleeder and no air came out only coolant which I guess is a positive. Heater is still very hot (in the past if it had pockets it was cold and not hot). The top and bottom hoses eventually were hot but not so hot that I would burn my hands by holding them. Temp gauge also read 60 after a short drive home (1 minute max). Is this still something I should be worried about?

If it matters I also have a nismo radiator cap.

[admS15]

What temp is the thermostat that you put in? If the engine isn't reaching the tstat temp after 10-15 mins then I would say it is stuck open if your gauges are correct.

[KiwiRS4T]

^^^what he said. Pull the thermostat out and if it's stuck open it's obviously dodgy. I hope it's not one of those Nismo low temp thermostats. If so bin it and get a stock one. The Nismo radiator cap "shouldn't" be a problem.

[niZmO_Man]

He said he put a genuine thermostat in.

Isn't the R33 temp gauge normalised like the R32? It should at half if so.

Pull out the thermostat and inspect it. If it's closed, drop it in hot water, it should open.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

also make sure the little jiggly pin is pointing upwards, i.e. highest point in the housing.. if it is in the wrong way you'll have massive air pockets before the thermostat opens

[Kinkstaah]

I think the genuine part may have changed somewhere along the line. I tried a tridon one and a nismo one and then an OEM r34 one from kudos, and they all open at about 60C and thats pretty much my water temp.... Across 3 gauges.

[kingtube69]

Bit of an update on this - On the warmer days it gets close to 80 degrees but on cold days and nights it sits around 60. Plugged the laptop into the ECU today and it was reading out 72 degrees but the gauges were saying it was cooler than that (the aftermarket and stock). Is the temp difference to be expected on cold/hot days?

I'll get a new thermostat this week but I'm a bit annoyed if it's a dud because it's still new. I'll also test the old one anyway.

Jiggle pin is definitely at the top as per FSM (read it prior to changing it out)

Is it worth getting a new thermostat housing while I'm there as I've been seeing people talking about how fragile they are?

Thanks for your help all!

[89CAL]

What? The ECU sensor read hotter than the other gauges? Why not believe the ECU sensor?

Stock gauge is useless

[niZmO_Man]

Stock gauge is useless

Not really. If it goes above half, it means pull over and start hosing your radiator .

[kingtube69]

Hi All,

Found the problem recently

This happened because its difficult to put the housing on without bumping the thermostat out of the block (gasket maker grabs it and moves it) so I made up some studs and tried again

Thanks again for the help!