Car overheating after putting stock bumper on....

[SkylineLvr]

Not sure if the stock bumper would cause this issue, but last night I put my stock bumper on. Today, I took my car out and as soon as I got off the base the water temp sky rockets to over 120C. I have a front mount intercooler, could the stock bumper be blocking the airflow to the intercooler? Before I put the stock bumper on, the car was running just fine. I took the car out on the highway and had no overheating issues? Now my car is on the side of the road. I'm going to wait an hour or so and see if I can at least drive it back home.

Another thing that I noticed is when I started the car after the incident, the engine idles at 2k rpms. Not sure why it's doing this. Could anyone please lend any help that they can. Thanks.

 

[Luke]

the wrong bumper or big number plates can block air flow to the fmic but i wouldn't of thought it would make it over heat just ruin performance a little, the only thing i can suggest is taking the bumper off and 1 seeing how it runs with it off and 2 checking you haven't knocked anything when putting the bumper on. sorry to here what's going on mate hope you get it sorted ok and back home safe

 

[pegliobaglio]

The intercooler is there to cool the airflow so i doubt it's that, more likely to be something to do with your radiator/thermostat unless you have knocked something off or damaged something when changing the bumper over I doubt the bumper itself will have much of a negative effect.
high idle could be idle control valve or a boost leak might cause it also so be worth checking your intercooler pipes

 

[Jay]

hi there...
just read your previous thread, and im thinking its connected to this problem (possible blown head gasket). if the gasket has deteriorated further then it could well cause overheating. as previously stated in this thread, i cant see that a different bumper would cause overheating.
before you spend another buck on this car and before you drive it anymore, my advice would be to get it down to a specialist to properly diagnose the problem and get it fixed. continuing to drive it is only gonna increase the final problems/repair bill.
im often on raf lakenheath to deliver to the commisary, and u guys have got some great motors wandering around on there! in the carpark behind the commisary there is a nice red soarer i had my eye on for a while!

i really hope you get to the bottom of your issues with the silvia, good luck!!

 

[SkylineLvr]

I don't think there's a head gasket issue. It appears to be just a lot of condensation from the 6 months of sitting. Haven't done a comp test, but will probably do so soon just for clarification.

As far as the overheating issue. I've found a broken wire on what I think is the thermostat. I'll upload a pic here soon. I was able to get my car home. I had to let it sit for a few hours, then drive it home while it was still cold. I hate having to do that, but I wasn't far from home. I'm off to try and find a soldering iron to see if I can fix the wire. Fingers crossed.

 

[pegliobaglio]

Ah hopefully that's all it is then mate nice simple fix

 

[SkylineLvr]

Here's a couple pics of the wire. I tried twisting them together, but it didn't help.

 

[lvaleiron]

nope, that's the cam position sensor connector, thermostat is (if i recall correctly) close to one of the coolant hoses that goes to the engine.

 

[Auss15]

Ok, that's not your thermostat housing it's your CAS (crank angle sensor) its on the other side of the car below your alternator. No wires come from a thermostat, its mechanically operated by temperature change in the coolant.

Might be a silly question but have you checked the coolant level in your radiator ?

Oh, and as the cold start on the throttle body is affected by your coolant temp, as it runs off it, that might have something to do with the high idle

 

[SkylineLvr]

I see, well that shows my knowledge of motors .

I'll check the coolant in the radiator. I did buy some coolant yesterday. I'll top it off if needed. The reservoir is at max level. Shouldn't the radiator, if low, take coolant from the reservoir?

 

[Auss15]

No it wont if your radiator has dropped, technically the reservoir is what's known as an expansion bottle, to take up the heated/pressurised coolant over flow when the car is running at opperation temperature. If you are low on coolant in your radiator you will have air in the top of it and it will not syphone back from the reservoir when the car is turned off and the coolant cools.

 

[SkylineLvr]

Makes sense. Thanks for the schooling guys .

I'm going to be making an appointment this week with the auto shop on base. I've been chatting it up with a couple guys that work there and one of the mechanics knows a bit about S bodies. Talking with him last week, he doesn't think I have a blown gasket. But I still want to get it tested. I'm not ruling anything out.

 

[SkylineLvr]

Well, the radiator was bone dry. Makes sense for the overheating. Filled it up and let her warm up. The. Took her out for a bit of a drive down the highway. Temp didn't go over 70c on the defi link gauge and maxed at 67c on the Apexi FC. I do still have a good bit of smoke out the exhaust when warming up, but as soon as I got home there wasn't any. Hopefully I'll here some good news after taking her to the shop. If there is an issue, hopefully they'll be able to fix her up quick. I do love driving my Silvia.

 

[Auss15]

What did I say... the question one now has to answer is where did all your coolant go? There are a couple of obvious answers, head gasket, turbo water feed line, water pump

 

[Adam L]

The high idle will also be related to the lack off coolant in your system, that almost gave away that you have a massive air lock on the system.

 

[SkylineLvr]

Yeah, once I filled the rad, the car idled at a normal range.