my z32 has: - new water pump - new thermostat (tested before installation) - every single coolant hose replaced, no leaks - new coolant - new 56mm radiator - new radiator cap - tested and 100% viscous clutch fan - heater core is bypassed - FMIC WHY WON'T STOP ****ING OVERHEATING I've bled the radiator (with the front end up) 8 ****ing times On idle it won't go past 81* At low speeds through traffic etc it sits between 90 and 94, far too high for my liking On the freeway it just goes up and up and up until I pull over. It'll happily cool itself on idle from 100*. When I get going again, it'll just really really slowly climb. Today while cruising at 110 it was on 96* for 10 minutes before ticking over to 97*, and so on... the ENTIRE COOLING SYSTEM IS NEW. What the **** is wrong with it? -A
OEM splash guards are in place and I have a full width radiator air guide (which admittedly wasn't fitted today)
EDIT: Is your front lower spash gaurd in place ? The lower hose may be collapsing. Also where are you getting these temperature readings from, consult ? The car is definitely getting hot ?
I mean from the front of the car, the FMIC would block a fair bit of airflow to the rad i would think?
I've been underneath the car and it's always been "plump" Yes No unfortunately, but I have the engine one behind it. I'm planning to make one up when I have the time. Plastic ruler test as per tech section OEM
No front lower splash gaurd between the front of the bar and radiator makes it hard, with a FMIC the radiator would probably be seeing less than 50% of what it normally would.
Might be a long shot but faulty earths or earth cables can do this . My old Rx7 after a clutch change would shoot up on the temp dial as the gearbox earth cable was stuffed, for good measure I put on about three new earth cables and it was fixed - long shot I know though.
Plastic ruler test is useless. Get the car to operating temp via a short drive. With engine running, open bonnet and watch the fan, have some one switch off the ignition. If the fan does more than 2 or 3 revolutions after the engine has stopped, it is not working very well.
is that really enough to do this though? I know two people with FMIC's and after market front bars with OEM radiators that don't overheat
It cuts off very promptly after engine off IIRC I should add that car happily drove 1500 kilometers to me before I changed the radiator and upper and lower hoses. same clutch fan, thermo, water pump, etc...
If it was fine before, and now overheats, it seems the rad or hoses would be the cause. Knowing this info, I agree with brisz, change the bottom hose to a known peice.
I have the old OEM hose that I took off, can I simply check to see if the lower hose is folding or is it possible it could be happening only at speed?
Well the FMIC is going to heat what air it passes and deflect some underneath, and without the splash guard some air will take the path of least resistance under the radiator, yep there is a fair loss in cooling. It may not be the only cause.