over heating k series? ideas please

[tnjjeffrey]

ok am sure it has not had HGF! It only leaks a tiny amout of water (1cm in the tank a week) - and use every day! the inlet manifold is not leaking also!

dodgy thermostat? could that be it? i also replaced the radiator 5 months back? but it had no probs after it was fitted? can you get air locks?

spec of car is s2, 2001 k series 120 bhp (induction and exhaust mods)

any ideas would be great as am fed up of the oil temp varying so much! esp in the cold when theres no reason for an elise to overheat!

thanks

[SeanyD]

What temperatures you talking about tnj?

[kevin ritson]

The key is where the coolant is going.
Is the oil clean?
Are you getting steam from the exhaust (apart from a few minutes after first firing up)?
Are puddles of coolant appearing?
Are there traces of coolant around the radiator or on the undertray? (fairly easy to spot as it takes ages to evapourate)

[kevin ritson]

Also, is the water temp varying? Another possibility is that the expansion tank cap has failed or even the tank itself.

[S Works]

Or that you simply have an airlock in the system. Can you get it drained down and refilled?

[stinkysteve]

I'll watch this thread with interest.

Mine is using a little water, top it up and it dissapears slowly.

Temp normally runs at 93-96 which i reckon is way too high, but it seems to manage ok.

It's second car, so doesn't get used too often. I've had it checked for HGF and all seems fine (compression and Monoxide in the water checks)

I'm confused, but living with it as there's no obvious solution!

Any help is appreciated, but i'm living with it until it goes bang and the AA will get a call and their warranty will foot the bill.

Sorry I'm no help at all OP! Good luck though....

[Cuzza]

Bear in mind that if you're topping it up to max and it's dropping back to min that's normal, it may be that you're topping it up higher than it the car wants it to be and it's expelling the rest. Try not topping it up and see if it settles - as long as the level is steady and still in the expansion bottle it's OK.

Fluctuating temp (oil or water) could be the sensor.

[VTECMatt]

Mine sits at 84/85 max, that is really high.

[tanman]

My old K-series sat at about 89. Ditto above comment that coolant usually sits on the minimum level line, fill it more than that and excess gets thrown out.
HTH

[Justin S]

if you've changed the rad 5 months ago it may be wise to bleed it again now.I have just changed my rad and clamped the hoses by the rad, so as to not having to bleed the whole car,filled the rad to almost full and then put the hose on the rad, then filled the last 250ml with a large syringe in the bleed valve.Then ran the car up to temp, left it over night and then bled after I had taken the cap off the expansion tank and there was some air in there.

[tnjjeffrey]

ok - oil is clean
there are no drops of coolant
could be air lock?
there is no vapour on startup?
temp varies from an acceptable 89 up to about 94 / 96 - way to high! and then when it hits the 100 + mark when sitting still for a relativity short period of time!

it used to stay around the 89 mark always!!!!!!!
(can you bleed the front with the clam on?
can the thermostat die?

cheese

[Justin S]

Yes, you can bleed with the clam on.It is either on the passneger side top hose at front of car wheel arch or later cars had them on the drivers side middle of the wheel arch area.Just undo the knurled cap with the expansion cap off( when cold !!!) and see if any air escapes.

[SeanyD]

tnj - sounds about right to be honest. I think most k series owners suffer from hgf paranoia at some point. Mine sits at 88/89 whilst driving, and can shoot up to 100+ when sitting in a jam (especially after a burst of motorway driving, then reaching a jam), but fan kicks in as it should, and quickly brings it back down.

As long as you're not losing buckets of coolant, and the fan is doing its job, then it sounds ok.

[TOENHEEL]

Im pretty sure my toyota engined car has crept up above 90 on a few occassions, i would just keep a close eye on it.

[R.P.M]

My old k would sit at 89-90 in town raising to 95-100 in heavy traffic, fan cuts in at 103 I believe, on the motorway it would sit at around 85-88.

keep your eye on it.

[tnjjeffrey]

SeanyD said:

As long as you're not losing buckets of coolant, and the fan is doing its job, then it sounds ok.

few just i was getting concern'd! LOL - just want it ready for the dust off - my girffriend has got me a new wiper arm and blade for valentines! WHOOP!

[lee111s]

Tom it sounds normal! My engine sits at 89 degrees when plodding along at 30-40. If I do some motorway driving and then hit a jam the temp can go up to 96ish but as soon as I start moving again the temp comes down. The engine is cooled alot from driving as the cold air hits the rad at the front so sitting still is always going to put the temps up.

I was getting paranoid a month or so ago but then thought sod it, if it goes it goes and I'll get it fixed when it does

[tnjjeffrey]

lee i have just orders a polishing maching and poor boys polishing and cutting compounds :0 - gonna play with on the mini untill i get good and then may have a dabble at getting rid of some swirls! lol

[Esprit]

At what temp do your fans cut in? If I were you, first thing I'd be doing is changing both temp sensors and checking your earths to make sure that they're reading right.... they're cheap for peace of mind given how often they can give trouble.

Secondly, how far up your expansion tank are you filling? Most Elises will spit some water out if filled over about halfway so while you're topping it up, it might not be leaking anywhere, just being blown off. If this is the case, it should eventually settle out when cold somewhere around or just below the "MIN" mark.

Also check that your radiator is keeping an even heat across it when it's hot (from front to back, it should get cooler towards the pax side... this would indicate a partial blockage.

[mtm81]

not trying to scare you, but I've just had a HGF repaired after mine was losing a small amount of coolant for a few months (same amount as yours)

it then went to a big loss and it was a HGF all the way...