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HybridZ

engine always running cold


JessZ

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My 240z L28et swap does not want to warm up. The temp gauge rarely rises above 1/4, any ideas? The thermostat is working fine, but even so, after 10 minutes of driving, 45 minutes of driving, the engine will still run too cold. Thanks in advance.

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maybe your car is heating just the gauge or sending unit is bad. get a mechanical gauge, run the car for a while, release the air in the system and then remove the cap. put the temp probe in the rad and observe. if the engine truely is cold then your thermostat has to be bad. if it is getting warm but not hot enough on a cold day you could always put a piece of cardboard in front of the rad, not all the way just enough to stop the flow of cold air through it. also check your fan clutch. is it disengaging? could be causing the fan to cool all the time. tc.

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I don't have an answer for you but my 83 L28et swap into my 73 240z does the same thing. My 240 engine always ran at over half way on the gauge (on the 'M'). After I did the swap, the needle was always on the 'T' or between 'T' and 'E'. I swapped sensors, same thing. I put in a brand new thermostat (180 or 185*, I forget) and the needle is just a bit higher. Stock 73 radiator, fan and clutch.

 

I need to measure the actual temperature but my car never seems to get hot, even when I run it hard! Strange!?!

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My guess is a bad gauge or a bad sender. Like Tony C suggested, install a mechanical gauge and see what it says, then you'll know for sure.

 

I need to measure the actual temperature but my car never seems to get hot, even when I run it hard! Strange!?!

The Z, once outfitted with a 3 core or better radiator, really isn't prone to overheating. I had a 3 core brass radiator and ran my car at the road course in 30 minute sessions for 2+ hours in 105 degree heat. My mechanical gauge never showed over 205 degrees. While they do have problems with vapor lock, overheating is much less of an issue.

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I have the same problem on my Prelude because of a bad thermostat. The thermostat is stuck in the open position, so the fluid is constantly circulating through the radiator. This cools the fluid too much, especially on winter days, causing the low temperatures.

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