SR20DET Redtop overheating when driving more than 20 miles on highway

[fliprayzin240sx]

WTF just happened to this thread? SR20s are not supposed to be driven pass 65mph? WTF are you smoking? So how come they never over heat in Germany where people would drive these fucking things over 120-130mph with no issue?

E-fans sucks on these cars period. My car would slowly creep up to 100 degrees with my AC on cruising. Changed the damn thing to the stock shroud and fan, car never got hotter than 85 degrees again DD. Drifted the shit out of it in hot ass Oki weather for 45 mins straight and thing never got over 90*. This same thing applies for RBs, I personally folks who have had overheating issues with E-fans, switched to stock fan and shroud and car never overheated again. This includes 800-1000whp RB26 guys I knew.

Back to the OP, do you have an aftermarket water temp gauge for this thing? Would it be possible that the stock water temp sensor is bad or stock gauge going bad?

[240boi115]

Originally Posted by fliprayzin240sx

WTF just happened to this thread? SR20s are not supposed to be driven pass 65mph? WTF are you smoking? So how come they never over heat in Germany where people would drive these fucking things over 120-130mph with no issue?

E-fans sucks on these cars period. My car would slowly creep up to 100 degrees with my AC on cruising. Changed the damn thing to the stock shroud and fan, car never got hotter than 85 degrees again DD. Drifted the shit out of it in hot ass Oki weather for 45 mins straight and thing never got over 90*. This same thing applies for RBs, I personally folks who have had overheating issues with E-fans, switched to stock fan and shroud and car never overheated again. This includes 800-1000whp RB26 guys I knew.

Back to the OP, do you have an aftermarket water temp gauge for this thing? Would it be possible that the stock water temp sensor is bad or stock gauge going bad?

this!^^^ jesus! what engine in the world cant be driven at 3500 rpm without overheating?!?!?! especially an sr20 did you check to see if the fans even work correctly? if not just go back to the stock fan

[Frank_Jaeger]

Guys you're forgetting... the SR is an antique engine.

[Nissan2nr22]

This thread just got even more hilarious lol.

Do you guys have any idea if the stock shroud will fit on the mishimito radiator?

I was going to order the fans and shrouds from mishimito but if yall are saying OEM is better I might as well give it a try first

[Sileighty_85]

Wow.... Kingtal0n you sir are the King..... Of Retards

Originally Posted by Nissan2nr22

This thread just got even more hilarious lol.

Do you guys have any idea if the stock shroud will fit on the mishimito radiator?

I was going to order the fans and shrouds from mishimito but if yall are saying OEM is better I might as well give it a try first

Id def go with an OEM fan setup over Mishimoto E-Fans. Unless they were some Flex a lite fans with a Thermal relay setup

[jr_ss]

Originally Posted by Nissan2nr22

This thread just got even more hilarious lol.

Do you guys have any idea if the stock shroud will fit on the mishimito radiator?

I was going to order the fans and shrouds from mishimito but if yall are saying OEM is better I might as well give it a try first

The factory fan setup will give you better cooling capacity over the e-fans that are unshrouded like you see pictured on the radiator. Shrouded e-fans, such as F-A-Ls and others give you better cooling capacity, but can be unreliable. I'm not saying they are going to fail on you, but the mech fan does a great job of cooling.

Most people ditch the setup to free up power and years ago it was hard to source the correct radiator shroud needed for it. This is no longer the case as you can pretty much get the OE SR shroud anywhere that sells 240sx parts now-a-days.

From the looks of it, the Mishimoto radiator does have the tangs that the factory shroud bolts to, but you may have to do some trimming to make it fit good.

Originally Posted by Sileighty_85

Wow.... Kingtal0n you sir are the King..... Of Retards...

Id def go with an OEM fan setup over Mishimoto E-Fans. Unless they were some Flex a lite fans with a Thermal relay setup

I've been tossing up the idea of ditching my F-A-Ls for the GKTECH upgraded clutch fan and a factory shroud setup. However, I've read that it doesn't work on engines that are running aftermarket engine mounts because they raise the engine just enough to case interference issues with the shroud and slightly larger GKTECH fan blade.

[Sileighty_85]

When ever I got back to the states im gonna put the OEM Fan setup on my SR. I have the ISIS efans on it right now (they looked batter than what i had on there before) but they dont pull enough CFM during drifting.

Thats a good thought on the fan. I was gonna buy one of those. hopefully there will be some reviews out soon

[Croustibat]

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

wow. this is my car.

That explains a lot of thing. I knew you were completely crazy, but i didnt think you were a crook.

You wrote some serious bullshit man. These engines can take a beating, not break a sweat and driving 90mph even in a hot weather is nothing like taking a beating


@OP > search for Kingtal0n posts here. I am not joking, he really IS crazy.

Like he abused LSD for years and years. And get your money back, if he built the car it cant work properly.

[OrangeVirus1]

Originally Posted by Croustibat

That explains a lot of thing. I knew you were completely crazy, but i didnt think you were a crook.

@OP > search for Kingtal0n posts here. I am not joking, he really IS crazy.

Like he abused LSD for years and years. And get your money back, if he built the car it cant work properly.

This is Slander and defamation of Character.

Kingtal0n is obviously a certified mechanic.

Originally Posted by Sileighty_85

Wow.... Kingtal0n you sir are the King..... Of Retards

which means I'm not.


OP here is what you need to do. Study up on how to work on cars. Then :
Take EVERYTHING off that engine. Get it down to bare long block.
Replace all the beat crappy old coolant hoses.
Replace the thermostat
Inspect the waterpump, probably needs replacing. his *new* waterpump was new from the junkyard most likely.
inspect the Radiator, replace if needed.
Install some ducting if necessary
Re-install all parts Correctly, cleanly.
Get a new air filter if needed.
install OEM clutch fan + shroud if you can
Invest in pusher fans infront of the radiator if you have a big intercooler.
If you have a stock sidemount, I'd recommend just upgrade it, hot intake temps can cause overheating.
Clean your turbo, try to get all the gunk out from the compressor as you can, it will help with induction and make the turbo work less.
Clean your throttlebody, EGR etc
Problems solved.

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

wow. His problem is that redtops are not designed to be at 3600RPM on the highway in Florida weather; thats it. the turbine is too small and the gearing is too short for it. If you disconnect the turbine it will no longer overheat because thats where all the heat is coming from. otherwise, I told him to just drive 65MPH @ 3000rpm because thats where engine vacuum is 10" about as low as you want to go for steady highway speeds.

At 80MPH and 3600RPM the vacuum is around 3"-5" the engine is damn near in boost and it gets hot after 50 miles on that T-25, yeah. I suggested the 6-speed because then you can run the 3.4x gearing and drop the cruise RPM. Likewise he can upgrade the turbo to something with a larger turbine and that will also remove the heat from the engine.

A; upgrade turbine
B; better gearing
C; drive slower (3000RPM and 10" vacuum)
D; disconnect turbine (free) highly recommended for highway drives if you are going to beat on the engine with outlandish RPM
E; cooling system upgrade (but I prefer OEM radiator)

the issue here is not so much cooling as the fact the engine should not be sitting at 3500+RPM for any length of time, regardless of whether it overheats or not. period.

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

#2: Since I daily'd that car for four years, I know everything about it.

To people with T-28's: This is not a S14 sr20det, this is a 1990 redtop with a T-25 from a 180sx that had 33,000miles when I swapped it into that vehicle with ALL oem equipment. If it does ANYTHING its because the OEM components are not up to the challenge. After cruising for 20 minutes at 80MPH the hot pipe is over 150*F and impossible to touch.

Lets get one more single thing straight: you do NOT run a redtop at 3500rpms continously because it will eat up the engine bearings. This is a 25 year old antique engine.

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

I know exactly what you are doing to that engine. You need to drive it less aggressively or it will not last very long.

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

JUST REMEMBER to add an oil cooler ALSO.
Ive done fifty or more swaps, most of them documented, and at least 10 redtop swaps and this was the cleanest swap Ive ever seen. This is not a "build" this is an OEM engine with full oem equipment and around 50k miles tops.

"So kingtal0n, are you saying that a stock 180sx from Japan from 1990 if brought to Florida, and run on an 80*F day, at 80MPH+ and 3500rpm+ for extended periods of time some of which is spent in boost will probably get hot and move the temp gauge up?"

Kingtal0n: yes thats exactly what I am saying. And disconnecting the turbine is a GREAT way to preserve the life of the turbocharger AND the life of the engine oil on these redtop engines.

Jesus... This poor kid belongs in an institution; or maybe a circus freak show. I can't say I wish him dead... because that would be wrong. I just wish his parents had been a little more open to late-term abortion once they realized he was going to be criminally retarded his whole life.

Can somebody PLEASE ban this douche???

OP- even though it sucks for you, I hope you learned a valuable lesson. That dick is NOT your friend... Get rid of the 240 and buy a honda until you know a little bit more about cars. Sorry this happened to you.

[OrangeVirus1]

Originally Posted by Mikester

Jesus... This poor kid belongs in an institution; or maybe a circus freak show. I can't say I wish him dead... because that would be wrong. I just wish his parents had been a little more open to late-term abortion once they realized he was going to be criminally retarded his whole life.

Can somebody PLEASE ban this douche???

OP- even though it sucks for you, I hope you learned a valuable lesson. That dick is NOT your friend... Get rid of the 240 and buy a honda until you know a little bit more about cars. Sorry this happened to you.

Banning the guy is a little over the top don't yah think.

So he sold the guy a Lemon POS and knew about it, lied about it.

every craigslist sale is like that.

Who has ever dealt with a craigslister that disclosed ALL information about their car? 1/10,000.

someone just needs to egg his house lol

[Mikester]

No I don't think so at all- and I have never even suggested banning anyone from any of the forums I'm on ever. This is the absolute exception IMHO- His whole mission in life has been to soil this forum with complete & utter trash from the get-go... I don't think he has made an intelligent post even once. Now we find out that he does shady business to boot... Fuck that- get rid of him; or at least ban him from posting in Tech Talk.

Albeit- I am confident Zilvia would be a better place w/out him.

[OrangeVirus1]

Originally Posted by Mikester

No I don't think so at all- and I have never even suggested banning anyone from any of the forums I'm on ever. This is the absolute exception IMHO- His whole mission in life has been to soil this forum with complete & utter trash from the get-go... I don't think he has made an intelligent post even once. Now we find out that he does shady business to boot... Fuck that- get rid of him; or at least ban him from posting in Tech Talk.

Albeit- I am confident Zilvia would be a better place w/out him.

When I read this, I was thinking of myself the entire time.
( although I'm not a shady seller )

Yeah I'd agree, Fraudulent sellers should be banned. with the shit he's said, there is no way he can justify himself.

Although he seems to be a long standing member here with feedback.

[Frank_Jaeger]

Originally Posted by Croustibat

Like he abused LSD for years and years.

This is my suspicion as well.

[OrangeVirus1]

Originally Posted by Frank_Jaeger

This is my suspicion as well.

You can't trust drug addicts.

[Kingtal0n]

haters gonna hate. mark my words: kid installs big radiator without also adding an oil cooler. coolant stays cool but the oil overheats while he drives over the speed limit (which, by the way, is what happens when you go past 3000rpm in 5th). oil breaks down, bearings are toast.

I give it 6 months to live.

also, how is giving somebody a car with fully complete OEM equipment being a "crook"? Especially since I told him it has full OEM equipment. Its not like I am hiding the fact its all OEM.
LOL not to mention the price. He stole it from me. For the price it may as well have been a shell. I wont repeat it here because he bought it to turn a profit.

so far in this thread all I see is people trying to get somebody who shouldnt be driving over the speed limit to drive over the speed limit. irresponsible?

[ultimateirving]

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

haters gonna hate. mark my words: kid installs big radiator without also adding an oil cooler. coolant stays cool but the oil overheats while he drives over the speed limit (which, by the way, is what happens when you go past 3000rpm in 5th). oil breaks down, bearings are toast.

I give it 6 months to live.

also, how is giving somebody a car with fully complete OEM equipment being a "crook"? Especially since I told him it has full OEM equipment. Its not like I am hiding the fact its all OEM.
LOL not to mention the price. He stole it from me. For the price it may as well have been a shell. I wont repeat it here because he bought it to turn a profit.

so far in this thread all I see is people trying to get somebody who shouldnt be driving over the speed limit to drive over the speed limit. irresponsible?

Well done! Im convinced. Great defense with the speed limit. I been waiting to see if you would chime in. again. Regular oil changes would keep the oil from getting severely degraded.

[240boi115]

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

haters gonna hate. mark my words: kid installs big radiator without also adding an oil cooler. coolant stays cool but the oil overheats while he drives over the speed limit (which, by the way, is what happens when you go past 3000rpm in 5th). oil breaks down, bearings are toast.

I give it 6 months to live.

also, how is giving somebody a car with fully complete OEM equipment being a "crook"? Especially since I told him it has full OEM equipment. Its not like I am hiding the fact its all OEM.
LOL not to mention the price. He stole it from me. For the price it may as well have been a shell. I wont repeat it here because he bought it to turn a profit.

so far in this thread all I see is people trying to get somebody who shouldnt be driving over the speed limit to drive over the speed limit. irresponsible?

if you take care of the motor and it doesnt have problems which is what it sounds like your saying then 5th gear at 3k isnt a problem. a bone stock sr with its oem fan can handle heat. and like i said before why the hell would nissan make a motor that issues with overheating and mass produce it?!?!! and none of us are telling him to speed. the real point here is that if he is having overheating problems with the motor at 3k then there is something wrong with it that needs to be fixed!

OP any news on the problem being solved?

[Kingtal0n]

Originally Posted by 240boi115

if you take care of the motor and it doesnt have problems which is what it sounds like your saying then 5th gear at 3k isnt a problem. a bone stock sr with its oem fan can handle heat. and like i said before why the hell would nissan make a motor that issues with overheating and mass produce it?!?!! and none of us are telling him to speed. the real point here is that if he is having overheating problems with the motor at 3k then there is something wrong with it that needs to be fixed!

OP any news on the problem being solved?

I agree, 3k is no problem. 3k is 65mph. thats exactly where I told him to stay, well done good job. hes tryin to hit 3.5-4k continuously, 75-88mph. that IS a problem. too much friction, clearances are too tight for it. too much heat. rod bearing clearance on that engine is .0008" iirc. Turbine is too small. Once again, there is a reason they did not bring this engine to the USA and it has, in part, to do with climate.

[Kingtal0n]

Originally Posted by ultimateirving

Well done! Im convinced. Great defense with the speed limit. I been waiting to see if you would chime in. again. Regular oil changes would keep the oil from getting severely degraded.

do you actually own a redtop with the oem T-25?

Does anybody that is giving "advice" in this thread actually own a redtop with a T-25 that they daily drive?

If not, you have no business giving advice. period. I easily have 3x the experience with most of these engines than anybody in this thread. There is a REASON that there are barely any redtops left out there. Look around- do you see any? Show me some daily driven vehicles with redtops in the USA that you own. Post up. Ill match you swapped vehicle for swapped vehicle- you post I post. Guarantee you run out first.

[ultimateirving]

Sounds more like you didn't hook up the coolant lines to the turbo. And it's just oil cooled...

[240boi115]

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

I agree, 3k is no problem. 3k is 65mph. thats exactly where I told him to stay, well done good job. hes tryin to hit 3.5-4k continuously, 75-88mph. that IS a problem. too much friction, clearances are too tight for it. too much heat. rod bearing clearance on that engine is .0008" iirc. Turbine is too small. Once again, there is a reason they did not bring this engine to the USA and it has, in part, to do with climate.

im still confused here i owned a s13 black top and did those speeds plenty of times and never had any issues my only add ons to the motor were a walbro 255 fuel pump and a larger exhaust I did regular oil changes and checked compression every month. s13 redtops are really that much weaker??? and to solve this guys problem he'll need a larger turbo?im thinking climate wasnt the only factor in the U.S. not getting the sr.. im all for ditching the bashing against each other and help the OP out with advice...

[Kingtal0n]

Originally Posted by ultimateirving

Sounds more like you didn't hook up the coolant lines to the turbo. And it's just oil cooled...

that wouldnt last more than a week. I know because Ive tried, back in 2004. You obviously have NOT since you would have known that already. Lack of experience is #1 in this thread.
post up pics of your redtop I want to see it.

[Kingtal0n]

Originally Posted by 240boi115

im still confused here i owned a s13 black top and did those speeds plenty of times and never had any issues my only add ons to the motor were a walbro 255 fuel pump and a larger exhaust I did regular oil changes and checked compression every month. s13 redtops are really that much weaker??? and to solve this guys problem he'll need a larger turbo?im thinking climate wasnt the only factor in the U.S. not getting the sr.. im all for ditching the bashing against each other and help the OP out with advice...

Where is it? post it up. what happened to it? I drove my car for four years- sometimes at those speeds as well. In fact I remember following a porsche on the highway at 85-102MPH for several miles in my car without an issue. The car can do it just fine. Just not for extended periods of time. Notice he neglected to get a video or even to respond to my offer to get a video. I ran that car hard, always in boost because thats what a T-25 does. I just didnt rev it past 5500rpm, and I let it cool off between 100mph bursts- like you are supposed to.

[ultimateirving]

My redtop is in my sig. It's now painted gold. I have a spare redtop valve cover if you'd like to see.

[Sileighty_85]

Hmm kinda weird that I've driven my SR on multiple 400 mile trips and (probably 17 times) @ 70-80mph for 5 years as well as driving 5 hours to Mineral Wells TX with 3 other SR'd chassis and never had a cooling issue.....

Even in Louisiana to where it was 100+ in the summers I never had issues.

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

D; disconnect turbine (free) highly recommended for highway drives if you are going to beat on the engine with outlandish RPM

I am very curious as to how you would do this.... Once up to highway speeds do you climb onto the hood and disconnect a pipe, Or do you disconnect it before getting on the highway?

Either way the car wont fucking run you idiot.

Even If if that did work how the fuck is the turbo even an over heating issue?

It sounds like your saying the hot air the turbo produces is heating up the engine?

Well guess what? There is this thing called an INTERCOOLER, Its like a radiator for the air that it cools the air before going in the engine. But even still the engine is gonna be hotter than the air entering the engine anyway.

[Mikester]

^^Why are you guys even bothering at this point??? Arguing with idiots like him is a nowhere road... They will just drag you down to their level; then beat you with experience.

We all know this kid has no fucking clue what he is talking about... nor will he listen to reason.

You are all wasting your time... Let this thread die.

[Sileighty_85]

Bored at work thats the only reason why lol

[Kingtal0n]

Originally Posted by ultimateirving

My redtop is in my sig. It's now painted gold. I have a spare redtop valve cover if you'd like to see.

so it has all oem equipment and you daily it? and you really drive it at 80mph (3500rpms) continuously on full OEM equipment for long distances, right?

=Either way the car wont fucking run you idiot.

Because you totally have tried and found that out, right? Funny how I drove that car 20% of the time without the turbine connected. Sounds to me like you simply have no clue how a turbocharger works.

[Kingtal0n]

Originally Posted by Mikester

^^Why are you guys even bothering at this point??? Arguing with idiots like him is a nowhere road... They will just drag you down to their level; then beat you with experience.

We all know this kid has no fucking clue what he is talking about... nor will he listen to reason.

You are all wasting your time... Let this thread die.

Oh no. The internet is such a serious place. Oh pleaase dont talk bad about me on dee internet.





back in 05 or 06 I was doing this. Its been 10 years and Ive only gotten better at it.
Everytime I post now I am gonna post up a swap from my documented swaps I keep talkin about.
I suggest anybody that has a rotten mouth with anything negative to say do the same, since you want to disregard my 10 years of swap experience for your internet talk. talk is cheap.