Permanent damage?

[TrevoR32]

hello all, so i was fortunate enough to have my rad leak in my GTR i just put a bunch of new parts in so i am not sure if that is to blame or otherwise. Long story short was forced to drive veh on the hwy and the oil temp rose to around 120c which is bad but im more concerned that the engine temp rose to as high as the needle could go, then went higher. i pulled over and let it cool to normal temps then drove a bit ( i needed to get off the hwy to get help) until it was maxed out again. the engine was pretty normal during all of this. When i finally fixed it and drove home the car was fine and everything seemed to run normal. i have not pushed the car until a new rad is fitted, however i am slightly concerned that the stress of max heating although for only 5 min at a time at 3000 rpm, any rb specific damages may have resulted? Thanks fellas.

Trevor.

[drew6]

Well, heat is the great destroyer as they say.

However, aside from a compression test and/or a leak down test (check for headgasket cracks/cracked rings/block/head) there's not much you can do without actually taking the engine apart. It's either something did get damaged or didn't at this point. From my personal experience though (I over heated an RB26 for a VERY short period of time once) the RB26 is very tough and can take a beating.

Best of luck.

[TrevoR32]

Well, heat is the great destroyer as they say.

However, aside from a compression test and/or a leak down test (check for headgasket cracks/cracked rings/block/head) there's not much you can do without actually taking the engine apart. It's either something did get damaged or didn't at this point. From my personal experience though (I over heated an RB26 for a VERY short period of time once) the RB26 is very tough and can take a beating.

Best of luck.

thanks man. like i said engine seems ok. not quite as powerful but maybe im just being paranoid. appreciate the input.

Trevor.

[nelsonmxmarc]

General rule for the RB's seems to be that 220f oil temps is a bottom end killer. A lot of SAU guys have seen bearing failure at this temp and it seems to be a prominent rule of thumb. That being said, 220f is 104c. You reached a max of 120c which is considerably over this. I'd be worried about bearing failure to come, or perhaps premature wear on the crank. If i were you, and everything SEEMS fine now, change your oil before driving again. The result of excess heat on oil is a breakdown of the viscosity and the molecules of the oil, making it almost water like in substance vs. viscous and thick.

Next time it's on the road, and everything is fine, get it up to operating temp and give'er. Only way you'll know if something's off unless you want to go through a full engine overhaul.

[nelsonmxmarc]

The reason it seems less powerful is due to the energy robbing characteristics of heat. On the track, your car will presumably feel slower due to heat soak. Once the engine is back to OT you'll notice it should be fine. You wont see top end issues (rings/pistons) due to high heat, generally, like i said, its bottom end. The only top end thing i would be aware of is HG and head warp. If it's the stock HG and studs, you may find yourself burning coolant or having oil deposits in your coolant.. Simply need a decking and to refit a new HG / studs (Best case scenario). If you're lucky however, count your blessings when you open your coolant see coolant only :P

[Bossman]

Well, heat is the great destroyer as they say.

However, aside from a compression test and/or a leak down test (check for headgasket cracks/cracked rings/block/head) there's not much you can do without actually taking the engine apart. It's either something did get damaged or didn't at this point. From my personal experience though (I over heated an RB26 for a VERY short period of time once) the RB26 is very tough and can take a beating.

Best of luck.

Like he said a compression test and a cooling system leak down test should give you an idea if there is any problem incurred from this misfortune. I would also check the plugs and the coil packs. I know someone who actually drove her Corolla for some period of time with a failed water pump and the other items that were damaged due to the over heating were the plugs and the plug wires.

[TrevoR32]

thanks guys great tips. ya i really hope it works out. i would not be pleased after dropping so much into the car to have the engine go poof over something stupid. thanks again.

Trevor.

[jrhdohc]

...change your oil before driving again.

[NismoS-tune]

A tow truck as soon as you found the overheating would have been my choice. Let's hope you made the right choice to keep trying to move it and that nothing is bad. If it still runs, it should be ok.