Cooling issues

[bertvorgon]

Not to hijack your thread, but, this does come under cooling issues, so I will throw this back up again.

Do not discount how important, and well it works, to keep air going THROUGH the radiator. Air will take the path of least resistance some times, and it does "dam" up in front of the radiator, and will "spill" out the sides, and through any other opening. It is dead easy and cheap to build a dam for around the radiator, and seal the side of the thing, with that foam tape, silicone, etc. in key areas. Any good race car will have a box directing air through the radiator, and keep a bit of a high pressure area in front of it.

I used construction board to make patterns, for all the cutouts, etc. then, transfered that to the four aluminium peices. I used some nice small stainless nyloc nuts and bolts to mount it

[DryHeat]

Thanks for all the info gentlemen.

It must admit that I am at my wits end with this issue as I'm sure is everyone who has contributed to or read this post. I have a stock L20 motor, stock water pump pulley, all new all cooling system components, a tested thermostat that opens @ 160, dual spal electric fans thermostatically controlled, a properly tuned engine, foam all around the radiator to force all the air through the opening and yet I still can't drive the car with an RPM above 2000 or at freeway speeds without the engine temperature rising dangerously high.

The only compnent I haven't replaced is the radiator ... so I'll do that this weekend and let you know what happens.

[bertvorgon]

If you look down into the radiator, can you see the tube ends? If you can see any white around the ends, it is a calcium build up, which restricts the water flow, and, can be all through the tubes. It does not take much to restrict flow, which is why it heats up as the speed and thermal load go up.

I only mention this for those using old radiators, been there myself, with my radiator. The water used from your city, depending on...even WITH antifreeze, can calcine out over time. The classic problem then becomes the car will over heat in highway driving. I was shocked 2 years ago, when I happend to look into my radiator, and saw the build up. I had it rodded out by the radiator shop. The water in Richmond here is very mineralized, and I never thought about that. Dumb! While a bit of a pain, I use demineralized water to fill my system now. I use the classic 50/50 mix. Be careful of using just WaterWetter, Andy at Specialty found that it did cause corrosion, contrary to what it says.

Just a thought at any rate.

I always find cooling issues interesting, as they just can kill our cars, and of course our driving enjoyment. We are about to embark on our annual RUN BEYOND HOPE, which takes us up through B.C's desert equivelant, where ambient air temps can be 32 - 35 C+ which is 95 + F. A few years ago, the interior temp of my car was 112F.

[jason]

Morning Keith, which radiator shop did you use for the rodding? I still have the same problem with the red 4 door.

Thanks

[James]

I agree with Keith - you should be able to keep that engine cool with a stock system! I would guess you have some type of issue with the radiator, as its your last unknown.

[DryHeat]

where ambient air temps can be 32 - 35 C+ which is 95 + F. A few years ago, the interior temp of my car was 112F.

Oh how I long for those 95f degree days ...

So … sometimes I miss the really obvious. When I installed my Vintage Air A/C unit with the heat option I decided it was silly to have the water outlet at the back of the head not circulate coolant if the heater wasn’t being used so I handcrafted a Franken-plumbing adapter to allow the coolant to flow back into the water pump inlet while still feeding the heater core when necessary. Brilliant he thought … most creative man ever to turn a wrench, visions of a DQ article danced through his head, the fame, the glory, lunches with Snoop Dog talking about all things wagon!!!

But alas reality bites … I woke up last night in a sweat and realized that this was the simply the most idiotic thing I had ever done. All that hot water from the back of the head was being force fed making a nice tight hot loop right back into the block without ever being cooled. So I de-crafted the DQ worthy adapter and re-installed the radiator and am now cruising the freeway at a balmy 190 degrees no matter how fast I go. Still a little on the high side but I believe my water pump is making too many bubbles.

Thanks for all the help guys.

[James]

I believe we have all been there. Those kind of revelations often come to me in the shower - right after I am done cleaning up from working on my car.
Glad you found it out.
James

[bertvorgon]

Oh yah...we have ALL been there, way too many times actually!!!

That is good you figured it out, I was sure curios. Unless you are really pulling some revs, you really should not be cavitating in there (bubbles), unless there is some serious corrosion on the impeller, which itself will start small points of cavitation.

Jason, I used the rad shop through Specialty, but any good shop can do that.

[datzenmike]

Bubbles could also be the head gasket. Does pressure build up even when the rad hasn't warmed up yet?

[goatee]

tlap I'm having basically the same issues so I will do what you found. I was curious however what temp you are running at now?

[tlap]

I am glad there has been so much input on this subject from others.
I have been running a 180 deg. thermostat, it indicates about 190 to 195 while cruising down the freeway in cool weather (70deg.) I have NOT calibrated my gauge yet, that is next on the to-do list.
However yesterday I put another new 160 deg. thermostat, with the 1/8" hole, back in. So far it is indicating 170 to 175 deg. on the freeway. I am starting to suspect that the gauge may be indicating high, but dont know for sure until I calibrate it.

[DryHeat]

tlap I'm having basically the same issues so I will do what you found. I was curious however what temp you are running at now?

Yesterday I went for a spin and the temp climbed to almost 200 with a 160 thermostat ... ambient temp was in the mid 09's ... seems to high to me. Got home and the radiator cap was spitting out some curious looking foamy coolant. DatzenMike is right ... I may be having a head gasket or cracked head issue. I'll be running a compression check today.

[goatee]

Sorry I posted after just reading page one I was so excited to notice a fix I didn't catch the multiple pages!

On my thermostat housing I don't see

Is there a by-pass hose from the thermostat housing to the lower rad hose return to the block. This small hose allows hot motor water to circulate past the thermostat to sample it. You don't want cooler water trapped around the thermostat while the motor over heats.

or a spot to put one in?

[hang_510]

cracked head issue.

realmy 2009?

or a spot to put one in?

a common thing to remove...

try putting a small hole in the themostat(stant has a loose plug? i usually remove) to allow some water to bypass when closed.

[DryHeat]

Update - Based upon the observed coolant bubbles I removed the head and had it pressure checked. No issues with the head . Looked over the block and found nothing suspicious . New head gasket and a thin coating of CopperKote and I re-installed the head.

SO I assumed the probem is still elsewhere ... I removed my electric fans and put the mechanical back on it, removed the grill thinking it may have been blocking air flow somehow, and replaced the lower hose with one that had a wire. Put it all back together and went for a cruise ... drove several miles at freeway speed ... temp 182 ... .

So now I will put the removed components back on and see if anything changes. If not I will suspect the lower hose was the issue despite no visual evidence of it collapsing. As for the coolant overflow I think it was due to the temp being way too hot and not combustion gas leaking into the coolant.

In any event I can cruise now!!!