Slo_crx1

I probably should have posted seperate threads in each appropriate section, but it's late and I'm feeling lazy. :P
Nice warm day today, around 83 and extremely windy...gusts up to 45mph the local news was saying. I've been noticing as it gets warmer my car seems to like warm up time less and less, and once it hits temp is stutters pretty badly for a little while like the plugs are fouling. I just changed the plugs to one's that are 1 step colder, so it's possible, but it ran great with them in cooler weather. Also, the car seems to be running hotter as it gets warmer, which is pretty normal. Only problem is once summer gets here I won't be able to drive it without overheating every 10 minutes. I have a 1/2 rad (7/8" core) but it's being blocked in the front by my monster evo8 fmic. Would jumping to one of the ebay special 2" 1/2 rads help me out any, or would it still be a waste of time due to the limited air flow? I might be able to squeeze a normal 88-91 full-size in there if it comes down to it, or should I look into a smaller fmic instead...one that doesn't block the air flow so much? I saw the temp jump a little on the highway going to work this afternoon, but it went back down. Got into the parking lot at work and it started climbing again, but even with the fan on it wouldn't come back down. Tonight it dropped down to the 70's and ran fine...no overheating. It's not a hg issues, already checked that and I'm good, and it does it more when I'm not in boost then when I am. Hitting boost actually helps drop it down for some reason. Toss me some ideas guys, and whether or not the ebay 2" rads really work well or go for the full-size.

Smith-02

are you running oem temp gauge? go aftermarket, you might be heating on the side of bbq temps with the rad

Slo_crx1

Yeah, it's still the oem gauge in my 89 hatch. It doesn't climb much, hasn't made it past the 2/3 mark, but it still worries me. Once I can get a dc/ac power converter I can hook my laptop up and do some datalogging and check it on there...stupid compaq batteries don't last for ----. :P
Also I think my shitty b&m fpr is sticking...after a little bit of cruising you hit the throttle and the afr's go lean, then it hits boost and pops back up into the rich area. After boost it's fine for a little while, then does it again.

xternal

I reckon maybe try a smaller fmic .. that way you'll get much more efficient air flow to the radiator.
Even a bit of heat wrap around the manifold / downpipe could do the trick.

StanB

1. Redline Water Wetter.
2. Lower temperature thermostat - opens quicker than OEM.
3. Lower temperature fan switch - fan comes on earlier than OEM.
4. Higher pressure radiator cap - increases the boiling point of water/coolant.
5. Larger radiator.

Before you do any of the above, check to see if your radiator needs cleaning. A smaller intercooler might be less efficient than the one you have now resulting in more hot air being pumped into the engine.

Hope these help you.

Slo_crx1

1. Already have it in, I swear by the stuff.
2. Would definately be something to look into
3. I have an adjustable temp switch on a slim-line fan...it's set to come on pretty quickly
4. Something I'd like to get, but not on current rad hoses or radiator...they're just to weak
5. More or less what I was thinking. I just don't want to waste the money on a 2" core 1/2 rad if it's going to end up doing the same thing as the current one.
The radiator is only about a year old if that, but it was on a motor that cracked a sleeve and did balloon out some from the extra pressure. As far as the front mount, I could go smaller and not have efficiency problems...the evo8 fmic is something like 13"x19"x2 1/2".

Slo_crx1

Yeah it would help, but it does it mostly during cruising off boost. I re-did my timing map a little today so I'll see how that does, although the outside temp is only in the mid 60's today. So far the new map is running good after playing with the idle and tps voltage. I'll see how it does, but so far 8psi on this map is quite a bit slower than the old one...enough that even the butt dyno can tell it's quite a bit slower. But if it'll make the car run more reliably I'll just have to deal with it until I can finish building my LS block.

0b00st0

Is there enough coolant in their?


When it starts getting hot, hold it at say 4000rpms a see if it drops. If it does, you just need more coolant.

Also, is the overflow functioning properly? The hose that goes to it needs to have no leaks other wise, when the system gets low on coolant, the leak will prevent the vacuum created in the system after cooling down from pulling coolant back from the overflow.

wtg

check for leaks they play hell on the cooling sytsem they cause all kinds of probloms also dont over look the rad cap. if your cooling sytem isnt under enough pressure it will lower the boiling point of the water and boil i had the same issues you had as soon as i installed the turbo. i even repalced the head gasket thermostat aluminum radiator nothing changed. turns out i had a small coolant leak at the back of the intake manifold ------- thing was there for months unnoticed ---- pissed me off a 2$ part oh well got all kinds of new ---- though.