In the last race I was having cooling problmes. I have been trying to fix them, but seems as if I am getting no where. I am running a fluidyne radiator aslo. In the last event I tried no thermo stat, 180 degree (which I think may have been getting stuck), and ended with a 160 degree. By the end of the day I had blocked off the opening from where the ac use to be and hard wired the fan. It was much better then, but it still hasn't been perfect. I am wondering if I am not getting all the air out of the system when filling. Any tricks or methods to making sure there is no air in it and anything else I should try to do to keep it cooler. (Yes I will also have real gauges in the car for the next event.

 

Hey Danny, if you think you still have air in the system, there's a special funnel our techs use that fits in the coolant filler hole, put it in, put some more coolant(or water) and let the car run, you should see bubbles come out, once the bubbles stop, all air should be out of the system. I'll be happy to help you out if you need anything, also are you running redline water wetter?

 

also, it would be perfectley cool for the majority of the race and then all of a sudden it starts getting hot.

 

Run a stock thermo. Sounds like you may very well have blown a head gasket.

Warren

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Warren &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Run a stock thermo. Sounds like you may very well have blown a head gasket.

Warren</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was thinking the ssame thing, but havn't found and oil in the fluid or vice versa..

 

try a comp. test or a leak down test. that should help you find a blown head gasket.

something must be wrong; H4 motored hondas shouldn't be having problems with overheating....

have you checked other engine related factors; like the ignition timing, the fuel mixture, etc., that might create overheating???

good luck!

 

i would check ignition timing.

me being the idiot i am never bothered to check it on my miata before the first race. guess what? 14 degrees advanced past stock of 10 degrees. it was fine all day, then when i was sitting on the grid WHAM, all of a sudden i look down and it's just short of H (on a 60 degree and rainy day). resulting in a blown headgasket and warped head. so yeah, i'd check ignition timing, sounds similar to what happened to me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Todd Reid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

have you checked other engine related factors; like the ignition timing, the fuel mixture, etc., that might create overheating???

good luck!</TD></TR></TABLE>

now that I think about it the mechanic (that i'm already suing) advanced my timing in a very shady way. I will have to check it..

 

I had a similar problem with my ITA civic and suspected a head gasket problem (although no "mayo" detected in the cooling system). However, at idle, with the rad. cap off, you could see the water level in the rad. undulating up and down, indicating that cylinder gases were blowing by the gasket and getting into the waterways. I replaced head gasket (recommend using some sort of gasket softner - I didn't and it took me 4 hours to clean up head and block surfaces) and everything is now back to normal.

Re timing: also check the colour of the plugs - may indicate if running too hot.

Good luck!

 

I saw the thread title and thought that I might find a solution to MY problem. I have the EXACT same issues with the same engine (mine is stock though). So I am sure the solution is the same.

The only difference with me is that my car did have a bad radiator. So I changed that and thermostat at the same time thinking I would solve the problem. Then went to race and the problem was still there. I also have no mixed fluids.

I am changing the head gasket now and will post results next week hopefully.