I have a question about the cooling system. This may sound stupid, but is coolant always flowing through the heater core? I have a turbo h22 and overheat. I want to add a small radiator between the engine and the heater core to solve my overheating problem.

 

There is always coolant in the heater core. Whether or not it is hot coolant depends on the position of the heater control valve. Running with the heat on will help bleed off some extra heat. If your car is overheating make sure your cooling system is working properly before reengineering anything. You'll probably want to upgrade your radiator (full integra radiator or fluidyne or c&r) if you have a turbo H22. Are you using the Civic unit?

 

yea fix the cooling problem before rigging up quick solutions

 

I guess more info is needed.

I usually overheat in warm weather (above 75 F), 30 minutes into a drive. I always overheat on the highway (rpms sit at ~3800 creating more friction heat).

First off, I'm using a autozone dual core radiator. I can not go to a full lenght integra radiator because of my turbo setup (turbo's in the way along with ic piping). Also, due to the turbo, i have to angle the radiator a bit (big cooling flaw).

I have recently changed the water pump and I am not losing any coolant. I use a slim fan in the puller direction and it does work. The cooling system is bleed properly. I guess I havent tried to change the thermostat, but both radiator hoses are hot at operating temp.

Turning on the heat lowers my temps to a reasonable range so that is why i want to add a secondary radiator inline with my heater core. I want to add the secondary radiator so that i can drive without having to turn on the heat.

So, a few ideas to stop overheating are to:
1. Upgrade to an aluminum radiator (dont know if this would help much).
2. Attach something to the sides and bottom of the radiator so that air will not flow around the radiator.
3. Attach a secondary radiator in series with the heater core circuit.
4. Make a heat shield for the turbo mani and get a turbo blanket.

I guess im in the process of completing ideas 2-4.



Modified by dynomax27 at 12:57 PM 7/13/2007

 

Is there such a thing as a tri-core radiator? I thought I heard someone say Koyo was possibly a tri? Might have been bs. You can always get a spoon thermostat and thermoswitch so the fan activates at a lower temp. Possibly a cooling plate to help trap the air escaping around the radiator? JDM hood prop IF it actually lowers engine bay temps on turbo applications. *shrugs*

 

Yea, cooling plate is like idea #2. I dont think a lower temp thermostat would help much. It may just prolong the overheating. I was thinking about a vented hood, but dont think i want to shell out that much money for something that isnt a guarantee.

 

Here's some pics to help.




Also note that the intake is sucking in hot air due to the radiator. I dont think this has much of an effect becuase the IC will cool it down.

 

wow id say get somthing custom made to fit that setup. looks too tight

 

Damn! Those pictures are worth a thousand words. With the angle its sitting at im thinking that even a cooling plate wont help. A hood prop is cheap (washer/bolts), but is not proven to lower engine bay temps. It may be worth a try if you dont mind the way it looks and possibly wire the fan to a switch and have it run all the time

 

I've already run the fan on all the time. It still overheats on the hwy. I think having the fan on reduces flow through the radiator at higher speeds anyways (dont know for sure).

 

hook the fan up to a switch. and try the hood prop like 95ProjectEJ1 was saying.

try also using a lower temp thermostat and a higher bar rad cap, and pick up this stuff called watter wetter, its pink and works great!

 

I guess all that is left is the hood prop since the fan is on all the time, which would make a lower temp thermostat and thermoswitch useless. Try water wetter too. If everything is working, the last thing I can think of is a new turbo manifold that mounts in a different location that would allow you to place your rad in the right spot and upgrad to a larger one. Thats some money though

 

but it'd be worth it if it kept the motor cooler. id rather pay for the manifold then a new motor cause over heating problems.

 

Look into getting one of those slimmer aftermarket fans for your rad, may help with some clearance by that intake.

H22's dont exactly fit with lots of space to spare into civics as it is, but to top it all your running a turbo, lol.
Turbo'd car's in general will put off much more heat than N/A
look into maybe getting a different turbo manifold made, to give some clearence to your radiator, and look to upgrade to a full sized Integra one.

 

Oh, forgot i also have the two drops of dish soap in there, which is what water wetter does, except for the corrosion resistance.

Also, i already ordered the secondary radiator, ill give it a try. Its an Audi A6 Quattro secondary raditor that I found on ebay. Dimensions are 8"x6"x2", which is about the size of a heater core. I think ill also put a spal 7" or 6" fan on it.

Here's some pics of it.

 

where are you gonna put it?

 

Since Rad. fitment and overheating are your issues, the secondary radiator doenst seem like a half-bad idea

 

Im curious as to how the hoses will be set up

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MasterShake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">where are you gonna put it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Theres a small space inside the passenger wheel well that it might be able to fit in. Otherwise you may have to mount it topside, like the JDM intercoolers you see in D1 and other drift cars.

Id look to try where the A/C used to be as well, just behind the intercooler. My only concern is running hoses, thats going to take quite a bit of fitment planning.

 

I will put the secondary radiator where the ac condenser used to be. I think i have enough room, but will have to fab up some mounts for it.

Crappy pic, but this is where it will go; right behind the ic.



Here's a schematic of what i plan on doing. I'll add it in series with the heater core.