I have a built motor, listed are the mods on a DC (GSR) chassis.

block:
GSR block
darton sleeves 84mm
arias pistons 9:1
crower rods
all new pumps/gaskets/seals etc.
balanced

head:
B16 head
port & polished
5 angle intake, 3 angle exhaust
supertech valvetrain
blox stage 2 cams
evolutions cam gears
rev hard IM
hondata IM gasket
750cc injectors
walbro fuel pump
B&m fpr

I think that's all of it...

management:
hondata S300 (base tuned to 5000rpm only for break-in, which is already complete)

This setup is mated with a Greddy turbo kit with a custom 3" DP. I didn't have any heating problems when i was running an LS-V (the same built head on a stock LS block) setup with this kit. The differences from that setup and now are the built block and i went with the Godspeed full size radiator w/ 1 slim fan, not to mention i removed the AC. The old setup was with the stock radiator with stock fans and AC.

Here's the problem. After driving for about 20min or so, street or freeway, the fan will turn on but the cluster gauge shows the temp to only to be from 1/4 to 1/3 of the way. It doesn't even reach normal temp range. I popped the hood this morning after getting back from work (30min drive) and noticed that the radiator hoses were really stiff/hard and had some swelling where they connect to the head and the thermostat. I drained, refilled, and made sure there were no bubbles in the radiator this past weekend, but no progress. Should I run a 2nd fan and keep them constantly on? Will this significantly help or is there another problem that I'm dealing with? I'm tuning this Saturday and need to fix the problem before then. Someone pls. help!!!

 

Maybe a bad thermostat? I would get an aftermarket water temp gauge also. What are your AFR 's while cruising?

 

Also, is it smoking from the exhaust at all?

 

no smoke at all, not sure what the AFR is at. 1st thing on friday i will change out the thermostat...any other suggestions?

 

anyone have any other suggestions?

 

what are your actual ECT readings from s300? I had a similar problem on a similar motor, and it was just a hotter running motor... some just run hot! I tried EVERYTHING to make it run a little cooler, and it was still always at 200F.

 

are you filling up the overflow? Headgasket could be an issue. You could always throw in some water wetter, worked good for me.

 

All readings from S300 only Shawn Church knows since he base tuned it. Can't be my Headgasket since it's brand new. There was one thing I didn't do that my friend brought up to me and that's to bleed the little nipple/valve on the head to relieve pressure. I had a similar problem before on my hatch and bleeding that nipple solved that problem. But that was just on a stock GSR motor. Anyway, thanks for all the help. I'll try everything in my knowledge to fix the problem. If all goes well, be sure to see me post vids of the dyno. Once again, thanks all.

P.S. If anyone has any other idea of what the problem may be, please feel free to share.

 

A lot of people have those problems when they use a slim fan and the cause of it usually is because they didnt switch the wires around on the fan so that it blows the air instead of pulling it. Im talking about the hot and the ground.

 

i have my fan wired correctly...i double checked 3 times.

 

plug a laptop in and see what the readings are... thats the whole purpose of owning s300, the ability to do all that on your own.

 

damnit!!! i bled everything and changed my thermostat and after 20min of idle, the fan turned on again. i went to check the temp and its was only at a 1/4 of the way. problem not fixed...i opened my oil cap and found a small amount of milky residue. right away i thought HG. But how could this be, motor only has about 1.5 - 2k miles on it? So, i put the cap back on, fired it up, started revving a bit, and shut it off. I checked the cap again and found nothing under the cap. i checked the dipstick and noticed the oil not being as thick as it should (i changed the oil 3-4 nights ago). could it be after running the engine for that amount of time, make the oil thin out from heat or is it being mixed? can't tell if coolant is in the oil since the oil is so new.

 

brought the car to Church and hooked it up to the laptop. took it for a drive and and ECT's hit 220. pulled over and blasted the heater. drove back to the shop with heater on and hit 206-208 ECT. double checked everything and found out there was no air flowing through the fins of the my aluminum radiator. damn manufacture defect from the get go. car ran hot because of this and is why i blew the HG. well, time to rip the motor apart again and run the stock radiator (never gave me any problems).

BTW, thanks "ham" for showing how useful the extra spent money was (S300 + laptop = FTW).


Modified by Hyper16-Johnny at 5:06 AM 3/24/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hyper16-Johnny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There was one thing I didn't do that my friend brought up to me and that's to bleed the little nipple/valve on the head to relieve pressure.</TD></TR></TABLE>
That is a must everytime you mess with the coolant.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hyper16-Johnny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i opened my oil cap and found a small amount of milky residue. right away i thought HG. </TD></TR></TABLE>
This is normal, it's just some condensation. Nothing to be alarmed about.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hyper16-Johnny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">double checked everything and found out there was no air flowing through the fins of the my aluminum radiator.</TD></TR></TABLE>
So what you're saying is that the radiator you bought was solid? Cause unless it was solid (which is apparent right away) air will flow through it. Like it was said above, try switching the + and - on the radiator fan. I wired my FAL fan exactly per the directions and they were wrong. I flipped them around and you could instantly tell a HUGE difference in output. That wasn't the final solution to my overheating, but it was a part of the problem.

Just out of curiousity, what HG are you using?

 

dont tear the motor apart yet! do some tests first.

i would do compression and leakdown. maybe you can fix your radiator problem and be fine!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dunc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
That is a must everytime you mess with the coolant.


This is normal, it's just some condensation. Nothing to be alarmed about.


So what you're saying is that the radiator you bought was solid? Cause unless it was solid (which is apparent right away) air will flow through it. Like it was said above, try switching the + and - on the radiator fan. I wired my FAL fan exactly per the directions and they were wrong. I flipped them around and you could instantly tell a HUGE difference in output. That wasn't the final solution to my overheating, but it was a part of the problem.

Just out of curiousity, what HG are you using?</TD></TR></TABLE>

After taking out the aluminum radiator, i noticed that u can't see light through it (didnt check before installing). not to mention, it was really tough to install the slim fans. i had to poke holes with a small screw driver to slide the mounting ties through. that should've been my second sign of manufacture defect.

I was on a Cometic HG.

 

replaced the HG, the Cometic HG was shot. there were noticeable milky gunk on the valve cover gasket. putting everything back together now, we'll see how everything goes w/ the stock radiator. thanks again all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hyper16-Johnny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i had to poke holes with a small screw driver to slide the mounting ties through. that should've been my second sign of manufacture defect. </TD></TR></TABLE>
That's normal as well. That's how you're supposed to install the fan fastners. Blow on it with your mouth, put your hand on the other side....do you feel the air? I'd find it hard to believe anyone would sell you a solid radiator haha.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hyper16-Johnny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was on a Cometic HG.</TD></TR></TABLE>
How interesting. I had a feeling you were going to say that. What kind of gasket did you put back on it this time?

 

This time i got the golden eagle gasket.

My friend just called as i am typing and said even after the gasket job and switching of the radiator that the car is still doing the same damn thing and that now my fans aren't switching on. he said ECU reads high but guage reads low. [freak], what can this problem be...he said he's gonna try running it without the thermostat. worst thing now is either a warped head or dead water pump. damnit, how can a major problem happen with a brand new built motor in just 2k miles .

 

took the thermostat off and an instant ECT drop to 170-175. for some reason, either i have badluck with thermostats or some how some way my T-stats are blocking coolant flow. Go figure. anyway i told my friend to drive the car for the rest of the day to make sure everything is good. If all goes well, i'll be posting my dyno in a couple of days.

oh yea, we had to relay the fans.

 

Went to the dyno (Church's) thinking everything was all good. But with the luck that I have been having, of course it wasnt gonna get any better. The car put down 233hp 166tq @ 10psi. Most of you may think these numbers arent so bad on a greddy kit, but with a fully built 2.0 ltr motor they are very low. My 1st setup was with this head (w/ GSR cams, now on Blox B's) on a stock LS bottom end made 270hp @ 204tq on 10psi.

We did a compression test to only find cylinder 1 to be reading 50-60psi less than the other 3. We poured a little oil in the cylinder and check again with no progress. So that cancels out the rings. For sure it has to be something with the head. Could either be warped head or bad valves. Well time to rip the head apart again...to be continued.