<U>Engine</U>
1998 B18B completely rebuilt, GE Sleeved, 83mm, going straight LS-Turbo

<U>Car</U>
1998 GSR Shell

I rebuilt the LS engine and put it in the GSR shell I had, the 2 heater hoses did not match exactly so I routed them as shown below.

<U>Problem</U>
OK, I start the car, let it idle and the block and upper radiator get very hot, almost too hot to hold your hand on. However, the lower radiator hose is ambient temp(actually feels cool). Now I know this will be the case until the thermostat opens, but I am nervous of letting the car run thinking there could be a problem. My temp gage reads about a 1/4 of the way, and no radiator fans come on.

<U>Questions</U>
How long is it safe to leave my car idling if I suspect a cooling issue?

What sould happen first, the thermostat opens, or the radiator fan comes on?

Am I just being paranoid and should let the car run longer then the 5-10 minutes I let it run?

Should the head and upper radiator hose be so hot that I cannot even touch them?

Where is a good place to put a thermocouple if i want to measure the temp with an independant device(not sure if I trust the cars temp gage)

Is there something burning me because the motor is a LS (and wire harness) and the car is a GSR?

I appreciate any advice you can offer, or how long it take for the thermostat to open or fan come on, etc(at idle condition). Im in NY and it was about 60 degrees outside when I did this.

Here is a pict of the heater hoses I routed to match the GSR:

 

i think you are overreacting a bit. i understand being paranoid but letting the car idle for 5-10 min is not long enough for the thermostat to even open. unless you think the thrmostat is defective then i would give it some more time.

also the fans arent gonna work if the thermostat isnt opening (the fan switch is in the thermo housing) so just give it some more time, or you could try to datalog if you have that capability in your ecu.

 

Ok that makes me feel a little better, but how so I know if or when the motor is too hot? Or better yet, how long from a cold start (at about 60F) does it take the therm to open?

Thanks a lot, really appreciate the help!

 

its probably impossible to estimate. i would just watch the OEM gauge, unless it goes past half i dont think you should worry. keep checking the lower rad hose, it should start getting hot. you could even lightly rev the motor to help it heat up faster. finally the fans will cycle, then you know you are at full operating temp. also make sure you have all air out of the system

 

well, my service manual says to fill the radiator and overfill and run it without the cap off until the rad. fan comes on twice. This is what I did, but after about 10 min and only 1/4 temp gage, and a very hot upper hose I pussed out and shut it off. I guess I need to let it run even longer

 

the temp for almost any car today to run at is about 210 do u think 210 would be cold enough for you to keep your hand on..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by del_slow420 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the temp for almost any car today to run at is about 210 do u think 210 would be cold enough for you to keep your hand on..</TD></TR></TABLE>

Point taken. I am comparing this to my 03 RSX and that upper hose only gets warm, even at full opp. conditions. Now i know its not an apples to apples test, but that is where my concern originated.

 

yeah, youre probably not giving it enough time....when its warming up, turn the heater on full blast til you get heat out of the vents to ensure there is no air pockets in your heater hoses. hold the rpm's at around 2-3 grand (with the radiator cap off), and wait for the fans to kick on...could be about 10-15 minutes before that happens...even when revving. just make sure the gauge doesnt get over half during this process.


Modified by philafelman at 2:53 PM 4/26/2008