Ok guys here is my issue. Car runs like a top. Its a new engine IE piston/rod. mishimoto 1/2 rad and 12" puller fan. its lsvtec with gsr block. car still has a/c but not in operation rigth now.

PTW is good. bearing clearence was on the tight sspec for honda with acl's. No bearig shavings in the oil. oil is still crystal clear. ive got about 600 miles on the motor. did a leak down and HG is fine. has a brand new thermostat in there form acura. it will stay cooler in city driving but soon as you hit the highway at ride around 3500rpm for a little it starts to rise really quick till CEL comes on at 220. turn the heat on and slowly slowly will bring it to 208 after about ten miles

now last week i wrapped the DP which slowed the pheatsoak a little. so then i installed a turbo blanket which slowed the process of heating up quite a bit. but still will get to 220 and then i turn the heat on. im on hondata s300 thats how i know the temp. it has mild timing so i know its not that. its a top mount cast manifold from SPA and a sc60 turbo

now today i took the thermostat out to rule that out. took a little longer to warm up. with the heat off and boost the car it shot from 199 to 216 after a 3-4 gear pull at about 14 psi boost. which isnt to bad i think but then took a long time to cool down even with the heat running. after it cooled off it would stay at 204 with the heat on and 208 with the heat off untill i got into boost again.

how possible is it that the new radiator is defective? am i missing somethign here? does anyone have any suggestions? im willing to try anythign at this point. possible air flow issues? should i H2B the hood to ventilation? should i get a wider intercooler so the end tanks arent in the mouth of the bumper restricting flow? any and all seuggestions would be excellent guys.

 

make sure the rad cap is the highest point in the system. i had problem cause the cap was lower than the upper hose and it would trap air. also bleed the system with the 12mm bleeder bolt too. turn the fan on all the time if u have to.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97grnrs &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">make sure the rad cap is the highest point in the system. i had problem cause the cap was lower than the upper hose and it would trap air. also bleed the system with the 12mm bleeder bolt too. turn the fan on all the time if u have to. </TD></TR></TABLE>

thanks for the input. I double checked and the rad cap is higher then the upper hose. GSR doesnt have a bleeder on the coolant neck

 

I'm going through the same thing man. Are you running coolant through the turbo? I'm not sure if those turbo's requre that or not.

If you want my advice, I'd get a company to re-route your upper AC line and get it out of the way so that you can re-install the stock radiator. If you can't fit both stock fans, run 2 of the 12" fans you have now, they should fit since they are so narrow.

As well, if you infact have coolant running through your turbo, I'd get a heat exchanger (small one maybe 10-14 inchces long x 2 wide x 4-6 high)with a -6 an inlet and outlet and run the coolant coming out of the turbo into it, and then another -6 an line back into the upper neck, right before it goes back into the radiator.

If your just running oil, you could try running a oil cooler besides the stock one.

Also, I'd take your car to a dealership or shop to have it bleed professionally with their machine, and make sure they use distilled water and water wetter, it will pull out more heat that way.

You need to keep in mind you not only moved the radiator from the place where it gets air circulation from the front of the car ,but you also cut it in half. That combined with 14 psi isn't exactly perfect for engine temps.

You might also consider running some sort of intake to your turbo to try and get colder air and decrease your IAT's, or perhaps the Nitrous Express intercooler spray. It won't make you more power on the dyno when you have cold air blowing hard on it already, but long trips and multiple passes on the track, a litle spray here and there might help your motor stay cooler.


Modified by totsie7944 at 10:07 PM 7/14/2008

 

All very good points. Plenty of people run these darn half sized rads without issues though which leads me to believe that i should be able to do so as well. Its an oil turbo only no coolant. The stock rad will not fit with the manifold i am running otherwise id slap it right back in the car because it worked great for me before. Seems like ive got a air flow issue to the rad from what info ive been gathering. Im going to pull the front bumper cover off it and take for a drive. if runs cooler then i know ive got an air flow issue and i can fix it from there. IF that doesnt help then the rads comming out and being tested.

 

You say you did a leak down test and the HG is fine? Have you ever started the car and had white smoke come out after a long drive and obvious overheating? If you have than it could still be your headgasket. I know its weird but sometimes the HG might seal fine when the motor is cold or hot and then not when its the opposite....not sure how that could happen but I've seen it on 2 peoples cars now.

Not many people that are running half sized radiators are running AC man...you and I have alot more crap in the engine bay soaking up heat and making cooler air flow harder to get to the turbo and radiator.

I honestly think you should go and get a real shop to flush with distilled water and water wetter, and bleed it properly...I'd be willing to bet that would help a lot.

 

doesnt burn any coolant or oil what so ever. all the fluid levals stay exactly the same. doesnt push coolant under boost either. crank pressure is minimal and i have a good breather system on the car off the VC. I have the equipment to bleed the cooling system and ive done so several times also run it and let cool and then bleed again. first time bleeding the system i got tons of air out. second time was just a few little bubbles and now its rock solid every time i check it. im running a 50/50 premix prestone coolant.

Picking up a precision 600hp intercooler which is wider then mine so the end tanks wont block the radiator air flow. also going to space the hood see how that works. it worked well when i had a stock radiator in there but i put it back to normal because my old engine leaked crazy oil and i couldnt stan the smell of it burning anymore LOL

 

Proped the back of the hood up to vent some of the heat out of the bay. still overheating just takes a little longer than before. I think ive got a bum radiator personally but not 100% sure

 

Got a shroud on your fan? Also what kind fan do you have?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 8herout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Got a shroud on your fan? Also what kind fan do you have?</TD></TR></TABLE>

no shroud. planned on having my friend who does hvac bend me up something nice though. Im running a mishimoto 12" fan as a puller its supposed to flow 1250 cfm witha mishimoto rad.

 

Put on a shroud, should make a hell of a difference.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SovXietday &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Put on a shroud, should make a hell of a difference.</TD></TR></TABLE>This man speaks the truth. You can also try to use a stock civic fan (with shroud). Those seem to work alot better then the cheap ones you get at your local auto parts store.

 

i would highley recomend putting your thermostat back in. It ruines motors.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbociv910 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i would highley recomend putting your thermostat back in. It ruines motors. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How so?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo-LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How so?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't know what he's talking about honestly, but the thermostat is key to building pressure in the system. You can drill small pinholes in the thermostat to get the best of both worlds if you want to try that too.

There are a bunch of things you can do though. Build a sheet of metal that directs all frontal air into the radiator. Move your intercooler as close as you can to your radiator. Have a pusher and a puller fan. Build the shroud. Try some water wetter while you're at it with straight distilled water (just make sure to switch to coolant if you have a winter season where you live).

All of that will help in keeping your car cool. 205* really isn't too bad heat wise though, just so you know.

 

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

How so?</TD></TR></TABLE>

it may seem better, but its horrible for your motor. Your coolant is never one temperature, one side of the motor is hotter than the other, You sleeves will eventually warp and it will start to drink oil. When things heat up, they expand. Do not want one side hotter than the other. The reason its there is to keep the whole motor at one temperature.

 

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

I don't know what he's talking about honestly, but the thermostat is key to building pressure in the system. You can drill small pinholes in the thermostat to get the best of both worlds if you want to try that too.

There are a bunch of things you can do though. Build a sheet of metal that directs all frontal air into the radiator. Move your intercooler as close as you can to your radiator. Have a pusher and a puller fan. Build the shroud. Try some water wetter while you're at it with straight distilled water (just make sure to switch to coolant if you have a winter season where you live).

All of that will help in keeping your car cool. 205* really isn't too bad heat wise though, just so you know.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the advice. yeah i know 205 isnt to bad but if i boost it she shoots to 220 probably hotter if i didnt kick the heat on and then takes forever to cool back down to 208. i picked up a precision intercooler which i slonger then my current one so the end tank wont be blocking the rad so that should improve air flow to the rad. im also going to be heating it up tonight and using a infared temp gun checking hot spots ect. almost seems liek my water pump isnt flowing coolant. either A air bound which it shouldnt be or B the WP is broken. with the cap off and no tstat the coolant isnt really flowing through the rad much. also going to do ANOTHER leak down to see if HG is still sealing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo-LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> its lsvtec with gsr block.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Huh, I dont get it?

Anyways, I had the same problems a while back, still do on REALLY hot days. I bought some water wetter mentioned somewhere above. That seemed to help a bit. Also, I hooked up a slim fan as a puller in replacement of my stock fan. Its wired straight to a fused 15A switch. When my car is on, the fan is on. If you still have problems, get a pusher fan to the front and mount them both to a switch. Hope this helps.

 

i have the same problem, i believe mine is a air flow problem to the radiator though, because without the bumper on its totally fine....

 

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

Huh, I dont get it?

Anyways, I had the same problems a while back, still do on REALLY hot days. I bought some water wetter mentioned somewhere above. That seemed to help a bit. Also, I hooked up a slim fan as a puller in replacement of my stock fan. Its wired straight to a fused 15A switch. When my car is on, the fan is on. If you still have problems, get a pusher fan to the front and mount them both to a switch. Hope this helps.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry worded wrong i guess its a gsr motor with LS crank and corresponding parts

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo-LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its lsvtec with gsr block.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

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

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

???

 

It's not an lsvtec when it has a gsr block.

 

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

Sorry worded wrong i guess its a gsr motor with LS crank and corresponding parts</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cool! So what rods are you running? I know this is besides the point but its interesting.

 

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

Sorry worded wrong i guess its a gsr motor with LS crank and corresponding parts</TD></TR></TABLE>

Totally did not see this.

For the sake of confusion, why not just call it an 89mm stroked gsr?