I just fully rebuilt a b16 turbo, everything brand new including water pump and head gasket. I had the head shaved and block decked and torqued ARP head studs using ARP specs and pattern.

Radiator is fluidyne with a 16" slim fan in the stock position (not in front of the radiator blowing into engine bay). The fan turns on when it is supposed to.

When I drive the temp gauge is fine and when I stop the temperature rises but never hits red. I pulled over and the overflow was boiling and my engine bay was very hot because I have a ramhorn manifold made by PFAB which I usually have heat wrapped but took it off when I rebuilt my motor.

Could it be the fan is blowing the hot engine bay air to the radiator?
Could it get that hot from the engine bay temperature?
Should I mount it in front of the radiator so fresh air blows into the engine bay?

Today I will buy heat wrap and rewrap my manifold. Also install a new thermostat.

Just wondering if there is a possibility that it could be a bad head gasket or water pump already. I only put 73 miles on it so far.

Thank you all in advance!

 

I am confused when you say the fan is not infront of the radiator?

when idling the stock fan is in front of the stock radiator, maybe that is the issue?

Can you post a picture?

 

He meant his fan is in the stock position and not tucked to in front of the radiator

 

yes this, sorry for the confusion

 

the coolant on the radiator is from me refilling and accidentally spilling

 

Is this fan wired to come at a certain temperature like the stock fan is?

When the fan comes on say at idle does it still run hot?

What temp thermostat is in there, was it a new Honda unit?

 

The fan comes on the same time a stock one would.

Yes it still runs hot when the fan is on at idle

The thermostat is an old OEM honda unit. Today I will get a new one.

 

I am wondering if the slim fan is pushing enough air? Will a stock fan work?

Also, get the right temp thermostat, many applications run about 170 degrees.

Was the radiator new as well, not from another car?

 

Slim fan pushes more air than the stock one but no the stock one does not fit anymore because it hits my turbo. I'm running and a/c compatible turbo kit. Since it pushes so much air, do you think it's pushing too much HOT air?

 

I am no expert but I do not think you can push too much air to cool something down.

Now the slim fan is positioned right, pushing air in the right direction?

I would try a new oem thermostat.

 

Yes change your thermostat I recommend failsafe or something similar also check and make sure your fan is actually pulling air into the engine bay and not blowing it out, a simply misplacement of wiring could have your fan blowing the wrong way.

Also on a side note in regards to the boiling overflow, dunno if its the same problem but when mine boiled it was low on coolant and would produced a very nice hot steam from the reservoir.

 

Thanks for the advise! I will get let you guys know the result tonight or tomorrow morning!

 

try running ur car idle for like and hours or so because i had this same problem there has to be a bubble in ur system... or try runnign it without a thermostat and c if it does the same thing if it does ur thermostat is good but if it doesnt buy a new one from honda not from advanced auto parts or autozone!
hope this helps

 

Is the rad smaller or larger than stock? A bigger rad can overheat an engine (as can a smaller rad), as can a high output fan (blades basically cavitate...). A combo of the two can cause air and fluid to move too fast for the rad to actually cool the fluid off, via heat transfer... What is your coolant mixture? Have you tried a water wet additive?

 

yea thats a weird problem....the only thing i can think of would be the stat....if everything else is new....but the fact that it only gets hot when its sittin is y i would also think its a air flow problem....a new stat would be the cheapest fix so throw one in and keep us posted...good luck bro

 

Are you missing a fan in front of the exhaust? Looks like the a/c fan is gone...

 

check your fan direction is it pulling in cool air from the front
also make sure you have no air bubbles in the system

 

Thank you everyone for the information and advice!!!

First off, I replaced the thermostat with and OEM one, then I bled the coolant. I let it idle for a while until the fan kicked on. The temp gauge still went up slightly. The engine bay got pretty hot especially the side of my radiator near the turbo manifold. My fan was blowing the hot air onto the radiator.

I rewired the fan to make it pull instead of push and this seemed to be the solution.

Now when the fan kicks on the temp needle stays where it is supposed to! No more over heating. Thank you honda-tech and everyone who helped me again. I really appreciate it.

 

If you experience any further overheating think about investing in a shroud for the radiator and slimfan.

 

I had a feeling it was the fan, it needs to pull the hot air away I guess.

 

Ah that sounds like a great idea. I'll invest in one asap, thank you!