leftlanetruckin

Put a LQ4 into a Range Rover, along with a LS6 intake and injectors.
ECM work was done by LSxTuners, mail order tune.
Changed the thermostat to a 160degree one, after the old one had it at 210 all the time. Now at idle it sits at 180-185, and the electric Ford Taurus fan cycles on and off beautifully and keeps it there.
Get to driving it though, and it sits around 210 after @5-10 minutes.
Radiator is a new aluminum one, fan is working fine, water pump is a Escalade item that is under 1000 miles old. I would rather run a mechanical fan, but where the engine sits there is no chance, height is wrong. No signs at all of a HG issue. No blockages in front of radiator.
I looked at live data on a scanner, and it is going to 48 degrees advance sat still at @2200rpm's. Lower RPM's and idle it is a lot less. Seems to be that when more advance is dialed in, the hotter it gets, or is this just coincidence?
MPG is @13mpg average city/highway. Should be more than that IMHO
Martin

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

What are you using for a duct system.......?

Thats where the problem is......the air coming in from the front is getting lost and wasted.....and it is not ALL being blasted through the front and over the entire front surface of the radiator.

Unless you have the factory ducting with fans that are sealed pretty well to the ports for the two fans......you have an airflow issue while moving.

Its also not the same air dam and path that the ram air takes coming off the air dam while moving......its hard to duplicate the factory air dam and ducting to run cool.

Big problem with hybrids/conversions.

You can easily make a good ducting system with thin sheet metal.....

.

leftlanetruckin

There was never any duct work there before, so there isnt any there now.
Radiator is right behind the condenser, which is right in front of the grill with the exception of a stacked Derail trans cooler at the very bottom.
I will pull it in later and see if there is a way to make an air dam type deal for it though and keep you posted.
Many thanks

Martin

Bowtie316

iTrader: (1)

Is there a chance that the fans are wired backwards and are pushing air out the front? That will cause what you are experiencing.

An undersized radiator will also do what you are experiencing, so will a bad head gasket or a collapsing radiator hose.

leftlanetruckin

Thinking about it, I dont see how air ductwork would affect it, as it gets hot when sat still on a high (@2k rpm's) idle, but runs a steady 180-185 at idle.
I double checked the fan air flow yesterday. Held a piece of paper up to the outside of grill, and it got sucked to the grill.
Will try to look at the hoses when it does it, see if one is collapsing.
Dont want to think about the HG....
The radiator is a smaller height, but a lot thicker than stock and approximately the same width. It's a 2 row double pass IIRC.

Martin

1964SS

iTrader: (1)

In OE format the electric fans kick off at a certain speed. The PCM reads the speed sensor and turns the fans off since 65mph incoming air works better then a fan. Maybe this is what it's doing.

leftlanetruckin

Hmm, so maybe try running a switch though the fan to disengage it at speed?

Martin

1964SS

iTrader: (1)

Is your speed sensor wired to PCM? maybe it's already kicking off at a set speed and your not getting enough forced air through.

Firebrian

Every overheating problem I had on my earlier cars was that they ran too hot at idle. Once moving they cooled down (moving air cools better than idling fans). I would vote on an air flow issue as well...either leading into or out of the radiator air stream. Those idle cooling fans seem like a good place to start. A test drive with the fans turned off and the car moving at >45 mph should give you an idea.

leftlanetruckin

Fan is on it's own controller, not through the PCM.

Will give it a shot after I feel a little better....Dentist, 'Nuff said

1981TA

iTrader: (7)

One theory: an air bubble around/near the thermostat causing it to not open--insufficient heat conducting to the thermostat. At idle, suficient water passes through your heater to keep the engine cool. Maybe try purging air from your steam vent hose (engine off and cool) until you have water come out of the vent, close it back up and then see if your problem remains.

SprayJ

iTrader: (17)

My 69 chevelle was a BBC car, no overheating issues at all. Did an LS swap with the same radiator, add a condenser and a trans cooler and it would idle all day and stay cool but drive down the road and it would get hot. I added a lower air dam and it solved the problem completely. My vote is air flow for sure, sounds exactly like my issue.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

I would try and make sure you don't have an air bubble in the system.

Not sure how these engine handles excessive timing. But in the past with my old school SBC w/carb.. excessive timing would cause high temp's.. might question you tuner on the timing parm's in the tune. 48 degree seem excessive to me anyway.

BC

jimmyg

Mine is overheating too only when you shut heat off in traffic . Turns out thermostat needs coolant flow from heater core to open. You need a 4way mixer valve . One that loops coolant back to pump instead of blocking flow a lot of people are using everco 5930 from autozone

Bowtie316

iTrader: (1)

This is a good post, I didn't go back and read the original post but how did you (the OP) route and install the steam line from the heads to water pump, or radiator or what?

leftlanetruckin

Steam line on the back is blocked off, as it was when I got the motor.
Front ones go to the expansion tank, where a throttle body heater pipe used to go on the Rover motor. Will try to see if I can get any air out of it though.
I know when I had an air pocket in the past, the temp sensor for the electric fans was unable to get a reading, so it didn't know to turn the fans on! Seemed the air pocket settled on the upper part of the radiator, on the right hand side where the probe reads the temp for the fan controller.
I can have the AC on, with zero heat, and it sits at 180 while at an idle, no issues there.
Will send my tuner a message regards the tune too, see if it could have something to do with it.
Sorry for my delayed response, oral surgery yesterday apparently kicked my ***!
Off to Kansas City right now to pick up a lift axle for my big rig, then will look into those suggestions when I get back.
Thanks a lot guys!
Martin

leftlanetruckin

Heard back from Lorenz at LSX tuning, a speedy reply a normal.
He says the ECM settings have nothing to do with it, as when it's under a load the ignition will retard quite a bit.
So I pulled it into the garage to cool down, and will look at disconnecting the steam line tomorrow from the fitting, and see if any air is trapped there.
Will also look into making a type of funnel, to get more air to the radiator while moving, if time permits before a follow up at the dentist again....

Cheers
Martin

my406cid

Have to go with Jimm on this one. All the ls motors have a free flowing coolant thru the heater core. What type of heater valve u using? I thought those trucks all used an auxiliary water pump. If it uses a vac operated heater control valve that get one from a 96 -99 suburban. It's a 4 port continuous flow type. This may help you

leftlanetruckin

Just managed to tinker for a little while before I have to leave for a few hours.
I undid the steam line from the engine to the expansion tank.
No coolant came out until I loosened the tank cap, then some bubbly coolant, then steady coolant. refitted the line and topped it off. Will see if that changed anything.
Like I said the rear ones are blocked off as they were when I got the motor.
As far as heater core goes, the Rover has the two lines going straight to the core, no valve etc between the feed and return lines, and the core. Changing temp inside to hot has no effect on engine temperatures when driving neither.
I have replaced enough heater cores in Rovers to know that layout at least...lol
I will pick some sheetmetal up when I go to town, as I have to pick some other supplies up from the supply place anyways for another job this afternoon, and look at the front end to see if I can direct some ore airflow into the radiator and keep it there.
Still trying to figure out why the trans shift 1-2 and 2-3 at @3,000RPM'S, and shifts hard when it does shift. Lorenz said no trans mods in the tune, so.....
Forgot to mention, did a compression test a few weeks ago, all between 155 and 170 psi cold.
Keep the ideas coming guys, I appreciate all the help.

Martin

leftlanetruckin

Here is a thought I had a while back...
The engine bay is rather "crowded", and insulated. It is, well was, a luxury vehicle that cost the same as a house when new after all!
My thought was to add some louvers/vents to the hood and lose the insulation on the underside of the hood. Seems like there is not a lot of room to let hot air out to me. So if the hot air in entering, but not allowed to leave, would it have the same effect?


I can take other photos and post too, if anyone needs them to see what I mean.
Thanks
Martin