xxwhiteneonxx

Okay guys i need some major help. So currently im on vacation and figured id toss this post up in hopes that by the time i get back ill have some stuff i can try. So onto my issues.

Just got done with my lr4 s475 th400 combo in my 97 camaro. Its overheating pretty bad. First, im 99% sure its bled right. I have the proper funnels and air bleeders to bleed cooling systems. ( i do this for a living) .

First time we took it out, it ran fairly cool ( 95 degree day, 220 after 1 mile and stayed there ir close to it) second time same thing. We now seem to be having some major issues. Third time we spiked 235 on the highway so i shut it down and let it cool and got it home. Since then we have done what's listed below and took the same drive and got it to run 216 highway and spiking 225 in traffic. I dont like that. Heres what we did so far:

Checked for air pockets

Moved rad forward away from turbo

Removed front fan shroud on the pushers in hopes we had blocked air from passing through

We drilled holes in the bumper underneath since it blocks flow to the rad. ( we cut 5 2.5" holes)

Tried water wetter

Thats pretty much all we tried. Now, go add to my syptoms, we have a lower rad hose with the spring in it. It seems to be bulging.

Any help is greatly appreciated at this point. Ill post pictures below of setup.

-Cody

xxwhiteneonxx

Sleeperls

Get the air splitter back under the radiator. It'll help a ton.

xxwhiteneonxx

Air damn may help going down the road but at a stop its not going to help my situation. I can build one but cant run the oem one since i built a tube front and have no oem support

dburt86

iTrader: (2)

Whats stopping you from pushing the rad all the way to the intercooler and running the fan as pullers? Puller fans are typically more efficient anyways and it would get ur rad away from your heat source.

forcd ind

iTrader: (7)

what size thermostat
my guess is the IC'er is blocking to much air-I experienced that on a couple builds, dropped the IC'er lower to allow air
Although you removed it, that shroud used in front is blocking air
you need more airflow somehow

xxwhiteneonxx

I have a mr gasket 180 degree thermostat. If this helps the situation at all , rear steam ports are blocked from the factory ( its a new oem longblock) and the fronts are plummed to the water pump. Would blocking airflow be causing my expanded lower rad hose?

Also, i cant move my rad forward without a ton of modifications. 97 and down f bodys have different headlight setups and are a pain to remove/ modify. If i move the rad forward, with the way the hood slants downward, ill have go move rhe rad downwards amd risk it hanging below the bumper and dragging the ground.

dburt86

iTrader: (2)

As you can tell, i dont have any experience with the chassis, but is there a possibility of leaning the rad? Maybe kick the bottom towards the IC? Just to get the turbo off the rad?

xxwhiteneonxx

I could try that. Not sure if thatd solve the expanding hose issue though. Ive never seen a rad hose expand

jay_rich

iTrader: (8)

I battled the same thing on my first build. Put an air dam back in the car. You will be amazed in the difference.

Jay

xxwhiteneonxx

You guys are referring to the shield that makes sure the air coming through the grill goes to the rad and not back out the bottom of the bumper , right?

Can somebody tell me if thatd cause my hose expanding issue??

mobythevan

iTrader: (6)

I bet when you are setting at a stop light a lot of hot air from the engine compartment is recirculated under the radiator and then back through it. If you had a lower pan and blocked up those lower holes it would remove that possibility. The temp will run away quickly if that is what is happening. Maybe it is not, my two cents

topgun542

iTrader: (6)

I didnt realize how close your turbo was to your intercooler... lol but i built my own air dam and it helped.

xxwhiteneonxx

One more thing i can add to this is the temps on the front side of the radiator are substantially lower. If the turbo side lets say is 500 degrees, the front side would be 100 or less.
I guess what im saying is the front side is cool to the touch, but the backside is unbearable.

I can try the airdam and see if that helps. Now, instead of the airdam i could make something that scoups air while driving. Which would be better? Should i make something for the top of the rad as well or just the bottom?

Now, while doing a ton of research online , i have found that some people say to remove the thermostat and add a feeeze plug. Have any of you done this? Is it possible part of the hose expanding issue is caused by too much coolant getting backed up by the thermostat?

dburt86

iTrader: (2)

Anytime ive removed a Tstat, i will gut one and put just the ring back in the housing with no valve, just to add a little bit of restriction. Either that, or drill holes around the valve of a full working stat.

But in theory, removing a stat wont make it run any cooler, it will just slow down the engine heating up.

xxwhiteneonxx

Okay, so im guessimg i found a huge flaw in our system. The fans... well, my dad did. Im on vacation, he turned the key on and hes feeling the fans and he said they just dont feel right. Although theyre blowing the right direction, he said the flow didnt feel right. So after some research, he found on permacools website where they say all their fans come as pullers and if you wish to convert them to pushers not only do you have to switch polarity, but you also have to disassemble the fan and switch the blade in the opposite direction for proper flow.

Now, my bitch is, if this is true, their instructions only say to reverse polarity and not to swap the fanblade around. So in reality if this is causing my overheating issue, its their fault.

Ill keep you guys updated. Ill give this a try on Saturday when im home.


-Cody

forcd ind

iTrader: (7)

I have seen more than on elect fan blowing the wrong way, lol
As pushers, you need a strong fan, like Spawls-cheaper ones tend to get
some blowback
You shouldnt need fans once driving at speed in a perfect world, if enough flow
I guess you would need to look at your fans, see if the design is the same if flipped or not-some are the same, so its just a polarity thing which way they blow

98Camarod

iTrader: (43)

If you haven't done it already, get that shroud off of it. That's only good for pullers. As you already found, check your blades and direction on the fans. Use an infrared thermometer and get temperatures of various things. Whatever your coolant temp is, make sure the hoses, radiator, and heads are close to the same. What pressure is your cap and have you tried a new one? I ended up having to use my old oem cap.

xxwhiteneonxx

I dont have a temp gun anymore mine broke. Ill have to see if i can borrow one. I already took the shroud off as well. Ill have to temp all the hoses and see what that gets me. I changed the blades around and only saw 220 after idling for 40 minutes. Assuming thats pretty good. Assuming fans were a huge issue on this. To answer your question, the rad cap is a brand new griffin 17psi cap.

xxwhiteneonxx

Went and got a new temp gun and temped all over the motor. Didnt let it run long just wanted to see how it reacted. With a 2 minute run time, upper part of rad where upper hose goes is 115. Lower hose is 95, thermostat housing is 110, water pump inlet and outlet are both 114. Now heres the part that im not sure is normal. Drivers side head is 115 while passenger head is 145.

Before i go any further wanted to confirm if this is normal