Here's my story about the overheating problem.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-external-engine/375528-overheating-question.html

Anyway, 4 weeks ago I took my heads off because I thought I had blown head gasket(s). I didn't, they were perfect. But what I did find was burnt oil built up on every piston from my completely shot valve seals. It was so bad that some of the valve reliefs were completely filled in. I cleaned them like new.

I installed the new heads and then realized a crack in my radiator, so I pulled it out to replace it. In doing this I looked at my A/C condensor, it was packed so heavy with debris that almost no air could pass through about 50% of the surface fins. The **** wouldn't come out with a spray of water from my hose so I figured I'd just say screw it and buy a new condensor. The next day after it was dry I got mad and grabbed it and slammed it against the frame of the car and everything fell out of it. There was a pile of little rocks, grass and other crap all over the ground under it. I banged it hard against the frame about 50 times and it was pretty much like new. Amazing fix, eh?

Now I can blast the A/C in heavy traffic, like I did the past three HOT *** days in Lauderdale and in Orlando. It never detonates anymore and it doesn't even get hot. The detonation was obviously from all the burnt oil build-up on my pistons and causing hot spots and pre-ignition. Also, from what I've been told, the condensor got hotter than normal and that hot air went right through the radiator. And the radiator was also being deprived of alot of air because the condensor was so clogged up. I guess when I turned the A/C on it was just too much and put it over the edge.

I guess after 8 years a condensor will get clogged up with crap.

Oh well, thought this may help someone else find the little gremlin that is causing an overheat condition, when everything else checks out fine.

Later,

 

So you had bad valve seats and a dirty condensor. Do you go offroading with that much debris in your condensor?

 

No it's actually quite easy to get a bunch of crap between the condenser and radiator
I had an IROC, that would suck up plastic bags, leaves, and other assorted crap, it became part of my yearly spring maintenace to clean out the crap trapped between the condenser and radiator
And no it never went off road

 

The point of the thread was: the dealership, two radiator shops, everyone on this site and other sites gave me alot of troubleshooting hints to check and nothing worked. It was something very unexpected. And no, my car is never off-roaded, its driven and taken care of in the best way, thats why the amount of debris that was in there was pretty freaky.

Maybe someone that has gone through every single troubleshooting item and still can't figure it out will also have a clogged condensor. Because noone ever brought that up.

I think the burnt oil build-up on the pistons contributed to the overheating. I think when I turned my A/C on it will normally make the engine hotter, but mine started to detonate way before it should have, so maybe it helped heat the heads up.

 

The clumps of grass and rocks gets me since you are in FL. Those roads are usually very clean.....

 

Quicken, good work mate, I like the condensor clearing procedure.

Roarin, even on clean roads there are tiny small rocks designed to wedge in between the radiator fins.

 

Most shop manuals say right off the bat to check for debris blocking the radiator but I'll admit that it's a rare problem. Good job on the fix.

 

The rocks I know about but the grass, unless he went driving when people were cutting their lawns.

 

yeah here in melbourne the roads are clean, but the last time i went to ft lauterdale, there were a few roads that did look pretty nasty, but this was a few years ago.

 

I had a similar issue with my formula, while it was ultimately the Thermostat sticking we also noticed that there was a **** ton of **** crammed in the radiator. After spending a good amount of time getting the fans and stuff out of the way and blasting it with the hose (as well as a new t-stat of course) my overheating issues were solved

 

guessing you don't get out of the city much

 

I also solved my overheating problem with a similiar solution..

I had some kind of plastic melted to the radiator..

The tech told me it was a bitch to clean but it did solve the overheating issue last summer..

Congrats and thanks for posting this for others..to have an easier time of it..

 

havent you ever gone driving while someone was cutting the grass or shortley after? Its not like you plan on driving around everyones lawn maintenance schedules.

 

No, I'm not currently in FL to go driving through when someone cuts their lawn. There are no lawns in NYC

 

Actually, I just realized that when they cut the lawns in my neighborhood the guys go around with leafblowers and thats obviously how all the grass got in there. It was all old, dead and brown. There were handfulls of it as I ran my fingers across the front of the condensor to get it off when I first started to clean it off.


.

 

maybe with all the rock and dirt built up in there you started to grow a lawn

 

When you're a homeowner you soon learn that you need to take a hose (and preferrably an air hose too) and wash/blo out the A/C condenser on the house once or twice a year. It's pretty incredible what gets packed into those things, so it only makes sense that it needs to be done on the car. Great catch.

 

I will back this up as well...I have found the strangest things stuck to my condenser!!Tons of sheeeeeeeeet!Should always be part of your maintenance list...

Good post...

 

This happens to all cars. It's something you wouldn't think about and a good yearly maint. check like 2k2ws6ta said. I've found it in my little SUV too. I usually get a long 1/4" tube (alum./brass) with a small bend to it and with top rad. bracket off stick it down and blow XXit back out to thru front.
Glad you found the prob.

 

thats good stuff, i feel happy for you plus im gonna go check my condensor now