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Swapped in HKS cams, now no compression / Cooling issue [BOTH RESOLVED]
- Thread starterGSTwithPSI
- Start date
GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
Quoting prove_it:
Brett, do you have A/C? Is the radiator stock? If yes and yes, it could be that the fins are plugged with dirt and debris, which hinders airflow across the cores.
The radiator is brand new, and the condenser is clear of debris. What's hindering airflow is a 20"x 13" x 3.5" intercooler, oil cooler, and A/C condenser...all of which are sitting in front of a new OEM style radiator. Add the fact that my bumper isn't trimmed and the grill is mostly fog lights, and it's not surprising I'm not getting the airflow I need. At least, that's my thought process on the situation.
Quoting G:
I still think something else is wrong. The stock fans should be able to get your temps down.
I'm curious to know what you think that could be. The stock fan (I only am running one) does get the temp down, just not unless the hood is open. I could put a 10 degree t-stat in the car and it wouldn't fix my problem. The thermostat and coolant doesn't really matter when you aren't removing heat from the cooling system through the radiator. Clearly, the system works just fine without the hood off the car, so I'm not sure what makes you think there's some other underlying issue. I'm open to your suggestions, though.
Brett, do you have A/C? Is the radiator stock? If yes and yes, it could be that the fins are plugged with dirt and debris, which hinders airflow across the cores.
The radiator is brand new, and the condenser is clear of debris. What's hindering airflow is a 20"x 13" x 3.5" intercooler, oil cooler, and A/C condenser...all of which are sitting in front of a new OEM style radiator. Add the fact that my bumper isn't trimmed and the grill is mostly fog lights, and it's not surprising I'm not getting the airflow I need. At least, that's my thought process on the situation.
Quoting G:
I still think something else is wrong. The stock fans should be able to get your temps down.
I'm curious to know what you think that could be. The stock fan (I only am running one) does get the temp down, just not unless the hood is open. I could put a 10 degree t-stat in the car and it wouldn't fix my problem. The thermostat and coolant doesn't really matter when you aren't removing heat from the cooling system through the radiator. Clearly, the system works just fine without the hood off the car, so I'm not sure what makes you think there's some other underlying issue. I'm open to your suggestions, though.
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GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm confident the system is free of air. I've burped it a few times now.
GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
Yes, still using the OE sensor. What's you thought process on that? It's giving false readings?
I got a decent heat shield fabbed up. It was a pain in the ass, and I wouldn't recommend doing it. I also had to re-fabricate the J-pipe, which now sits much farther from the manifold. Now I know why Extreme PSI wants a million dollars for the FP mani heat shield they sell. Anyways...
The setup consists of 2 pieces. The heat shield, and a fastener bar. The whole assembly attaches to two points on the car, the first being 2 of the exhaust mani studs, and the other being a bolt in the turbine housing.
Fastener bar attached:
Heat shield mocked up:
Finished product:
I made sure the leave room for a manifold blanket, which I plan to buy and install with the heat shield. I haven't driven the car yet, but hope this will help eliminate some of my heat soak problems. I'm not sure how well the heat shield will do in its own. It's made of steel (20 gauge if I remember right). It's fairly thick, but it will probably get pretty heat soaked itself without the manifold blanket. I think I really need to pair them both together to get the best results. $120 for a manifold blanket seems pretty steep, though. I wish they were a little more reasonably priced.
I got a decent heat shield fabbed up. It was a pain in the ass, and I wouldn't recommend doing it. I also had to re-fabricate the J-pipe, which now sits much farther from the manifold. Now I know why Extreme PSI wants a million dollars for the FP mani heat shield they sell. Anyways...
The setup consists of 2 pieces. The heat shield, and a fastener bar. The whole assembly attaches to two points on the car, the first being 2 of the exhaust mani studs, and the other being a bolt in the turbine housing.
Fastener bar attached:
Heat shield mocked up:
Finished product:
I made sure the leave room for a manifold blanket, which I plan to buy and install with the heat shield. I haven't driven the car yet, but hope this will help eliminate some of my heat soak problems. I'm not sure how well the heat shield will do in its own. It's made of steel (20 gauge if I remember right). It's fairly thick, but it will probably get pretty heat soaked itself without the manifold blanket. I think I really need to pair them both together to get the best results. $120 for a manifold blanket seems pretty steep, though. I wish they were a little more reasonably priced.
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That looks pretty good and should probably help a lot. You could probably go a little higher with the pipe so it's almost the same height as the radiator. To further increase the distance from the ex mani. A 23+ year old sensor may be the problem. They definitely go bad. I would replace both. The ecu and the radiator one. Then see what happens. That way you will have eliminated that possibility and know that both sensors are new and you are getting accurate temp readings as well as your fan turning on at the correct time. I posted a link somewhere for a nib made in italy unit for like $10.00 on ebay for one of them.
GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
Well...good and bad news. The good news is that I'm 99% sure I figured out the problem.
The bad news is, this is the problem:
It's 90 degrees out today, and 70% humidity. The "feels like" temp is like 95 degrees. Suffice it to say, it's f***ing hot. The hottest it's been since I started screwing with my cooling issue. I started out by going for a drive today. Derped around in the car until it got warm, and did a couple little cruises on the highway (Euro grille still installed at this point). The car ran consistently at 206 on the highway. It would fluctuate at lower speed cruise (35-50mph) between 203 and 210. Hot.
I came home and swapped in my Eterna grille. Took it back out and ran it under the exact same speeds and conditions as before, and saw over a 10 degree temp drop. The car ran at 196 on the highway at 65-70mph. At lower speed cruise (again, 35-50mph) I saw 196 consistently. The temp even dropped to 193 a few times. The only change I made was swapping out the grille.
This seems to further confirm my assumption that I'm just not getting enough airflow overall. My heat soak issues seem to have subsided a bit, but overall the heat shield doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot to help. I guess I probably need to drive the car more to really tell, but I don't think I'll see any vast improvements until I get that blanket installed.
I'm pretty bummed I may not be able to run the Euro grille. I really like how it looks. I just think that the intercooler, oil cooler, A/C condenser, and grille all combined are just too much of an airflow restriction for the radiator to do its job properly. I need to do a little more testing to really see where I stand, but as of now, I believe I've identified my issue.
Again, thanks to everyone who has made suggestions and helped me out in this thread. Every little bit helps.
The bad news is, this is the problem:
It's 90 degrees out today, and 70% humidity. The "feels like" temp is like 95 degrees. Suffice it to say, it's f***ing hot. The hottest it's been since I started screwing with my cooling issue. I started out by going for a drive today. Derped around in the car until it got warm, and did a couple little cruises on the highway (Euro grille still installed at this point). The car ran consistently at 206 on the highway. It would fluctuate at lower speed cruise (35-50mph) between 203 and 210. Hot.
I came home and swapped in my Eterna grille. Took it back out and ran it under the exact same speeds and conditions as before, and saw over a 10 degree temp drop. The car ran at 196 on the highway at 65-70mph. At lower speed cruise (again, 35-50mph) I saw 196 consistently. The temp even dropped to 193 a few times. The only change I made was swapping out the grille.
This seems to further confirm my assumption that I'm just not getting enough airflow overall. My heat soak issues seem to have subsided a bit, but overall the heat shield doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot to help. I guess I probably need to drive the car more to really tell, but I don't think I'll see any vast improvements until I get that blanket installed.
I'm pretty bummed I may not be able to run the Euro grille. I really like how it looks. I just think that the intercooler, oil cooler, A/C condenser, and grille all combined are just too much of an airflow restriction for the radiator to do its job properly. I need to do a little more testing to really see where I stand, but as of now, I believe I've identified my issue.
Again, thanks to everyone who has made suggestions and helped me out in this thread. Every little bit helps.
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turbowop
Well-known member
I've always wondered if that grill would hinder cooling due to the lights taking up so much grill space.
coyotes
Well-known member
If you want to run that grill, make up some panels for all your heat exchangers to force the air through and so none gets around the radiator. On my turbo 940, if you ran the car without the bottom tray a lot of air would just slip past the radiator and increase your water temps.
Some people ran testing on these ducting methods on s13 chassis with good results, i'll have to dig up the thread.
Some people ran testing on these ducting methods on s13 chassis with good results, i'll have to dig up the thread.
coyotes
Well-known member
Maybe consider something like this being made up for your car.
GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
Quoting turbowop:
I've always wondered if that grill would hinder cooling due to the lights taking up so much grill space.
Honestly, if you have a close-to-stock car, the Euro grille would probably be just fine. I think the combination of sh*t I have in front of the radiator is just adding up to be more than the cooling system can handle.
Quoting coyotes:
If you want to run that grill, make up some panels for all your heat exchangers to force the air through and so none gets around the radiator. On my turbo 940, if you ran the car without the bottom tray a lot of air would just slip past the radiator and increase your water temps.
Some people ran testing on these ducting methods on s13 chassis with good results, i'll have to dig up the thread.
I'm considering a few things like you're suggesting to maybe make the Euro grille work with my setup. IDK, though. I threw the Eterna grille back on and it reminded me how clean and simple it makes the Galant look overall. I'm going to screw around some more with the car, and see what I can come up with. I'm not giving up yet, but in the short term, the Eterna grille will be here to stay. I can't be driving the car and running it hot because I like how the grille looks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif
I've always wondered if that grill would hinder cooling due to the lights taking up so much grill space.
Honestly, if you have a close-to-stock car, the Euro grille would probably be just fine. I think the combination of sh*t I have in front of the radiator is just adding up to be more than the cooling system can handle.
Quoting coyotes:
If you want to run that grill, make up some panels for all your heat exchangers to force the air through and so none gets around the radiator. On my turbo 940, if you ran the car without the bottom tray a lot of air would just slip past the radiator and increase your water temps.
Some people ran testing on these ducting methods on s13 chassis with good results, i'll have to dig up the thread.
I'm considering a few things like you're suggesting to maybe make the Euro grille work with my setup. IDK, though. I threw the Eterna grille back on and it reminded me how clean and simple it makes the Galant look overall. I'm going to screw around some more with the car, and see what I can come up with. I'm not giving up yet, but in the short term, the Eterna grille will be here to stay. I can't be driving the car and running it hot because I like how the grille looks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif
GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
Quoting G:
Which superstant are you running? They make two. # 45869 is 195d and #45868 is 180d. You may have to hack up that grill. Maybe drill some holes in it or make some cut outs.
I have the 45868 in the car currently.
G, you're fuckin high if you think I'm hacking up that grille. If you knew what I had tied up in that thing, you'd sh*t a brick. If it turns out I can't use it, I'll pass it onto someone who can.
Which superstant are you running? They make two. # 45869 is 195d and #45868 is 180d. You may have to hack up that grill. Maybe drill some holes in it or make some cut outs.
I have the 45868 in the car currently.
G, you're fuckin high if you think I'm hacking up that grille. If you knew what I had tied up in that thing, you'd sh*t a brick. If it turns out I can't use it, I'll pass it onto someone who can.
Ah, no wonder...there's not much air getting through the front grill.
As suggested, the top shroud/baffle piece will help this, as would putting a small air dam down at the bottom, right about inline with the radiator...This is what IROC's and T/A's used on the 3rd gens, being they had no conventional grill.
As suggested, the top shroud/baffle piece will help this, as would putting a small air dam down at the bottom, right about inline with the radiator...This is what IROC's and T/A's used on the 3rd gens, being they had no conventional grill.
turbowop
Well-known member
Quoting GSTwithPSI:
If it turns out I can't use it, I'll pass it onto someone who can.
If you wind up selling it, lemme know. I might be interested.
If it turns out I can't use it, I'll pass it onto someone who can.
If you wind up selling it, lemme know. I might be interested.
Run that grille in the cool months. Bonus: It's darker more and you can turn on those awesome lights more often.
GSTwithPSI
Well-known member
^ Charles said they were NLA. I pm'd him about getting one a while back.
