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overheating

transparentdsm

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Jul 27, 2011
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Cherry Hill, NJ
ok so i installed a civic half rad(aluminum), 2 12" slim fans(1 push, 1 pull), moved the rad temp sensor to the thermo housing where the a/c one was(seems like thats what most people do), brand new AISIN waterpump and fresh fluid throughout. now i can let the car sit and idle for as long as i want, i can drive it around town and get on it and i can go down hills fine, but when i decide to go up hills it start to overheat. mind you my hills are mountain passes that range from 1000 - 4000 foot elevation changes.

reason for the civic rad is i plan on going to a larger turbo next summer and the current stock one was leaking at the seams and i thought i could save my self some money by buying the civic rad now instead of buying another stock one and then buying the civic one later on down the line.

before all of these changes the car would overheat from time to time while going up hill, but i thought it was my water pump going bad. i pulled the steering and alt belts off to check the water pump and it was squeaking, after removal i found all the rust and such inside.


if anyone needs more info ask.

so can anyone help me figure out my dilemma?


only thing i can think of is the rad cant handle what im doing, is this possible?
 

transparentdsm

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i shut my car down and let it cool off after i hit 219 F. i have my ecmlink set to throw the check engine light at 219 because i was having a few issues with it and didnt want to hurt anything.

i have yet to try to build ducting for it, i was thinking this might be a solution for me.
 

LordAthey

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207
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Council Bluffs, Iowa
Maybe the thermostat /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif seems like if it was overheating before that maybe the issue. Just one question I have both of my fans pulling air why do you have one pulling and one pushing? Just curious.
 

transparentdsm

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if it was the thermostat wouldn't it overheat all the time, not just when im driving up hill?

civic half rad, 1 fan on each side. even when i had my stock rad i had the same set up one push one pull. except the push was in front of the motor and the pull was in front of the trans.
 

ktmrider

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Sep 10, 2007
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3,128
Location
Tempe, AZ
Air like most any element will take the path of least resistance, ie around instead of thru ( like Bogus and you mentioned ).

I've seen this numerous times especially Subaru's with stock TMIC. There is a plastic undertray that in addition to acting as an engine guard doubles as an air splitter. Keeps low pressure in the engine bay which promotes flow thru the rad and TMIC. Without it most all the air goes over/under the car body.

Try sealing the top edge of the rad to the support. Then look at fabbing side scoops to direct air into the rad. Even a bottom seal won't hurt.
 
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transparentdsm

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so here is a thought that just popped into my head from lordathey saying the thermostat, maybe the thermostat is stuck half in the open position so when im sitting at home or driving around with mild to light pressure it is closed enough to keep the car cool and allow enough water to pass through like it normally should, but when i add that extra pressure it doesn't open all the way and cant flow enough coolant out of the rad causing it to overheat.?
 

transparentdsm

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Quoting ktmrider:
Try sealing the top edge of the rad to the support. Then look at fabbing side scoops to direct air into the rad. Even a bottom seal won't hurt.




this is a great idea and im going to do it, but not till later on down the road unless my 10$ thermostat fix doesn't work. then i will be trying that later on today..
 

LordAthey

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Council Bluffs, Iowa
Well at least the thermostat is a cheap fix plus its always good to change if you don't know how old it is.
 

transparentdsm

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Cherry Hill, NJ
7 months. 11,000 miles.

i have been building this car since Feb. 2012 and finally got it running and driving May 2013, 1 year and 8 months and i have removed and replaced just about everything, except the rear end. that wil be next summers project once i get a good DD and stop DDing this thing.
 
Last edited:

BogusSVO

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Aug 29, 2013
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Pensacola, Florida
First 219* is not over heating, well at sea level.

**DISCLAIMER** the math below is for Sea Level, due to your altitude, you will have to locate your factor to correct.

Water boils at 212*

For every pound of pressure a rad cap holds, you go +3* over boil point

A stock DSM cap is 13lbs

13lbs x 3* = 39*

39* + 212* = 251*

So at Sea Level, your boil over point is now 251*

This is assuming you have a system that holds pressure, no leaks, solid heater core, ect..

Also to note is that a Rad cap should be tested/replaced every other year.
 

theevozero

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Odessa, Texas
Is it pushing coolant into the overflow?
 

transparentdsm

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Jul 27, 2011
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Cherry Hill, NJ
Quoting BogusSVO:
First 219* is not over heating, well at sea level.

**DISCLAIMER** the math below is for Sea Level, due to your altitude, you will have to locate your factor to correct.

Water boils at 212*

For every pound of pressure a rad cap holds, you go +3* over boil point

A stock DSM cap is 13lbs

13lbs x 3* = 39*

39* + 212* = 251*

So at Sea Level, your boil over point is now 251*

This is assuming you have a system that holds pressure, no leaks, solid heater core, ect..

Also to note is that a Rad cap should be tested/replaced every other year.



according to my dsm link the needle on the temp gauge is sitting at 12 oclock when ecmlink reads 216 in my car, it goes past the 12 oclock mark when it goes to 219.
251 may be the boil over point, but you would never want to see that. i have seen numbers almost that high once(i think 247 or something) on link in my car and the needle was almost in the red. so for me 219 is my overheating point in my car.

as for the overflow, yes a little gets thrown in there, but not much as i shut the car down at 219.
 

theevozero

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Oct 12, 2011
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Odessa, Texas
Didn't you just install a head on your car? What head gasket did you use? Did you measure the deck surface with a machinist straight edge? Does the car still have ac?
 
Last edited:

KiNgMaRtY

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Apr 8, 2008
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Corona, CA
For the cost, I would say to get a 160 Thermostat and a New Cap. That has helped me solve my issues in the past.Keep in mind that at idle air may not be hitting your radiator but you are not building much heat as there is no real load. When you are driving on a straight road, you build load but the moving air is helping keep things cool. Once you are going up a hill you create the most load and will see that your cooling system may not be up to par.

For example, on the last 2g I owned, it would run fine with the AC blasting in hot Cali summer weather with the stock radiator. Once I put on the Big FMIC, my temps went up. I simply put in a 170 thermostat and a Greedy cap and I had great temps again.

When I had 611, it would generally run hot with the Brodie FMIC and stock radiator. I put in a 160 thermostat and a Greddy radiator cap and it ran so much cooler.

802 runs a bit warm at times as well with the ETS FMIC. I did the same thing, a 160 Thermostat, Greddy Cap + Tunersnation Alum. Radiator and a Shrouded Flex A Lite fan with 60% water, 40% Coolant and water wetter. I also installed a switch inside so I can keep the fan on all the time if I choose in hot weather.

What fans are you runing? That is another big factor. When I had a 1g GSX, I put a ETS Race FMIC and it instantly got hot under any real load. I put in a Fludyne radiator and it helped just a bit. I had a Flex A Lite regular 12" Fan and a Mishimoto. The flow of the fans was night and day. What a POS the Mishimoto fans are. I don't think they even flow what they advertize. I ditched it and put in another Flex A Lite and problem was resolved.
 

theevozero

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Odessa, Texas
That is putting band-aid over a bullet wound. Your real issue was air flow through the radiator being blocked by the intercooler. Fix the real issue. Direct airflow to it most effective route. Someone already said it.
 
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transparentdsm

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Jul 27, 2011
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Cherry Hill, NJ
Quoting theevozero:
Didn't you just install a head on your car? What head gasket did you use? Did you measure the deck surface with a machinist straight edge? Does the car still have ac?



no this is my car not the wifes, its a MLS head gasket but its been on there for 11,000 miles and has never caused a problem before. no a/c in the car. it has a new thermostat(180 degree) that i bought this morning and i added a little water wetter and it did bring the normal temps down, but still when i start to go up over a 1000 feet of elevation it creeps up and overheats.
 

transparentdsm

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Jul 27, 2011
Messages
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Location
Cherry Hill, NJ
Quoting theevozero:
That is putting band-aid over a bullet wound. Your real issue was air flow through the radiator being blocked by the intercooler. Fix the real issue. Direct airflow to it most effective route. Someone already said it.



this is what ill be doing next. what material should i use? i have a bunch of plastic i was thinking of using.
 
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