[rowlex]

this may or may not be good info, but I was closely watching the temp on my car through my logger and noticed that the cooling fan didnt even come on till ~210 degrees

 

[Faded]

this may or may not be good info, but I was closely watching the temp on my car through my logger and noticed that the cooling fan didnt even come on till ~210 degrees

The fan relay kicks on your primary fan at 210F and off at 199F. Since I do not know much about engine and heat I dont know if running at 225F max temp is really bad or normal for a hot up hill climb. I have been told by one shop that overheating is at 240F and you need to shut it off if you hit that high. Maybe that's the number

I am honestly amazed that the temps are not known. I thought someone would just toss out the info as common knowledge making me feel stupid but this question has yet to be answered.

 

[terrible]

I am honestly amazed that the temps are not known. I thought someone would just toss out the info as common knowledge making me feel stupid but this question has yet to be answered.

If I say 242.27*F is overheating will you belive me? Overheating is a relative term. Every engine is diffrent, every driver is diffrent, every situation is diffrent. Hell I've never seen my car go past 227* on a blistering hot day sitting in the taco bell line between a lifted yukon and a brick wall (in the sun)

The question is, does the coolant temp come back down on a regular basis or does it stay high?

 

[tarantula]

With my 180 stock thermostat, my temps are 199-213F. The average during cruisin is 203-206F And freeway driving would be 195-199F. My Fan kick on at 211-212F and shuts off at 199-200F The highest I have seen on my car was 217F and that was in super summer heat with my AC on. I pulled over shut the AC off and let it cool down. I have noticed that the Aftermarket Thermostats I got from Autozone seemed to stick at times and temps would always hit 213 easily. Bought a Factory thermostat and my temps are usuallly at 199.
I have read somewhere that if the car gets too hot both fans will turn on, coolant fan on high and AC fan on low.

 

[Faded]

If I say 242.27*F is overheating will you belive me? Overheating is a relative term. Every engine is diffrent, every driver is diffrent, every situation is diffrent. Hell I've never seen my car go past 227* on a blistering hot day sitting in the taco bell line between a lifted yukon and a brick wall (in the sun)

The question is, does the coolant temp come back down on a regular basis or does it stay high?

When the temp climbs while driving uphill it will stay 220-225F range during the whole uphill climb. Once I reach the top of the climb it does the normal up down routine. In the city it does the normal up down on temps as well. My biggest concern is that uphill climb home from work.

Todays drive into work the max temp was 206 and it fluctuated from 191-206 durring the drive. This was in the morning and I will guess the outside temperature was about 60-65F. my drive to and from work is a 80 mile run each way.

 

[SVision]

you could set up a little experiment, and rig up a water spray system on the radiator, like the subaru STI has for its intercooler. i wont go into detail about how to make one, but next time you make your long haul up the hill, see how well your water sprayer system works to keep temps down. hook it up to turn on whenever the temps go above a certain level.

 

[Unregistered]

you could set up a little experiment, and rig up a water spray system on the radiator, like the subaru STI has for its intercooler. i wont go into detail about how to make one, but next time you make your long haul up the hill, see how well your water sprayer system works to keep temps down. hook it up to turn on whenever the temps go above a certain level.

I recently picked up the makings of such a system. I got adjustable-flow garden misters, 50 feet of distribution tubing, and tee fittings from the garden section of walmart, a two way distribution block and one-way aquarium check valves from the aquarium section of walmart. I've put a hazard button in one of the empty button spots on the left side of the steering wheel, and cut and spliced the wiring for the rear washers- I'm going to use that as a signal wire to trigger a relay running off the relocated battery with thicker wire (it works for fuel pumps, should give a bit more flow for a washer pump, too ). I'll run the washer line to the distribution tubing, the tubing to the distribution block which will be on the floor right in front of the trunk release so I can turn flow on and off to lines running through one way check valves to tees that feed two misters a piece, one pair on the sidemount and one pair on the radiator. I'm hoping the stock washer pump will be sufficient to spray a fine mist of 50/50 water/alcohol on the radiator and intercooler at the same time, I'll have to see.

 

[16g-95GSX]

1995 Ecu's pull 1* of timing at coolant temps above 206*, and 2* of timing at coolant temps above 216*, that should tell you when engineers felt it necessary to start taking precautions. The stock CEL is set to go off at 234*, which is a good indication when the engineers felt it necessary to tell you "SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN CAR OFF ASSHOLE" Stock fan comes on at 210*, and when temps get very hot AC fan will also kick in as mentioned. Honestly I dont see why we dont just wire the AC and radiator fans to both be on at all times?, or at least have us have a toggle switch, so that in the summertime both come on when the radiator fan is supposed to, and then in the winter only have the radiator one come on.

 

[Faded]

1995 Ecu's pull 1* of timing at coolant temps above 206*, and 2* of timing at coolant temps above 216*, that should tell you when engineers felt it necessary to start taking precautions. The stock CEL is set to go off at 234*, which is a good indication when the engineers felt it necessary to tell you "SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN CAR OFF ASSHOLE" Stock fan comes on at 210*, and when temps get very hot AC fan will also kick in as mentioned. Honestly I dont see why we dont just wire the AC and radiator fans to both be on at all times?, or at least have us have a toggle switch, so that in the summertime both come on when the radiator fan is supposed to, and then in the winter only have the radiator one come on.

Those are the numbers I was looking for. I have the secondary fan on all the time and the primary is set to "stock" so that it kicks on at 210. Today on the drive home I hit a max temp of 220 but most of the drive was in the 203-210 range. As the coolant temps start to climb and I'm driving up hill my fans alone can not cool it off. I think that if I setup some "ducts" off the front bumper to route the air to the radiator it may help with the temps. Can water pumps not leak and "sort of" work? Perhaps my water pump works but just not that well. Is that possible or is it like a lightbulb where it either works or doesn't?

 

[SVision]

on my old cavalier, i was having problems with it wanting to overheat, and it had almost 200,000 miles, so i gave the whole cooling system the once over. many parts could use the attention, even though they still technically did function.

first, change out the thermostat. if the autoparts store offers one with a lower temp, then go ahead and throw it in your car since you are having trouble with heat anyways.

check all your hoses, and replace them since they probably need it. if they look new, and you verify no cracks or leaks, you can keep them, but its still good insurance to use brand new ones. they are cheap anyways. heater hoses are also in this catagory.

pull out the radiator, and clean it. mine had bugs in the fins, and was kind of filled in with dust and pollen. use a waterhose and clean it up. straiten any bent fins.

reinstall your radiator. and then verify your fans operate normally. on my car, the radiator fan would activate only once the temps got very hot, and then it woud cool it down to a normal temp. this was unacceptable to me, because i would be watching the temps go up, and i would be waiting, hoping the fan would cut on and bring things back into an acceptable range. i was always worried. so, i cut the power wire to the fan, and rewired it to ground, and to a switched power source. now, whenever i turned the key to the on position, the fan would be blowing. so if i EVER had the key in the on position, and the fan wasnt on, i instantly knew there was a problem with either the wiring, or the fan motor itself. keep it simple!

refill your coolant, and add water wetter. replace your radiator capwith a new one. if your old cap cannot hold pressure, the boiling point of the coolant will be lower than if the cap could hold pressure. this does make a difference in the cooling systems performance.

at this point, you have pretty much gone through most everything in the system. most things are either new, or known to still be functioning properly now. if it still runs hot, you may want to put in a better radiator, and change the water pump too just to cover all your bases.

 

[Faded]

on my old cavalier, i was having problems with it wanting to overheat, and it had almost 200,000 miles, so i gave the whole cooling system the once over. many parts could use the attention, even though they still technically did function.

first, change out the thermostat. if the autoparts store offers one with a lower temp, then go ahead and throw it in your car since you are having trouble with heat anyways.

check all your hoses, and replace them since they probably need it. if they look new, and you verify no cracks or leaks, you can keep them, but its still good insurance to use brand new ones. they are cheap anyways. heater hoses are also in this catagory.

pull out the radiator, and clean it. mine had bugs in the fins, and was kind of filled in with dust and pollen. use a waterhose and clean it up. straiten any bent fins.

reinstall your radiator. and then verify your fans operate normally. on my car, the radiator fan would activate only once the temps got very hot, and then it woud cool it down to a normal temp. this was unacceptable to me, because i would be watching the temps go up, and i would be waiting, hoping the fan would cut on and bring things back into an acceptable range. i was always worried. so, i cut the power wire to the fan, and rewired it to ground, and to a switched power source. now, whenever i turned the key to the on position, the fan would be blowing. so if i EVER had the key in the on position, and the fan wasnt on, i instantly knew there was a problem with either the wiring, or the fan motor itself. keep it simple!

refill your coolant, and add water wetter. replace your radiator capwith a new one. if your old cap cannot hold pressure, the boiling point of the coolant will be lower than if the cap could hold pressure. this does make a difference in the cooling systems performance.

at this point, you have pretty much gone through most everything in the system. most things are either new, or known to still be functioning properly now. if it still runs hot, you may want to put in a better radiator, and change the water pump too just to cover all your bases.

I have done all of those things.

• 
  Radiator Cap.
  180 Thermostat.
  Fluidyne Radiator.
  Water Wetter.
  13" SPAL Fan Primary.
  10" SPAL Fan secondary.
  Secondary fan on toggle switch - operates as designed.
  Primary Fan kicks on at 210F - verified.
  Pivot Digital Temp gauge matches Pocklogger temp - sensors ok.
  Basic headgasket test - passed.
  Compression test ( I think it was 190 across have to look it up).
  Exhaust Manifold wrapped.
  Vented bumper to allow more air flow over the FMIC.

Things I have not done

• 
  Fabricate a lower heat shield since the stock one does not fit with the turbo.
  Fabricate air ducts to route air into the Radiator since the FMIC blocks it.
  

 

[tarantula]

Standard compression is 178psi from the factory. I think 190 is a bit high . Massive Carbon Buildup on the piston tops?

 

[Fer colloca]

i have the same problem, not possible to cool the system, everything new, water pump, aluminium radiator intercooler , new fans mishimoto. can someone help me?

 

[diambo4life]

i have the same problem, not possible to cool the system, everything new, water pump, aluminium radiator intercooler , new fans mishimoto. can someone help me?

Give us a little bit more information. Does it do it during idle or when driving around or both? How long does it take to do so? Is the cooling system being pressurized?
1. Are the fans powering on? At what temperature? Have they been properly setup? Verify air is being pulled through the radiator.
2. Is the coolant circulating? Have you verified it?
3. Is the thermostat opening?
4. What is the condition of your radiator cap?
5. Any leaks? Are the coolant hoses getting hot? Both or just one? Which one?
6. If all of the above check out, perform a leakdown test. Make sure the coolant level is to the top. Pressurize each cylinder (preferably with that specific cylinder at TDC) and make sure you get at least 100psi in there using an air regulator and keep it there. The second gauge should tell you what the leakdown % is. Pay attention to the water neck though. Watch for bubbles or "rising" coolant as you pressurize each cylinder. If you see bubbles or the coolant level rise, that cylinder is leaking combustion gases into the cooling system through the head gasket or a crack in the head or block.

Another good test is to run the car until it is warmed up then shut it off and let it cool off all the way (preferably overnight.) Next morning...pop your hood and remove the radiator cap. If you hear a quiet pop or air release when you open it (almost similar to opening a Coke bottle) - it's most likely the head gasket or similar.

 

[Humphreyby]

My car runs hot during summer especially up hill on the freeway. Does anyone know the actual temperature that a 2g DSM overheats? I hit the 220+F while uphill on a freeway in summer. At which temperature am I cooking the engine?

I have a FP Green with huge FMIC. I have installed the Fluidyne, dual SPAL fans, and vented front bumper. I am hoping someone knows which temperature I am "hurting" my car. I didn't drive the DSM last summer because I feared blowing the motor, but since then I have heard that I am fine so long as I don't go over 130F also 140F. What is the max driving temp?

I find the temperature difficult to control.

 

[Humphreyby]

Give us a little bit more information. Does it do it during idle or when driving around or both? How long does it take to do so? Is the cooling system being pressurized?
1. Are the fans powering on? At what temperature? Have they been properly setup? Verify air is being pulled through the radiator.
2. Is the coolant circulating? Have you verified it?
3. Is the thermostat opening?
4. What is the condition of your radiator cap?
5. Any leaks? Are the coolant hoses getting hot? Both or just one? Which one?
6. If all of the above check out, perform a leakdown test. Make sure the coolant level is to the top. Pressurize each cylinder (preferably with that specific cylinder at TDC) and make sure you get at least 100psi in there using an air regulator and keep it there. The second gauge should tell you what the leakdown % is. Pay attention to the water neck though. Watch for bubbles or "rising" coolant as you pressurize each cylinder. If you see bubbles or the coolant level rise, that cylinder is leaking combustion gases into the cooling system through the head gasket or a crack in the head or block.

Another good test is to run the car until it is warmed up then shut it off and let it cool off all the way (preferably overnight.) Next morning...pop your hood and remove the radiator cap. If you hear a quiet pop or air release when you open it (almost similar to opening a Coke bottle) - it's most likely the head gasket or similar.

Thank you very much, I'll check them one by one.

 

[Humphreyby]

I have noticed since the temps here have gotten hotter, my stock gauge reads real hot, sometime crossing into the "hot zone". But my logger readys other wise. The stock gauge will read real hot, but the logger wont read past 185? What should I read. I would think the logger would be more accurate than the stock temp gauge.

Instead, I think the latter is more accurate.

 

[diambo4life]

There are several temperature gauges in the "water neck." There is the sensor that the ECU uses (usually 3 pronged), there is the gauge sensor (1 wire)....and there's one related to either the EVAP system or AC. Someone can correct me here because I don't have that sensor or its connecting wiring. The logger obviously gets the tempt reading from the ECU. This is the temperature to trust. However, a discrepancy between the gauge sensor readout and the ECU sensor is something you need to investigate. I believe the FSM has a way for you to test these sensors proper functionality using a multimeter.