Electric fans?

[Mustangs_Suck]

I searched and really came up with nothing - so here's my question.

I have a KA-T obviously - gigantic intercooler with custom piping, so I'm all set there.

Still have the stock radiator.

It's starting to get pretty hot out now (over 80 degrees while the sun is up) and my car is getting pretty damn hot (1-2 ticks below the H line on the temp gauge) the only fan I have is the clutch fan rigged up so it's constantly on when the car is on - the fan that deals with the A/C was taken out.

So what are some good ways to cool this thing down? A Koyo radiator will be in my near future plans - but I'd like to get some fans first - or would it be better to get the radiator, and then the fans, so I can judge what'll fit?

Thanks for the help guys!

[somthin240]

fitment is always the key when buying things at diff. times. I have alot of exp on other cars for cooling, haven't gotten into KA's completely yet but for starters if you haven't done it since you've owned the car. do a coolant flush and change, refill with a mix of water wetter,water,coolant. I got from what you wrote that your only using the stock electric fan and not the clutch fan. I would recommend getting some sort of dual fan setup with the highest cfm you can fit. the ka was designed to use both and as much as I hate clutch fans they work well so it will usually take alot heavier duty electric fan(s) to do the job as well. I'm not sure what the stock (coolant) pressure is of the KA but my guess is .9 bar. you can get a new rad. cap that is 1.1 to 1.3 bar that will raise the pressure and help out a little. so ultimately in my mind you'll want a koyo radiator, high cfm dual fans, mixed coolant, and maybe a higher pressure rad. cap and/or lower temp thermostat. if your not planning on doing any of that immediately than I would say at least some water wetter/higher h20 mix, lower temp thermostat, on the cheap.

[Nismo_Freak]

Low temp thermo won't stop him from overheating.

I would drain your coolant, and replace it with a 30::70 (more water than coolant) mixture.

You can go to home depot and get some sheet metal. Box in the airflow to the radiator, at cruising speeds you will see about a 3-5 degree. drop in overall temp.

It also sounds like the stock fan clutch might be weak. Might wanna look into that as it will reduce actual air flow although the fan is spinning. Also if you aren't running the shroud then you are losing alot of efficiency.

[somthin240]

Low temp thermo won't stop him from overheating.

didn't say it would and from what he wrote, he hasn't. it will however allow the system to start working earlier giving the system more time to work before things become critical.

[Nismo_Freak]

didn't say it would and from what he wrote, he hasn't. it will however allow the system to start working earlier giving the system more time to work before things become critical.

It also increases wear on the piston rings, bores, reduces power, and increases fuel consumption when you aren't at operational temp.

Oh and close to H in stock gauge = overheating.

[Mustangs_Suck]

ok - so from what I'm gathering here - I should do a radiator flush, and then do a mixture of 30:70 (more water than coolant). I should also get the shroud fan, as my clutch fan isn't enough to do the job, and get a higher pressure radiator cap? that should be good enough until I can get the koyo radiator and possible heavy duty electric fans correct?

oh and Nismo_Freak - stay away from the cooler thermostat???

[uncle_louie83]

i use a 30% coolant to 70% water ratio with NO clutch fan...stock radiator and the stock AC fan just wired in to turn on at 170 degrees and my car never gets above halfway....its been thru days of 96 degrees out so far with the AC on it still never gets above half way.....i was thinking bout some water wetter for an experiment.....

lewis

[:: orion ::]

DO NOT trust the stock temp gauge....it's a 3 position switch, not a real gauge.

0-150F = Cold

150 - 220F = Operating temp

+220F = Overheating.

Any variation you get in between is more likely electrical interference or resistance than an actual reading of what the temp is doing.

Get a real temp gauge...stock one is worthless.

...

That being said...Altima fans are AWESOME, and go for $60-75 with the shroud at junk yards.

They have 2 OEM fans that sholdbe wired with 2 relays each, one for high speed and one for low speed on EACH fan. Easy to set up.

The shroud needs to be trimmed to fit, but it's simple stuff.

- Brian

[:: orion ::]

Oh yeah...and 70/30 (water/coolant) is good, plus Redline "Water Wetter".

[Mustangs_Suck]

alright thanks for all the tips guys, I'm gonna do the 70/30 after a coolant flush right now - and use the water wetter stuff as well.

tomorrow I'll be getting the other fan hooked up - and I should be just fine until I decide to get my koyo and altima fans, as well as a real temp gauge

thanks everyone!

[Mustangs_Suck]

Holy christ - I should of NEVER ****ed with the car.

I did the 70/30 mix with water wetter, and now the car goes from completely cold to all the way hot (steam pouring out of the radiator) in about 2 minutes of driving.

I drained the radiator via the drain plug, and the bottom radiator hose. I rehooked up the hose very tightly, and put the drain plug back in I filled it up with water and let it run to normal operating temp, and then drained it again - it was clear just by the drain plug, so all the anti-freeze was out of the radiator. I put the drain plug back in and then I filled it up with the 70/30/water wetter mix all the way to the top. I turned the car on and let it run to normal operating temp again, turned it off and checked for leaks - nothing was leaking so I then topped off the radiator and let the air bubbles do their thing. After no more air bubbles surfaced, I put the radiator cap on, and it was sealed properly, I filled up the overflow container to max, and took it for a drive. About 2 min. later it was so hot I couldn't believe it. I drained it all again, and re did everything - with the same results.

I have no clue what the **** went wrong....the only thing I can thing of is coincidentally my water pump went bad. It's VERY humid out here in WI, would the 70/30 (70%water and 30% coolant) NOT be good for humid heat? It just pisses me off, seeing how the 50/50 mix made it run hot, but not to the point of steaming, and now I do the 70/30 mix and it's practically exploding.

I'm buying a koyo radiator, getting the coolant flush professionally done, and having the altima fans installed now.......so whatever... $20 wasted to just make it run hotter....*sigh* i hate my life.

[Jookmasta]

what year altima fans were u referring to brian? also sorry to hear of ur overheating problems, it may be the water pump tho

[K240]

Did you bleed the air out of the system, via the bleeder bolt located on the intake manifold?

[Mustangs_Suck]

Did you bleed the air out of the system, via the bleeder bolt located on the intake manifold?

ah ha - no i didn't. how long do i need to do whatever i need to do with that?

[dft24ds]

All you have to do is open the bleeder valve pour in coolant/water untill it starts to shoot out of the valve close it and go. This will ensure no air is in the system.

[Nismo_Freak]

I did the 70/30 mix with water wetter, and now the car goes from completely cold to all the way hot (steam pouring out of the radiator) in about 2 minutes of driving.

Don't assume the mix is the problem. Chemically it will work better as a 70/30 mix.

The reason why it is steaming is because you lowered the boiling point of the coolant. You are running at least 210 degs. F in coolant temps. You have a very big issue that is mechanical.

Check your thermostat for sticking, check the water pump for leakage, and definately check your airflow through the radiator. You might have also blown a headgasket and it's causing the overheating.

When the car starts to overheat turn on your heater full blast and pull over.

[Mustangs_Suck]

Don't assume the mix is the problem. Chemically it will work better as a 70/30 mix.

The reason why it is steaming is because you lowered the boiling point of the coolant. You are running at least 210 degs. F in coolant temps. You have a very big issue that is mechanical.

Check your thermostat for sticking, check the water pump for leakage, and definately check your airflow through the radiator. You might have also blown a headgasket and it's causing the overheating.

When the car starts to overheat turn on your heater full blast and pull over.

I'll open up that air valve to see if that does the trick. As for my headgasket - no white smoke, runs great before it gets hot, and I did a complete leak down test on the motor not too long ago at all - and it passed with flying colors, no leaks anywhere on/in the motor and it holds all the correct pressure everywhere as well. If the air valve doesn't help, I'm gonna go with the water pump, as i used to have a small antifreeze drain that wasn't detected anywhere, and the water pump was my last guess...but that drain has seemed to of gone away - so idk.

[Mustangs_Suck]

OK, wow. I parked the car on an incline last night, so the front is higher up than the rear. I opened up the radiator, and it was only about half way full - it just drank the anti freeze over night. I re-filled up the radiator, filled up the little hole on the intake manifold until it was full, capped both of them up - started it and let it get to normal operating temp. i revved it a few times, and shut the car off. I waited for it to cool, and then I opened up the radiator again to inspect - the level didn't go down, and no air bubbles were surfacting (it was still parked on that incline). So I then took it for a drive, I started off slow, and it was fine, I then started driving a bit heavier and again - it was fine. "woohoo" i thought. So i took it up to about 5k rpm's and whoosh, up it went again. I quickly drove it to the parking spot again, and turned the car off. I then set the heater on full blast on the hottest setting, and I could HEAR the car just drinking the anti-freeze. I opened the hood, and steam was still kind of seeping out of the radiator cap, and then I inspected to see where the gulping noise was coming from - it was from my top radiator hose. I felt it and it was VERY hot, and it was pulsing - like either it was drinking up anti-freeze, or boiling slowly.

I've only put about 3 qts. of anti -freeze in it now...almost done with a full coolant bottle full of 70/30 (about 1/4 left of it) How much anti-freeze will this thing hold? I drained it via the radiator plug and lower radiator hose - NOT the plug on the engine block (with all the extra turbo crap, it's pretty damn impossible to get to, and I didn't want to tear it all off).

So......is my car just that low on anti-freeze, and I need to keep driving it, letting it get hot, letting it drink - and then filling it up until it stops? Or is something majorly wrong with it, and it's just burning it all up?

[KAT S14]

This past winter mine overheated and fluid was all over the place because the cap was bad and in turn caused the water pump to go bad. I think a water pump is like $30 and a cap is pretty cheap too so it could be worth looking into.

[bruinbear714]

I have the Flex a lite 210 (i think), and it fit pretty well - its a tight fit, but works good.

[FliMSiCaL]

its not drinking, its boiling, thats what the bubbles are. Being that you seem to have filled it properly, i would suggest changing thermostat/water pump. and making damn well sure that there arent any clogged water passages in the block.

[Mustangs_Suck]

This past winter mine overheated and fluid was all over the place because the cap was bad and in turn caused the water pump to go bad. I think a water pump is like $30 and a cap is pretty cheap too so it could be worth looking into.

Well the lip on my radiator neck is bent, so the cap is tricky - but I got it tested and it does seal properly when you get it right....but again, it's not a good way to be going about things.

I'm going to have to get it towed to my pop's mechanic, and he'll be able to tell me what's going on. I have a koyo radiator and cap waiting for me through IP at a GREAT price, so if I just messed up on something, and he can re-do the flush for me correctly, I'll just be buying that, and I should be just fine If not - yeah....it probably is the water pump (praying that it isn't my head gasket, and i'm thinking it isn't..i have no signs of it being that except for overheating, no smoke, runs strong, doesn't idle oddly, no anti-freeze out the tail pipe, no mixtures of coolant/oil in the coolant or oil) and then that isn't too bad as you said...so hopefully I'll be up and running yet again, in about a week or so.

[Mustangs_Suck]

its not drinking, its boiling, thats what the bubbles are. Being that you seem to have filled it properly, i would suggest changing thermostat/water pump. and making damn well sure that there arent any clogged water passages in the block.

pretty much what i figured....oh well, nothing *too* serious....still will probably upgrade my radiator to the koyo after the water pump/t-stat is done, the stock rad might be able to hold it ok, but i'd rather play it safe.

[D1 guy]

Hmm if you start to overheat, try turning your heater on. It works on my s13. Also the permacool fans are great. Theyre around $100 and they flow just as much as dual flex a lites. You gotta buy a $16 thermostat as well. Hope this helps

[Mustangs_Suck]

Hmm if you start to overheat, try turning your heater on. It works on my s13. Also the permacool fans are great. Theyre around $100 and they flow just as much as dual flex a lites. You gotta buy a $16 thermostat as well. Hope this helps

I'm getting it towed and inspected tomorrow or the day after tomorrow - so the overheating problems are gonna get fixed. As for fans - thanks for the recommendation - I might just go with the Altima fans, but if I can't find em, the permacool's sound great.

Thanks again

[D1 guy]

no problem. Heavy Throttle will hook you up with some fans.

[DRIFTEADOR]

how'd they test the cap? the boiling point of coolant is raised by pressurising it, so if the cap isn't doing it's job keeping everything under pressure, the coolant will boil under normal operating temp. water is a better heat conductor/diffuser like alan said, but it also has a lower boiling point than anti-freeze, which would explain why the problem got worse when you poured a 70/30 mix.

[Mustangs_Suck]

how'd they test the cap? the boiling point of coolant is raised by pressurising it, so if the cap isn't doing it's job keeping everything under pressure, the coolant will boil under normal operating temp. water is a better heat conductor/diffuser like alan said, but it also has a lower boiling point than anti-freeze, which would explain why the problem got worse when you poured a 70/30 mix.

couldn't tell you...i think they did some kind of pressurization test on it to make sure it holds - and it does. Or they just inspected it for leaks, which it wasn't *shrug*.

And that would make sense - either my water pump is gone, or my cap was failing the whole time, and switching to 70/30 just put it over the edge. Oh well - either way the problem will be found in a day or two, and fixed