New owner looking for guidance, here is my cars setup

[dr_frankenstein]

ahh...New Mexico has winters? ...i have to ask.

yes we have winters.......... the burque is at high enough elevation to get cold enough to crack a block if your not careful. just last season it got cold enough further south for me during a freak blizzard to trash my s10 4 banger.

so even in our 100* weather right now, I dont reccomend not using a thermostat or antifreeze. though im sure nick has a good price on some RMI additive that i DO reccomend!

PS.... im sure there are a few guys in alby that can help you out, if not theres a few of us down here in cruces that can point ya right.

 

[SMV6LOL]

Well the previous owner before me put a fan on a transmission cooler located in front of the intercooler. Well when i turned the fan on by itself, it pulled air out of the engine (fighting the radiator fans).... so needless to say i uninstalled that fan. That brought the temps to a max of 210 on a 95 degree weather day. Next step to flush the radiator and install a 160 thermo.

Is that RMI additive worth it?.... I think most additives are scams

 

[SMV6LOL]

yes we have winters.......... the burque is at high enough elevation to get cold enough to crack a block if your not careful. just last season it got cold enough further south for me during a freak blizzard to trash my s10 4 banger.

so even in our 100* weather right now, I dont reccomend not using a thermostat or antifreeze. though im sure nick has a good price on some RMI additive that i DO reccomend!

PS.... im sure there are a few guys in alby that can help you out, if not theres a few of us down here in cruces that can point ya right.

Do you know of anybody here in abq? Im thinking about taking my car to Chris at dyno's edge to help me tune it.

Do i need the scanmaster or powerlogger to tune my car, or both?

 

[dr_frankenstein]

Do you know of anybody here in abq? Im thinking about taking my car to Chris at dyno's edge to help me tune it.

Do i need the scanmaster or powerlogger to tune my car, or both?

I went to the RMI additive about 3 weeks ago and it is worth the bread, i climb the san austine pass twice a day in the 100* weather to and from work and it has really been a big help. Plus, Nick wouldnt set us wrong. I dont personally know anyone in Alb, but I know theres a few members here that can help out.... I will see who i can find and send you there names.

Im a carb guy so I cant say on the choice of either scan master or powerlogger as to which is better, but something to record your data is extremly important for trouble shooting and tuning.

 

[SMV6LOL]

I went to the RMI additive about 3 weeks ago and it is worth the bread, i climb the san austine pass twice a day in the 100* weather to and from work and it has really been a big help. Plus, Nick wouldnt set us wrong. I dont personally know anyone in Alb, but I know theres a few members here that can help out.... I will see who i can find and send you there names.

Im a carb guy so I cant say on the choice of either scan master or powerlogger as to which is better, but something to record your data is extremly important for trouble shooting and tuning.

Thanks i appreciate that, some local help would be nice.... I thought diesels were hard to tune lol

 

[usetaboost]

Check the inside of the radiator for corrosion. You should have seen the one I pulled out of the wifes el camino. Looked like a coral reef inside.

 

[John Larkin]

I had my stock radiator recored with a standard 3-row brass core. It was about $225. No hassling with fitment, just bolted right back in. You can buy a used stock single radiator fan on this board in the parts for sale section for under $75. With RMI-25 and distilled water there should be no reason you can't see coolant temps of 185 and under with a 160 stat. I know you're in NM and I'm in IN but that is how my car ran on a 100-degree day recently, heat is heat. I run a trans cooler mounted horizontally behind and just above the right air dam with no fan. Fits and works well.

I agree with others that you need a looser converter.

 

[usetaboost]

The stock fan sucks imo. Ever notice how these cars get hotter sitting in traffic as opposed to the highway? 200 in downtown stop and go traffic, 174 on the highway. Not hard to figure out there. Bash the fbody radiator swap all you want, go buy a radiator for almost anything and it's gonna be plastic end tanks and aluminum. Even new gbody radiators are aluminum-and they're the same damn thing as the fbody! Putting dual ramchargers fans on is no different than putting on intrepid fans so what's the big deal? Does it make it better to spend more money on aftermarket fans that do the same damn thing and aren't plug and play and still require fabbing brackets to fit? And if the in radiator oil cooler is so awesome why does my silverado have it going through an external cooler and not the radiator?

 

[SMV6LOL]

Check the inside of the radiator for corrosion. You should have seen the one I pulled out of the wifes el camino. Looked like a coral reef inside.

Whats the best way to check for corrosion? Should I run distilled water and anitfreeze? Pretty much everything on this car has been restored so i wouldnt doubt if its a new(er) radiator?

To the convertor, what stall should i get? Lock up or non? Im used to diesel stuff so pretty much the only difference in convertors what amount of disk and lock up, never messed with stall.

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but thanks for the help

 

[John Larkin]

Call a few of the transmission vendors at the bottom of the forum mainpage for stall recommendation. They will ask you about your combo and help you make the right decision. I got mine from PTS but they are all good.

Don't run antifreeze unless you are subject to freezing, just distilled water and RMI-25.

 

[usetaboost]

Whatever you decide to do as far as coolant goes, make sure you use distilled water or at least softened water. Straight hard water out of a hose is no good. I have to run antifreeze living in iowa so I usually buy the premixed stuff and throw a dash of water in it.

 

[GNICETRY]

Whats the best way to check for corrosion? Should I run distilled water and anitfreeze? Pretty much everything on this car has been restored so i wouldnt doubt if its a new(er) radiator?

To the convertor, what stall should i get? Lock up or non? Im used to diesel stuff so pretty much the only difference in convertors what amount of disk and lock up, never messed with stall.

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but thanks for the help

You could obvoiusly open the radiator cap and look down into it after draining a little, or all of it. Get a flashlight and you could pretty much see way down. Alot of corrosion/rust particles might be on the lower tubes so the thing that I would do (and did) is to drain the radiator, fill it with RMI-25 (1 bottle) and distilled water. Drive the car for a couple of weeks/couple of hundred miles and then open the radiator cap again and look. You might/probably will see scumlike stuff floating on the top of your radiator. I would then drain the system again and fill with the same as before (add antifreeze if you need it). You might have a new radiator buy that doesn't mean you have a good radiator. The radiator that ALRADCO sells would be your best stock type replacement by far. You have a Turbo Buick get the best and save the plastic parts for the toys
Report back with your progress.
Make sure your radiator is good before you start finding band aids for a hot running car.

 

[usetaboost]

Either way just get rid of the stock stuff, it sucks. It's mediocre at best when it's over 90. ALuminum dissapates heat better than brass in most cases so you cant go wrong with either setup. Whichever you choose has to be the decision made. Once this is done and you get the car running reasonably, your next decision is brakes which is a whole other can of worms Get these two items dealt with before adding any more performance parts.

 

[SMV6LOL]

@GNICETRY, usetaboost...... Thanks for the helpful information, looks like ill bite the bullet and get an aluminum radiator and that additive. Ill report back with the results guys. I also ordered a scanmaster so I can see whats wrong with my idle.

 

[scrobbyd]

May as well get ready break out the pocketbook if your looking for speed right off the bat! Best advise I can give to any new TB owner is DONT CUT CORNERS TO SAVE A BUCK!!! Listen to these guys on here BEFORE you even think about putting your foot into it. Listen to any and every bit of advise Mr. Nick has to offer. IDK how far he is from you but if he's in driving range get it to him. If your already looking for speed you may as well get with one of the tranny vendors here and get you a freshly built tranny while you got the convertor out. I call it piece of mind! At least you know what you got. Can't go wrong with one of Lonnie's transmissions. Good luck and sorry if I don't sound encouraging but learn your car before you start beating on it!


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[scrobbyd]

Oops just notice how old this thread was! Well wonder how this car turned out?


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[Nick Micale]

Either way just get rid of the stock stuff, it sucks. It's mediocre at best when it's over 90. Aluminum dissapates heat better than brass in most cases so you cant go wrong with either setup..........

I do not want to be "picky", but brass/copper will transfer heat better than copper.

But in the case of radiators, the tubes can be made larger because aluminum is more rigid than copper, and individual tube will flow more.

Years ago we did some field testing on alum vs. copper radiators, and the difference was minimal.

The price of high-effiency copper cores has risen out of sight, and the Alradco alum radiators have been designed specifically for GN's, and now it is certainly the better choice.

 

[toomanymodz]

Oops just notice how old this thread was! Well wonder how this car turned out?

His sig says 'totaled'. Let's hope not.

 

[6gunn]

Being new myself, I've been spending all my time focusing on monitoring and safety measures rather than go fast parts. Still have a long way to go, but trust the guys on this forum that this should be the first step with a newly purchased TR. Still learning and am hopeful the end result will be well worth it. Haven't even taken it for a drive yet.

 

[davelostmissing]

His sig says 'totaled'. Let's hope not.

parted out?

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/great-list-of-performance-parts.399777