A few weeks ago i had an issue with my hood latch install. I had to use spacers to drop the intercooler down a few inches in order for the latch to secure properly. Now my water temps seem to be higher than normal. Could this be from lowering the intercooler fins a bit and not getting as much air as before? I have the old school Eastern Performance intercooler and have never had this potential issue.
Opinions on cooling problem possibly
- Thread starter Dhos1
- Start date
ScottHeidinger
Active Member
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- May 2, 2015
What fans are you running? With a front mount you need a good fan system. Without enough air movement across the radiator your temps will rise. I also had a stock radiator that did fine with the stock setup but when you put a big intercooler in front of the radiator it was too much for the 30 year old radiator. I was lucky enough to find Alradco and he even gave a group of us a discount on his aluminum radiators. Now the car doesn't go above 185 even in traffic on the hottest days in Florida. To run a front mount you need a good radiator and a fan system that is capable of moving a lot of CFM. I use the dual intrepid fans.
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For sure, you should get good results if you add one of these high velocity fan systems, but getting back to the fact your car is running warmer now, it might just be that the summer temperatures are warmer now, hence your car is running warmer. I noticed with mine, running the stock TR fan and Camaro radiator, that when it's low to mid 90s, my car will run anywhere from 195 to 205, depending on whether I'm stuck in traffic, and/or running AC. I do have a one piece engine oil cooler and trans cooler that pretty much blocks air flow to my radiator. But if temps are mid to upper 80s, coolant temps are much more acceptable, like 180 to 190. So, what I'm saying is maybe it's just warm summer temps are the cause of your higher operating temperatures.
Are you sure your radiator is absolutely full? Just a suggestion.
Yes....checked all of tgat. I kust ordered a dual intrepid set up. Extra cooling is never a bad thing with these cars.
ScottHeidinger
Active Member
- Joined
- May 2, 2015
You sure you don't have a air pocket in the cooling system? I knew you had recently installed the front mount but not sure if you opened the cooling system. Sometimes I've had air get stuck in the cooling system but not on the buick. You might look at your radiator cap to, I've never seen it but have heard of caps that don't hold pressure causing issues. Mine would get up over 210 with the stock fan and radiator with the front mount and that was hotter than I was comfortable with but I've never had the light come on. Not sure what temp that is but since you have the aluminum radiator there may be something else wrong. The front mount definitely blocks air flow and air flow is critical but have you checked to see if both coolant lines are pressurized once it's up to temp? If you squeeze the upper hose it should feel hot and be stiff with the water flowing thru it. I would think running down the road at a sufficient speed 55-plus with RMI25 and a aluminum radiator it should keep cool without the fan. You might try running it at a time that nobody's on the road at speed to see if it's a fan issue or other cooling system problem. Do you know how hot it's running?
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Yes, as I was looking at my scanmaster reading it was approaching 260-270 ish. Obvioisly when i wad going a bit faster i had more flow and it started tapering back a bit. Maybe a defective fan...when shoukd it come on about as I have a 160 thermostat? Either way, that stock fan is gone soon. But, i want to ensure theres nothing else. Ive looked at the cap etc. Matter of fact when I did get to the house, the water was being forced into the overflow tank and it was boiling. The upper rad hose was definitely full as well.
ScottHeidinger
Active Member
- Joined
- May 2, 2015
Fans are controlled by relays controlled by the ECM. 260 is way too hot. I hope you didn't do any damage to the engine. The fans should come on at 180 to 195 depending on who made the chip but if you turn on the AC the fan should run. I know running the ac doesn't make sense when it's that hot but when it's cold the fan should be on with the ac if you're trying to test the fan. I wonder if your t-stat is opening. For the price of a t-stat I would replace it and insure there isn't any air in the system. I run aluminum heads and I would stop and turn the car off at 225. No way I'd let it get to 260. You sure you don't have a blown head gasket?
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Funny thing just happened. I went in the garage and cranked the car to see if I could get the fans to kick on at 185-195, but they never came on. I was monitoring the temp on the scanmaster and it went to 195, then dropped back to 177...then continued up until i shut it off. Fan never kicked on. After i turned it off, i felt the radiator hose and it was hot and expanded...but when i squeezed it i could mot hear water. I wonder if water is circulating at all. I will crank it tommorrow with the cap off and srr if water is on fact circulating. I had ot on about 6 or 7 minutes and no fans at all.
ScottHeidinger
Active Member
- Joined
- May 2, 2015
RmvBfrFlght
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2007
The low fan speed is ECM controlled, with the high speed being coolant temperature controlled. Both speeds can also be activated by the A/C system pressure.
Here is a quick & easy test: locate the fan temperature switch on the top front of the intake manifold. It will have a single GRN/YEL wire going to it. Disconnect the connector and get a piece of wire to ground the connector terminal (harness side) to the engine block.
Do a key-on, engine-off and ground the terminal on the connector. The fan should run on high speed. If it does that verifies that the high speed fan relay is getting power (fuse OK), and that he wiring and fan are working. The temperature switch could be bad.
If the fan doesn't run, did the fan relay click? If no click then need to check for power going to the relay coil, and possibly the relay is bad. Check the RLYS fuse (5A, top right in fuse block) as it powers the relay coils.
If the relay did click and no fan, then need to check for fan power (heavy red wires) coming off the fusible links at the starter. Also check for power right at the fan, if there is power then odds are the fan motor is gone.
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