how many fans are hooked up to the radiator on a stock GSX?

[DBordersX]

ok, i can't believe I'm asking this stupid ass question but here goes

how many fans are hooked up to the radiator (between radiator and engine) on a stock 2g GSX?

i just bought this car and i'm having a bit of a heat dissipation problem. Seems there should be 2 fans but I only have one.

please refrain from telling me how stupid I am. It's been a long day and I'm fully aware that i'm a few fries short of a happy meal today.

thanks guys

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Should be two. One is the main fan. The other is an AC fan which comes on with the AC and as a back up/helper for the main fan. That is the usual setup anyway.


Edit* Which side is your fan located on?

 

[DBordersX]

thanks, i found the two fans thing out a couple minutes ago, now i'm trying to figure out what to do about it

the fan i have is on the passenger side.

i still overheat (needle about 3/4 of the way up, not past red mark) with the heater blowing and going fast on the freeway.

this makes me think that the fan won't help much

i'm thinking a fluidlyne or similar aftermarket radiator might help

looks like the radiator's got lots of bent and messed up fins and whatnot

what do you think?

 

[97 4G63]

well you could just take out the rad and try to staighted out the fins and install a slim fan but mine had the same problem and i just bouth a koyo rad and a slim fan it works great..

 

[DBordersX]

i saw those koyo's on ebay, like $50 less than the fluidlyne's or something. I was gonna ask about them. so yours works well?

that's cool, i'm thinkin i'll do that and a couple of slim aftermarkets. get some serious flow going through there. I live in NorCal and we see 120* every now and then this time of year. i really can't afford to be overheating y'know

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

What else have you tried? Don't go spending a fortune until you've done the basics first. Replace your thermostat. If that doesn't fix it flush the system and fill with fresh fluid (try 60% water/40% coolant). Water wetter helps a bit.

 

[Cs4g63]

Also make sure there isnt any air in the system.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

Fans don't help on a freeway. If you never went below about 15 mph you wouldn't even need a radiator fan. You shouldn't be having a cooling problem especially without a FMIC. I'd try a new thermostat as mentioned above, and flushing the cooling system, then refilling it about 60% with water, then a bottle of Redline Water Wetter, and the rest with straight green coolant.

 

[Cs4g63]

Read this thread. It should help.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200575

 

[DBordersX]

Thanks guys, I'm going to check my thermostat tomorrow and probably get a new one. The cooling is better on the highway and anything constantly over like 30 or 40 mph. i'm definitely going to need to get that fan.

Even on the highway though the needle is a little over 3/4 of the red danger zone on my gauge. I dunno how accurate it is.

I also have an EGT gauge and the exhaust temps are staying in the normal range. But I don't really know if that means anything.

My AC won't work unless i'm on the highway either that's not OK in northern california

 

[MrBoxx]

I would suggest buying two slim-line fans from an auto parts store (like, $65 each), then do the fan re-wire and override mod in the VFAQ. Link. This way, both fans run at the same time whenever one or the other is supposed to come on. So, radiator fan is supposed to turn on at 2XX degrees, BOTH fans come on. AC fan is supposed to come on when AC is engaged, BOTH fans come on. Also, the switch is handy for when you're stuck in traffic or just sitting in the car after a long drive, and you can just leave the fans on for however long you want, instead of them clicking on and off whenever they want to.

 

[DBordersX]

i like that idea, and thanks for the link. saved me a ton of time. i have trouble with VFAQ sometimes.

and where's a good place to get those fans? should my local auto parts stores have them or is there a really good place to get them cheap online?

 

[MrBoxx]

You're in Cali, so if you have a Kragen nearby, they should carry Hayden cooling products. Hayden fans are normally setup in pusher mode, but the fan blades can be flipped around to be used in puller mode. If you prefer Autozone, they carry Pro-Form, which uses a different blade style than Hayden, and you can usually get one in puller mode. You MAY have to order it, but it shouldn't take too long to ship.

If you go this route, the aftermarket fan will have two wires, usually black and blue. In this case, black is ground, blue is positive. The stock fans have a four wire plug, two wires for grounds, and two wires for high or low speeds. The easiest way to install the fan is to clip the wires on the fan harness side, then join the two positive wires to the positive wire of the slim-line, then the two grounds to the slim-line grounds. Doing it this way lets you unplug the slim-line fan in the future if you want to remove the fans and radiator as one unit. If you cut the wires on the engine plug side, the fans will be "hard-wired" to the engine. If you get everything connected and the fans turn on and it's not blowing the right way, you may need to reverse the fan blades or the wiring is backwards.

The switch part in the VFAQ is optional. I rarely use mine since my car is mainly used to drive to work all of maybe 5 miles, so my car doesn't even get fully warmed up most of the time. But for hot climates, you may want the extra protection of being able to turn on the fans to keep things cool.

 

[DBordersX]

wow, just talked to auto zone and all they have is some thing called Dorman. or something like that and it's $200 for one fan. that's not happening.

i'll keep looking at the other local parts stores but i'm thinking online is the way to go. Anybody know how the ones RRE sells are?

Also, i read somewhere that the FAL slimline dual fan setup with the shroud and everything won't work with an aftermarket radiator. What's with that. If the aftermarket bolts right up like stock, and the fans bolt right up like stock. Shouldn't they bolt up together like stock? I understand that the aftermarket radiators are thicker but if they work with stock fans then wouldn't they work BETTER with slim fans designed to bolt to the stock location?

here's a link for those fans i'm talking about. i know i can find them cheaper but this is the first pic and description i found
http://www.machv.com/flexslimfanc.html

 

[DBordersX]

ok, so last night I pulled the thermostat and tossed it in boiling water... Nothing. So I replaced that (I'd already bought a new one but I tested them both before the swap) and I think my problem's solved.

It's now running with the coolant temp needle about 2/3 of the way up. this is higher than I am used to on my other cars but when it gets there it's not flinching so I guess I'll be fine.

I'm thinking I'll still get a fan (probably from RRE) and I can get an aftermarket aluminum radiator used from a guy for under $200 so I think i'll do that too. Just because later I may need the greater cooling capacity.

 

[DBordersX]

argh

i'm overheating again, damn

i say again instead of still but I really don't know. It seemed like it was all better but now i'm overheating again. I'll pull the radiator tonight and rinse it out and whatnot. I'm also gonna pull the thermostat and see if I somehow broke it in less than 24 hrs.

I'm getting an aluminum radiator soon and have an electric fan on the way, should be here next week.

any other helpful ideas?

 

[jastermerrel]

Take out your radiator and head over to a radiator shop. If you are on the original stock radiator you can bet it is somewhat clogged with rust and gunk. They should clean it out for no more than $30 and I bet it will make a big difference. Save the money from buying a fluidyne and buy another fan.

edit: 2g's seem to hover around the halfway point normally on the factory temp gauge

 

[DBordersX]

I've already got the fan on the way. ordered it from RRE this morning. I'm gonna go ahead and get the aluminum radiator from the guy either way. It's in good shape and I'm getting it for like half what they cost new.

half way would be good, that's what I was looking for. If the thermostat I have in there is fried when I pull it I'm gonna go w/ a 170* one I think. Instead of a 180* like stock.

 

[dsm-onster]

OK, you mentioned that lots of your radiator fins are bent. How many? The fins are the ONLY thing that actually cool the water entering the radiator. So if you pull the radiator and grab a pair of tweasers, then you probably will solve your overheating problem. Bent fins block the neccesary flow of ambient temperature air over the foils in the radiator. There's ZERO cooling where there's ZERO flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[Calan]

Since nobody mentioned this that I saw....

The stock temp gauge is pretty useless (inconsistent at best) from what I've seen. My logger can show coolant at 235* (A/C, OK. heat, and idling), but the stock temp gauge will be showing perfectly normal. I.E. ... Don't trust it

BTW - Have you verified that the car actually IS overheating? I didn't see anything about spewing coolant or excessive heat when you pop the hood or anything like that mentioned. If at all possible, try to find out what the actual coolant temp is by borrowing a logger or something if you don't have one. You could also swap out the gauge sensor with a new one (like 8$ and in the water neck for us 1G guys) and see what your temps read.

Also, if you use a Hayden fan... be careful if you remove and/or flip the fan. The small metal clip that holds the fan on the motor shaft is a flimsy little POS, and will easily pop off...leaving your fan sitting nice and still in the shroud while the motor spins like crazy. Ask me how I know

 

[Calan]

...do the fan re-wire and override mod in the VFAQ. Link. ...

Does anyone know if this is identical to a 1G, or if there is a link to this same mod for a 1G?

EDIT:

Just looked at my car and answered the first question: the relays are on opposite sides of the engine bay

 

[DBordersX]

I'm gonna pull the radiator today and see about cleaning it out and straightening the fins. I'm positive it's overheating because when I pop the hood the air coming off the engine is way hotter than it should be. There's also a little bit of steam or smoke or something when It's really hot (as in past the red on my gauge).

I'm thinking about replacing the water temp sensor and also the whole gague cluster. (my gas gauge sticks too)

the fan I ordered is one of the SPAL ones that RRE sells

 

[DBordersX]

ok, pulled the radiator, fan and thermostat.
checked thermostat... it works still
straightened fins as best I could.
hosed out inside radiator and between fins.
....
nothing

I'm getting a fan and aftermarket aluminum radiator soon but I'm thinking it's more than that.

I'm gonna replace the temp sensor this weekend.

I'm thinking maybe my water pump is going out. How do I tell if it is?
I saw something about leaking coolant/water but that's not happening. Are there any other signs I should watch for.

Also, is a new water pump generally part of an upgrade path or just scheduled maintnence? If I replace my pump what kind should I get?

 

[Calan]

Water pumps are like anything else... they may last for the life of the car, or they may fail. Most people replace them "just in case" at the same time they do a timing belt job, since the pump is right there and a PITA to change if that's all you're doing.

I can't remember where I saw it, but there are two different types of water pumps. One of them has small "covers" over the backs of the fins, and there are reports of this type having cavitation issues (although I know nothing of this firsthand... just thought I would point it out). So you might want to research that some before you get into it too far.

Here's another thought:

Do you still have your overflow bottle hooked up properly? Is it full?

If you don't know.... your radiator will flow excess coolant into the reservoir when it's hot, and then suck it back in when it cools. So if your reservoir and radiator cap aren't hooked up and working properly, you may not have enough coolant. You could be evaporating coolant and not replenishing it.

 

[MrBoxx]

Just looked at my car and answered the first question: the relays are on opposite sides of the engine bay

That sucks. I suppose you could still do it; you'd just need to run a wire across the engine bay, or along the firewall or something. I wasn't aware the 1g's used two different fuseboxes for the fans. I need to work on my 1g anatomy.