Exhaust Manifold and O2 housing glows orange

[Fyke90GSX]

I have noticed latley at night when I pop the hood I see my exhaust manifold and o2 housing glowing an orange color. My question is is this ok or bad? If its bad what should I check or do? Also I live down the street from a pretty decent size mountain. Going up the mountain , no matter how long the car has been running, my temperature gauge almost goes to the overheating side then, quickly shoots back to normal(middle). The other day I statrted my car 10 minutes before going up the mountain and the temperature gauge was reading almost to the overheating side. The car was running no more then 15 minutes on a 45 degree fall day. So far I tried changing my coolant(with Red Line Water Wetter), took off the lower heat sheild for the exhaust manifold so it can get more air, and this weekend I am going to install a 180 degree thermostat. Other then that I NEED HELP!!!!

 

[TSiAWD666]

The turbo and related parts glowing orange is normal. Please replace your heat shield unless you like melting your fans. Trust me, while they may not melt immediately, you'll most likely melt them eventually. The additional heat certainly isn't good for other nearby components, like your alternator.

Wish I could make a suggestion regarding your possible cooling problem, but I don't have any ideas.

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Thanks for the advice man(TSIAWD666). I keep checiking evreything around the O2 Housing and the exchaust manifold. I've checked it every day since I took the cover off two weeks ago. So far everything is alright. I have been thinking about putting it back on though.
As for my problem,I keep hearing different stores with this glowing orange phenomenan. Some people say it's normal, others say its running too rich/lean? Others say they have never seen their cars(with turbos) do that. I'm lost.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Look, trust me, it's normal.

Put that heat shield back on!! There's no reason to NOT have it on.

 

[wastefuldreamer]

Originally posted by TSiAWD666
Look, trust me, it's normal.

Put that heat shield back on!! There's no reason to NOT have it on.

Exactly

 

[Fyke90GSX]

What concerns me is how quickly it heats up. Its glowing from driving for like 10 minutes, not boosting. For example tonight, I drove home from work. It's cold in Pennsylvania so the car got cold air. The drive was about 10 minutes(no boosting, normal road) I get home popped the hood. It's glowing orange. Also since my temp gauge is acting funny I thought the two might be related.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Well now you didn't say any of those details in your original post. That is quite strange... it normally won't be hot enough to glow without boosting for a bit. Regardless, put the heatshield on, please. Hopefully someone has in idea what your overheating problem is based on these symptoms. Have you done a compression test?

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Sorry about that. At least you think it is strange too. I hope to do a compression test this weekend. I am also putting in a 180 dg thermostat on Sun. Maybe that will help.

 

[RoasT BeeF]

See what happens when you replace the thermostat. That should most likely fix your overheating problem. Is the fan kicking on at all once the engine gets up to about normal temp?

 

[Defiant]

For one thing, it sounds like a sticking thermostat. Stay with the stock heat rating.

Are you using a real temperature gauge, or just the stock? It could be your sender.

Hot turbo? Routine.

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Thanks for the tips guys. I am not sure if my fan is coming on right when the car hits operaing temperatures. I will definatley have to check next time I start my car. I have noticed that the fans are usually off. I will let you know wat happens when I install the thermostat. Nice eclipse roastbeef. One more thing, my turbo never looked like that before just my manifold and O2 housing.

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Well guys the weekend is over. I installed that 180 degree thermostat and it seemed to fix my temp gauge problem. Anyone out there ever put in a 180 degree thermostat? I am curious to see how it fit in your thrmostat housing. According to Chilton's Car Care Manual you should have it sitting the origial way the old thermostat was sitting. Mine sat differently then the stock thermostat. Just wanna know if it makes a difference. Also I noticed , thanks to a suggestion, that my fan is never on. I heard it kick on once this whole weekend. Any suggestions on how I could remedy this?

 

[rebuilt65]

turn the a\c on. If both fans come on, then they are ok. If you find that the regular cooling fan does not come on in traffic or if your are sitting still, then check the fan switch sensor at the bottom of the radiator. These go bad alot.
good luck
dave

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Hey Dave thanks for the advice. That is an easy way to check to see if your rad fan is working. Anyway when I turned on my air conditioner, both fans were running. They are not usually on though. Is that normal?

 

[Fyke90GSX]

My Exhaust Manifol and O2 Housing is stll glowing red-orange after a short drive(10-15min). I thought I fixed it after I replaced the thermostat but that only fixed my temp gauge problem. Any suggestions on what could be causing the quick heat up?

 

[90DSMTurboFWD]

You fuel managment is probobly shot to hell. Try getting a AFC or something to tune your fuel system.

 

[audiodude123]

advanced timing will cause a dramitic increase in exhaust tempratures.

if you have a old harmonic balancer then it may be slipping and you would never time the car right (on my car i saw the timing mark jumping around a little too much, pointed the gun right through the wheel well and saw the center staionary but the outside edge moving).

from the factory the cam sensor is is at about the middle of it's adjustment slot. that is the way it was on my 1992 tsi (blown motor now), my new 1990 gs-t and my brothers 1990 laser rs-t

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Did the same thing cause your engine on your talon to blow? God I hope that doesn't happen. I just bought the car in July. Ithas about 71,000 miles. I hope nothing like that happens. Thanks for the tips.

 

[mrmadmax]

Originally posted by audiodude123
advanced timing will cause a dramitic increase in exhaust tempratures.

if you have a old harmonic balancer then it may be slipping and you would never time the car right (on my car i saw the timing mark jumping around a little too much, pointed the gun right through the wheel well and saw the center staionary but the outside edge moving).

from the factory the cam sensor is is at about the middle of it's adjustment slot. that is the way it was on my 1992 tsi (blown motor now), my new 1990 gs-t and my brothers 1990 laser rs-t

You got that backwards, audiodude123.
Advanced (over-advanced) timing will make you knock under boost and fail emissions from HC at idle. RETARDED timing will make the airfuel mix burn later (i.e. while it is flowing out the exhaust valve), putting more heat into the exhaust (but it does make you spool faster if you add fuel with it). Over-advanced exhaust cams have the same effect.

The part about the balancer slipping is right on que. I would check it if I were you. Then, recheck your ign timing and cam timing.

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by Fyke90GSX
According to Chilton's Car Care Manual you should have it sitting the origial way the old thermostat was sitting. Mine sat differently then the stock thermostat.

What do you mean by this? Did you install it backward?
Your coolant temp won't have any significant effect on the exhaust temps.

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Defiant-

It is hard to explain the way my thermostat is sitting. All that I can say is that it is not sitting like the original was. It does however sit in there tight. The Thermostat is a circle shape. One end has nothing on it while the other end has the thermostat part. The end with nothing on the stock thermostat was facing towards the windshield.
The new thermostat sits with the end with nothing on it facing the air intake. I'm sorry man that is the best way I can explain in without showing you pictures. I will try to find a picture to explain it better.

 

[ryanman]

Here's a little tip when you're installing a thermostat. Eye to the sky.

 

[Fyke90GSX]

Thanks for the tip ryanman. But what does eye to the sky mean?

 

[LikeUnoSheit]

THe glowing orange I've never heard of from local guys. Mine tends to turn orange after 30 mile highway driving occasionally (can't exactly check it in the bright sun). I talked to a friend from the local dsm dealer and a few guys who drag race they say the problem is usually caused by runnign too rich which is not uncommon to us dsm drivers. Tunign the AFC properly "might" fix this problem. Put your damn heat shield back on idiot! I've seen non-turbos w/o this on and been okay..however its not worth melting the fans, and lastly if it came on the car..good chance it's there for a reason..(this doesnt apply to all things..big turbos, better exhaust, etc). That glowing XMAS light of a turbo I saw earlier can't be good, hopefully that wasnt your car. BTW From dsmtalk im guessing the manifold glow is acceptable, but I cant imagine something so damn hot being good for under the hood, connected to the turbo and motor..I'd check into it more if i was you.

 

[RoasT BeeF]

I suggest you read the vfaq. Glowing manifold/turbo/O2 housing is NORMAL.