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Motor/Hood is really, really hot after cruise. Normal?

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kmoore

15+ Year Contributor
1,241
13
Mar 8, 2006
St, Louis, Missouri
Hey guys, i am a little concerned. Today i went for a cruise in my 97 GST for about 20 min. After i got back i was goin to cover my car back up when i felt the hood and it was really, really hot. I mean hot to the touch. So, i popped the hood to see if anything was up and nothing seemed out of place. I felt the radiator hose and that thing was so hot. The valve cover almost burned my friggin finger. You get the point. Anyway, is this normal? Is there anything i can do to make the under hood temperatures cooler? Thanks a lot in advance.
 
If you don't have your upper and lower heat shields on then that is going to make everything under the hood hot. It is also is going to heatsoak your intercooler piping and make your intake temps. higher and affect performance. I would make sure to get the heat shields back on and as far as under hood temp. goes you can put washers under the hinge of your hood and that will cause a vacuum and let air out the rear of the engine bay.
 
Hey thanks man, but what do you mean when you say "heat soak"? Also, when you mean upper and lower heat shields do you mean the ones over the exhaust manifold and the front of the turbo? I have all those and the one on the under side of the hood also. With the exhaust manifold heat shield i took that off and tried to paint it and it turned out aweful. So, i sanded the pant off and took off those 3 brackets that hold some line that goes from the turbo, to give it a smoother look. So, now there are 3 sets of holes that are exposed. Not very big at all but is what is causing the heat?Thanks
 
Make sure your radiator is full of coolant. I know it seems obvious, but there are always people who just look at the overflow bottle and say "It's half-full, so my radiator is fine," when really it isn't. So.. that's the first thing. Check it when it's cold and fill as necessary. To help reduce coolant temps, you could try adding some Redline Water Wetter or Royal Purple's Purple Ice, which supposedly help heat transfer.

Edit: Heat soak is where your intercooler pipes and intercooler get as hot as the air in the engine bay and can't cool off fast enough to cool the boost charge. Hot air=knock=pulled timing=less power.
 
I once used a IF thermometer to check underhood temps, I got over 800F right where the manifold bolts to the head. Now I dont know the accuraccy range of this thermometer at those temps, but anyway...yes, it gets hella hot under the hood of a 4g63T car.
 
You should see the heat waves comming out of the hood (through the vents) on my friends EVO8.

As long as your coolant temps are ok and you have your headshield on, things should be just fine. There is a ton of heat trapped in those engine bays and everything just absorbs it.
 
So i just checked my overflow bottle and it looks like i need to fill it with some radiator fluid. What kind do you guys think i should use? Does it really matter? Also, if you are looking at the overflow bottle from the top there is a hose on the left and a hose on the right that connects to an elbow with the radiator hose. The hose on the left is just tucked down below, not connected or hooked up to anything. Is this supposed to be just hanging there? I'll go take some pics of it if you don't know what i mean.
 
The hose your talking about is supposed to just hang there, it keeps the cap from blowing off when you get overflow, and i think that if the overflow bottle overflows the coolant comes out of there.... thankfully it hasnt happened to me so im not quite sure!
 
Alright thanks. Also, do you think that i should flush my entire radiator fluid out and antifreeze and put in some new stuff. Do you think that would help? Also, i don't know if this would make a difference or not but, i just completed the "free mod" of cleaning out the intercooler and installed it back in. Then, after i did that, that is when i started noticing the hood/engine was really hot. I am almost possitive that all of the intercooler pipes are hooked up but would this even have to do with the heating problem?
 
After driving, these cars get pretty hot under the hood. I thought it was weird when I first got mine, but from all the ones I've seen, its completely normal, as long as the temp gauge is where it should be. So don't worry about it too much, just let it cool off for a few hours before you work on it.:D
 
Doing a radiator flush or just changing the fluid with new anti-freeze/water is a good thing to do every once in a while anyway, just as a matter of maintenance. It may be there's some oxidation or deposits in the radiator blocking some of the flow. That may help the cooling issue a little bit. The other ideas offered in this thread by other members will also contribute. After I get a CF hood, I'll probably do the washers-under-the-bolts trick and see how that works.

And it's been said a million times before, but I'll say it again and add a new spin to it: These cars tend to get a little warm. ;) For some real fun, go out some dark night to a desolate road and run the hell out of the car, then pull over and pop the hood. Peek between the heat shields and you'll see a glowing red turbine and O2 housing on your turbo. Neat, huh? That's what turbo timers are for. :)
 
Yes it is normal.

I have both heat shields on mine, Redline waterwetter, coolant flushed/changed 4 months ago and my engine bay and valve cover was hot to touch (almost burned my finger if I tried). After the hood install, I see hot air coming out of the vent everytime I drive the car. My engine bay temp dropped a lot.
 
Is it still hot to the touch I assume? I'm thinking of getting a CF Evo style hood for my car...
 
Dream On said:
Is it still hot to the touch I assume? I'm thinking of getting a CF Evo style hood for my car...

Yes it is still hot to touch, but engine bay temps went down a lot! I used to get hit by a heat wave when I opened my stock 2G hood, now I can feel hot air coming out of the big vent when I shut the car.
 
Mine gets just as hot, took it out yesterday in the rain and when I parked the hood was steaming. I was at a party and a girl came up to me and told me my car was smoking. :LOL:
 
Temperature gauge shows the needle right in the midle of the range. Coolant level is where it suppouse to be. Turbo shields and hood shield are all in. But just driving around like grandma makes bay hot as hell. The drivers wheel well, for instance, gets hot enough you can't leave your hand over it. Also the hood, drivers side, right on the back side of the bump, when the radiator fan turns on, gets worryingly hot. Feels like anytime it's going to damage the paint! :hmm:
 
You guys just need to move somewhere, where it’s colder LOL. I’m in Washington and right now I’m enjoying 32 degree weather with car temps max at 185-195 degrees. :D
 
Temperature gauge shows the needle right in the midle of the range. Coolant level is where it suppouse to be. Turbo shields and hood shield are all in. But just driving around like grandma makes bay hot as hell. The drivers wheel well, for instance, gets hot enough you can't leave your hand over it. Also the hood, drivers side, right on the back side of the bump, when the radiator fan turns on, gets worryingly hot. Feels like anytime it's going to damage the paint! :hmm:


You need to put the heat shields back on the exhaust manifold, the turbo, and under the hood.

My project car was missing the manifold and turbo cover and when you pop the hood after getting into boost driving around you could feel the heat off of the motor smack you in the face

Those covers make a huge difference
 
first check the thermostat put it into a bowl of hot hot water and see if the spring contracts when cold and opens when hot
 
Doing a radiator flush or just changing the fluid with new anti-freeze/water is a good thing to do every once in a while anyway, just as a matter of maintenance. It may be there's some oxidation or deposits in the radiator blocking some of the flow. That may help the cooling issue a little bit. The other ideas offered in this thread by other members will also contribute. After I get a CF hood, I'll probably do the washers-under-the-bolts trick and see how that works.

And it's been said a million times before, but I'll say it again and add a new spin to it: These cars tend to get a little warm. ;) For some real fun, go out some dark night to a desolate road and run the hell out of the car, then pull over and pop the hood. Peek between the heat shields and you'll see a glowing red turbine and O2 housing on your turbo. Neat, huh? That's what turbo timers are for. :)
seeing the brakes get hot and glow from auto cross racing is cool as heck too ... crossed drilled slotted ftw :dsm:
 
Ancient thread LOL. 2006! Engines get hot. Especially if heat shields are removed. If your cooling system is in good order and your temp gauge shows normal, nothing to worry about.
 
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