2G Overheating Issue

[TSIdad]

Freshly rebuilt motor on my son’s 95 TSi. .2 overbore, Wiseco pistons, Eagle rods, ACL race bearings, ARP main and head studs, new water pump, new radiator (OEM) new radiator fans (Mishimoto), new hoses, new thermostat, fresh coolant fill, burped, and topped off.

Tested for a blown head gasket and it’s clear.

We did add an FMIC with this build, but the location doesn’t seem to be different from others I’ve seen. The car didn’t come with a lower heat shield for the turbo, so it melted the drivers side fan. We’ve since replaced the fan and added a new heat shield.

Driving around 30 mph runs just a bit over operating temp, but as soon as you give it the beans or get up to speed on the interstate it spikes and overheats.

I’m out of things to test

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[TSIdad]

Autozone rents them

In a previous thread some one mentioned that the coolant feed line off of the block behind the turbo had a blocked passage after a rebuild that caused their overheating problem

It was the banjo bolt towards the transmission on the front of the block under the thermostat neck where it bolts to the head.

Thanks we didn't think of this. I will check it out because the cylinders were enlarged and the head was decked. It's possible that it wasn't cleaned good enough when reassembled and there is something clogging up the coolant line.

 

[TSIdad]

UPDATE: Justin Whitesell built us a fresh 20g turbo. I needed to port the stock manifold from 55mm to match the turbo’s 60mm opening. When I pulled the exhaust manifold we found two cracks on the bottom that were hidden from view. This explains why we were melting the drivers side radiator fan under boost and long drives at highway speeds. The exhaust gases were just shooting straight out, melting fans, and heating up the entire engine bay. We ordered a brand new exhaust manifold, installed two high flow Spal fans, new aluminum Mishimoto radiator and FIC 750cc injectors and now seem to have the overheating issue resolved. My son drove the Talon back to college a month ago, and continues to use it as his daily. We also plan to trailer it up to The Shootout in a couple of weeks. Thanks for all of the help, we appreciate the tips, tricks, and insights along the way.

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[SixBolt_16G]

Excellent thread! Now i have to check the underside of my manifold and check for crack... I might be off target in thinking that its a leaking gasket that melting my fan.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Guys, don't forget that there is another good radiator company that usually can beat Mitsumoto's price..........

Eclipse Radiator (1995-1999)

www.championradiators.com

Just wanted to add that to this thread.

 

[TheDude236]

Guys, don't forget that there is another good radiator company that usually can beat Mitsumoto's price..........

Eclipse Radiator (1995-1999)

www.championradiators.com

Just wanted to add that to this thread.

This is a thread my dad started actually. Im not sure if he specified, but I got a used Mishimoto radiator and a spal fan attached to it for around 150$ shipped. I do agree that mishi isnt the be-all-end-all of radiators, but this combination was priced too well to pass up.
Good value as always Marty!

 

[TSIdad]

Excellent thread! Now i have to check the underside of my manifold and check for crack... I might be off target in thinking that its a leaking gasket that melting my fan.

We went down so many rabbit holes chasing everything. It’s worth pulling the manifold to have a look under the hood.

 

[TerminalTalon]

Did you figure out the overheating issue?

 

[We're on Boost]

We went down so many rabbit holes chasing everything. It’s worth pulling the manifold to have a look under the hood.

I'm so glad it wasn't anything internal like the head gasket. You were right about that all along.
The way it's turning out, it's the story of a tough engine that was well built and has survived a few nasty issues.

 

[TheDude236]

Did you figure out the overheating issue?

Yep. Cracked exhaust manifold was a big contributor, and some good solid cooling system upgrades like 2 Spal fans, and a 2 row radiator. Cheaped out on Mishimoto fans and that was a bad choice. Now I can actually daily the thing

 

[We're on Boost]

Yep. Cracked exhaust manifold was a big contributor, and some good solid cooling system upgrades like 2 Spal fans, and a 2 row radiator. Cheaped out on Mishimoto fans and that was a bad choice. Now I can actually daily the thing

When you have a few dull moments () it would be great if you could update your specs and mods page and put some more detail in it!
I remember at one time you were holding off on getting the car tuned because the wideband wasn't installed yet. But now you've got the wideband going and ECMlink going. Has it been tuned yet? I don't mean tuning for max power necessarily, I mean more for the safety of the engine.

 

[TheDude236]

When you have a few dull moments () it would be great if you could update your specs and mods page and put some more detail in it!
I remember at one time you were holding off on getting the car tuned because the wideband wasn't installed yet. But now you've got the wideband going and ECMlink going. Has it been tuned yet?

Good point!
I want to get it tuned when at the shootout! But the way travel is going to work will make it hard. I believe a remote tune would be a good idea, but I would also like a tuner who is familiar with how to control the boost controller built into the wideband. its a real hassle :/

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

This is a thread my dad started actually. Im not sure if he specified, but I got a used Mishimoto radiator and a spal fan attached to it for around 150$ shipped. I do agree that mishi isnt the be-all-end-all of radiators, but this combination was priced too well to pass up.
Good value as always Marty!

Can't go wrong with a SPAL!!!
If they are good enough for Nascar then they sure as hell work for us. I love mine and would recommend them to all.
DON'T BUY CHEAP FANS!!!!

 

[TSIdad]

Can't go wrong with a SPAL!!!
If they are good enough for Nascar then they sure as hell work for us. I love mine and would recommend them to all.
DON'T BUY CHEAP FANS!!!!

You are so right! In one configuration, we had a Spal fan on the passenger side, and a Mishi on the drivers side. You could feel a major difference in airflow with your hand when they were both running. HUGE difference actually. I knew there would be a difference, but I didn't realize how big of a difference it was until I felt them side by side.

When you have a few dull moments () it would be great if you could update your specs and mods page and put some more detail in it!
I remember at one time you were holding off on getting the car tuned because the wideband wasn't installed yet. But now you've got the wideband going and ECMlink going. Has it been tuned yet? I don't mean tuning for max power necessarily, I mean more for the safety of the engine.

We definitely want to tune the car for both engine safety, and to maximize the benefits of the larger injectors, 20g turbo etc. However, finding a tuner that 1) knows ECM Link, and 2) has an AWD dyno is proving to be very difficult.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

The AWD dyno is a unicorn in my neck of the woods................

 

[We're on Boost]

We definitely want to tune the car for both engine safety, and to maximize the benefits of the larger injectors, 20g turbo etc. However, finding a tuner that 1) knows ECM Link, and 2) has an AWD dyno is proving to be very difficult.

Yeah, I suppose Ohio is the nearest "hotbed" of DSM activity. Looking at google maps around your area which I don't know worth beans, all I could think of was Pure Tuning in Toledo (about the same distance from you as Norwalk) who I hope is still a good shop. My only experience with them was in 2009! I see they have a YouTube channel and a good web site.
And then I got distracted wondering what ever happened to The Walter Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta which was one of the most fun events I've ever been to. I don't even want to try to remember how long ago that was. Looks like it is now called just The Mitty and it has turned into more of a high-level event than it was. But it's a lot closer than Norwalk !
Anyway, hopefully you'll get some other suggestions for how to do it.

 

[TSIdad]

Yeah, I suppose Ohio is the nearest "hotbed" of DSM activity. Looking at google maps around your area which I don't know worth beans, all I could think of was Pure Tuning in Toledo (about the same distance from you as Norwalk) who I hope is still a good shop. My only experience with them was in 2009! I see they have a YouTube channel and a good web site.
And then I got distracted wondering what ever happened to The Walter Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta which was one of the most fun events I've ever been to. I don't even want to try to remember how long ago that was. Looks like it is now called just The Mitty and it has turned into more of a high-level event than it was. But it's a lot closer than Norwalk !
Anyway, hopefully you'll get some other suggestions for how to do it.

I called a few shops in the Norwalk area, and they are all closed Fri-Sun for The Shootout. Unfortunately we are on limited time and can't be there on Thursday or Monday. We will likely end up using a remote tuner, and then taking it to an AWD dyno shop to verify / validate things.