1G Upgraded the Radiator & I can't get the temps down

[360glitch]

A couple of nights ago I installed an aluminum radiator along with a couple of slimline fans that I bought as a kit from Punishment Racing. Since then, I have not been able to get the temps down. The temps were nowhere near this bad before I installed the radiator, I only upgraded it for extra piece of mind. To me, this points to having air in the system. I've let the car run and the coolant cycle with the cap off for a pretty good amount of time and it has not improved for me much. Maybe I'm doing this wrong. Any tips?

 

[rEclipserGST]

A couple of nights ago I installed an aluminum radiator along with a couple of slimline fans that I bought as a kit from Punishment Racing. Since then, I have not been able to get the temps down. The temps were nowhere near this bad before I installed the radiator, I only upgraded it for extra piece of mind. To me, this points to having air in the system. I've let the car run and the coolant cycle with the cap on for a pretty good amount of time and it has not improved for me much. Maybe I'm doing this wrong. Any tips?

I thought you had to burp the system with the cap off?

Takes about 30 minutes to do this process and I always squeeze all my hoes from the bottom up to release air and move the coolant around more.

 

[360glitch]

I thought you had to burp the system with the cap off?

Takes about 30 minutes to do this process and I always squeeze all my hoes from the bottom up to release air and move the coolant around more.

Yes, I meant type with the cap off, not on. I've been squeezing the top radiator hose but I haven't messed with the lower hose.

 

[doctor_shock10]

make sure your fans are blowing outside in, so its getting the cooler air from outside and not the heat from the exhuast manifold and motor.

 

[360glitch]

make sure your fans are blowing outside in, so its getting the cooler air from outside and not the heat from the exhuast manifold and motor.

Thanks for the tip, I've checked that before however it is worth double checking.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Did you mess at all with the factory piece that routes air through the bumper up to the radiator? If that is out of whack or not aligned properly it can cause your car to overheat.

Did you just fill it up at the thermostat housing or did you also fill up the overflow container?

 

[kainam00]

If you car runs hotter than it did before the rad/fans upgrade while sitting still, I don't think air flow through the bumper/etc is the problem.

Most likely you have air in the system as you said... keep `massaging` those hoses

 

[architechnik]

Air in the hoses should be removed by merely filling the inlet to the brim and letting it run for only a couple of minutes, like 3-5, not 30. This is assuming your pump and thermostat are working in the least. If you run to high heat with the cap off, then it will not build the pressure required for the thermostat to properly function. When was the last time you changed the thermostat? When was the last time you changed the cap? How is your water pump, pulley, and belt? If all are in good order, then worry about flow.

In this case, I would be concerned about some sort of obstruction in your system. Try emptying the coolant and disconnecting the upper hose from the thermostat housing. Shove a hose in the top end and start filling. (DO THIS WITH THE ENGINE COOL!)

When water starts coming out of the thermostat housing you know you have some good flow. Check to see that the water is coming up at a steady pace. It won't be very fast because the thermo will be closed, but it should still come out. If you're not sure, remove the thermo housing and go the opposite direction.

 

[Beemer92]

Odd. I installed a similar kit back in the summer and haven't had any problems yet. But I have the thermostat out. I know I need a new one. Massaging the upper and lower hose while the thermostat is out should get most of the bubbles out. As far as I knew, the fans only spin one way. So if you have them installed in the same location as the stock fans, you should be fine. The only thing I can come up with is either the waterpump, or the ac condensor being clogged up with dirt which can limit the airflow to the radiator. How do you have your fans wired?? I have mine hard wired to the battery at the moment and I'm doing fine. I'm considering wiring my power wire to the oem plugs.

 

[evileclipse909]

sometimes you have hold the throttle open a bit to get it to pump all the air out

 

[360glitch]

Thanks for the tips. I'm gonna go after it as soon as I can get out there. Any other ideas/suggestions? Thanks

 

[91tizzy]

whats happening buddy!!! ...

What kind of mix you using coolant wise? what temps is link seeing?

 

[juanpac0]

I had this issue too, what I did to solve it was run it till it got hot, and then get a couple of rags and open the radiator cap very slowly and carefully till it started releasing air, and it'll also shoot it into the overflow so if i were you i'd find a liter jug of water or something and have it shoot the coolant into there instead of boiling your overflow.

This is is what worked for me personally though, according to Defiant we don't even need to bleed our cooling system, though my personal experience is that it doesn't bleed itself enough to get a radiator full of air out of the system before it overheats.

Run you car and check your hoses with the cap on, and see which are cold/er than others to give you a good idea of where the air is.

 

[360glitch]

make sure your fans are blowing outside in, so its getting the cooler air from outside and not the heat from the exhuast manifold and motor.

Ding ding ding, we have a winner. I felt air movement from the fan flowing what I though was correctly however it turns out it was just turbulence from it sucking the hot air from the exhaust manifold through the radiator. I figured this out after I held a paper towel up to and instead of being blown away it was sucked to the fan. Swapped the wires and all is now well.

 

[caboose]

^i was just going to say that, but by the time i got done reading this thread you figured it out, good work.