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Cooling issue. Any thoughts?

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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 12:31 PM
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Cooling issue. Any thoughts?

Well this summer is not being very kind to my TII. During the early spring I was running a little hot so I replaced the radiator with a Koyo and my problem was gone. Now that it has gotten really hot here in northern Va I'm having a really hard time keeping this thing cool. I changed all of the coolant to pretty much all water and water wetter. I also set my electric fan to come on well before 180. That helped out some but just crusing my temp gauge stays at a consistant 200. Even with just a little bit of boost the gauge will darn near go to 210 and stay there until I put the heater on. Im not to sure what else I can do to combat this problem, so if anyone has any imput please post!

Thanks!
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 01:59 PM
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 02:05 PM
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i had a heater problem and it was because my right heater core hose was loose and was leaking which overheated it... another thing you could do (i know this sucks cuz of summer) is to put the heater on full blast to keep it from overheating, worked for my friends vert once
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 02:06 PM
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Put the stock clutch fan back on.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by peachykeenwight
Put the stock clutch fan back on.
Why would I do this?
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 04:37 PM
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How's your ducting? Do you have a radiator cooling panel or the stock undertray? Those help out a lot. FMIC? AC?
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by 93rx74lyfe
Why would I do this?
Because it's much better than any e-fan set up you'll ever get, unless you spend some serious mula.

I have a pretty gnarly e-fan and it doesn't do the job like the stock clutch fan did.

For the record, I have a GReddy FMIC that takes up the entire middle opening of my S5 bumper--I'm sure this is why the car gets hot some times--and am using a stock under tray, as well as a custom radiator cooling panel. My fan is a Maradyne 225-watt efan (16 or 1800 CFM IIRC), and I'm running a Fluidyne radiator
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 04:47 PM
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Your efan sucks, lol.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by peachykeenwight
Because it's much better than any e-fan set up you'll ever get, unless you spend some serious mula.

I have a pretty gnarly e-fan and it doesn't do the job like the stock clutch fan did.

For the record, I have a GReddy FMIC that takes up the entire middle opening of my S5 bumper--I'm sure this is why the car gets hot some times--and am using a stock under tray, as well as a custom radiator cooling panel. My fan is a Maradyne 225-watt efan (16 or 1800 CFM IIRC), and I'm running a Fluidyne radiator
I am running just about the same setup as you. E-fan, Koyo rad, Big front mount and the stock under tray. What are your water temps like?
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 08:17 PM
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What CFM is your efan though?
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 10:25 PM
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Have you burped the coolant system? Big bubbles can cause problems.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by SpeedOfLife
Have you burped the coolant system? Big bubbles can cause problems.
Yes I'm sure that there isnt any bubbles in the system.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by SpeedOfLife
Have you burped the coolant system? Big bubbles can cause problems.
Yes I'm sure that there isnt any bubbles in the system.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 11:26 PM
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thermostat? leaks?
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 11:36 PM
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Originally Posted by dothacker
thermostat? leaks?
I cant find any leaks. How will I know if my thermostat is bad?
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted by 93rx74lyfe
I am running just about the same setup as you. E-fan, Koyo rad, Big front mount and the stock under tray. What are your water temps like?
When I lived in Texas, it got nice and toasty.. sometimes hotter than yours. Now that I'm in Seattle, it rarely hits 200.

Originally Posted by Omixeo
Your efan sucks, lol.
Another RX7club know-it-all pulling the normal RX7club member douche-baggery. Very cool.

The moral of my story is that the stock clutch fan cools much better than an e-fan, if you can deal with having the cumbersome clutch fan setup cluttering up your engine bay, just keep it in there. The only reason I don't have mine is because this offers sufficient cooling in this climate and I like the ease of access that the e-fan offers.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 11:53 PM
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From: Fairfax/Manassas VA
Originally Posted by peachykeenwight
When I lived in Texas, it got nice and toasty.. sometimes hotter than yours. Now that I'm in Seattle, it rarely hits 200.



Another RX7club know-it-all pulling the normal RX7club member douche-baggery. Very cool.

The moral of my story is that the stock clutch fan cools much better than an e-fan, if you can deal with having the cumbersome clutch fan setup cluttering up your engine bay, just keep it in there. The only reason I don't have mine is because this offers sufficient cooling in this climate and I like the ease of access that the e-fan offers.
Well I dont have the stock clutch fan anymore, is there any other things you did to keep the heat down?
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 12:41 AM
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It's hot because you've got a front mount...

Get some water wetter or purple ice, reduce your coolant to water ratio (more water), get a vented hood (if you've got the cash).

And of course, make sure your system is working properly (check the pressure, thermostat, water pump, etc).

OTOH, if it's staying at a constant temp, it's probably more of a performance issue (more heat than cooling power) than anything wrong with the system. Perhaps wrap your downpipe with some header wrap.
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 01:12 AM
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Originally Posted by peachykeenwight
When I lived in Texas, it got nice and toasty.. sometimes hotter than yours. Now that I'm in Seattle, it rarely hits 200.



Another RX7club know-it-all pulling the normal RX7club member douche-baggery. Very cool.
Unlike most people on this forum, I can speak from experience. I never said stock fans are better or worse. If you get an efan, then why not get one that actually works well?
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Omixeo
Unlike most people on this forum, I can speak from experience. I never said stock fans are better or worse. If you get an efan, then why not get one that actually works well?
My efan does work well. I'm pretty sure that it has nothing to do with this.
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 01:17 PM
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The fan has very little to do with cooling performance while the car is in motion.

Unless it won't cool at idle...in which case it's probably the efan.

Do you at least still have the stock underpan? That's very important for cooling purposes.


Also, considering about 1/3rd of the cooling actually comes from the oil cooler, perhaps you should make sure it's in good condition. Make sure the fins on both the oil cooler and the radiator are straight, and if they're not, got one of those tools that straightens them. It would also be a good idea to make sure the oil cooler bypass (IIRC there is one, it keeps oil from flowing into the oil cooler when it's still cold) still works, and that oil is actually flowing.
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 01:24 PM
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correct me if im wrong but antifreeze raises the boiling point of water so the less you have in the more likly it would boil hence less cooling ability
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 01:50 PM
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No, antifreeze lowers the freezing point, hence why it's called antifreeze.

Water is a much better coolant than antifreeze, but using an additive like Water Wetter makes the surface tension lower, which increases the cooling ability (not totally sure why...).

You raise the boiling point of water by using a higher pressure radiator cap.
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 06:59 PM
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i am having the same problem but i am missing the undertray, trying to get one now a piece of aluminum being used for now. have a question though the oil cooler bypass is that in the big bolt on the bottom of the oil cooler.
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 07:02 PM
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Yes. Remove it (with a pan to catch the oil), put it in some oil (or water) and heat the oil/water gradually, then check the protrusion of the valve at 149 degrees (Fahrenheit). It should protrude 5 mm.
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