Hi chaps, i'm having a right nightmare in the warm weather with my car heating up.

she's never boiled over but its just running far too hot. the gap between the rad and intercooler is letting too much air escape at the sides instead of forcing it through the rad. everything is working perfectly as i've had it checked just need something to block the gap safely.

How have other people done theirs?

its a standard rad, GRS front mount and 2x 10" kenlowe fans (genuine, not copies). I'm also using a non vented bonnet, which i believe isn't helping the underbonnet temps. literally within 3 minutes of driving the temp is normal and within 10 minutes the fans are on, and they stay on until the end of the journey.

 

Joe,

Surely rads are designed to have air flow through them so you shouldn't really have to 'force' it, sounds like you could do with a new rad really? Lots of bent fins?

The bonnet vents will deffo not be helping your problems. Sitting in the ford fair queue last year I went from borderline overheating to a healthy temperature just by putting my bonnet on the latch, even with the car not moving.

Temperature issues arent always related to the cooling system, have you had the ignition timing checked? Fuelling?

Hope to see it at Ford Fair

 

the rad's perfect. but you have a good point about the timing and fueling.

i wanted to get the cooling right before i sent it to be mapped but tbh i might just ring them up and expain it and see what they think .

cheers matt.

 

Try an alloy expansion tank and fill that with water and an additive called water wetter as thats what I run on track to keep it cool.

 

while your at all this just wire a extra fans switch in it. and change thermostat from msd that bring the fans on earlier, drin the water system and use some proper cooling ..

 

Hi
I had overheating problems when my thermostat housing was broken. Ball was missing.
Symptoms was like this:
Car took time to warm up when was bit cold day. And if was hot day temp needle went nearly in red when idling in traffic. Now i have replaced that thermostat housing and car warmup faster and needle dont go over ˝ of meter. I have airtec large intercooler and airtec alloy radiator with 2 slim fans.
And one extra thing, that fan switch. I had brown sensor originally but now i have green, fans do start in lover temp.

 

I have also heard about this float that is in the thermostat, worth checking as they get lost pretty frequently.

As for "fans on a switch" just dont bother, let the temp switch do it itself, if you want it on earlier get a lower starting one, but neither of these things will fix the underlying problem. If your car is getting hot with the fans on, you can have them come on at 70C/60C/50C, its not going to fix it!

 

Joe, exactly as mine is... Except if i drive sensibly everywhere it doesnt get that warm its mainly after i gun it, it warms up. Also motorway driving it sits a little higher than i'd like and the fans are on (pointless on the motorway, infact more or a hinderance as the fans slow the 70mph air down)
As Matt says, ive tried my fans on a switch and it doesnt help really. Also nor did the MSD switch as it just kept the fans on all the time... The problem isn't the fans! Its either the IC blocking airflow to the rad, or the fuelling/ignition timing of the car isn't right. Ive seen a few RSTs use foam to "Seal" the IC to the rad forcing air thru both, with my fans on i get alot of airflow around the rad and not a great deal thru it, as my fans are on the IC.
Im tempted to try an RST bonnet and see how that performs as im on a non-vented bonnet too.
I think the float being missing would help with cooling as it frees up the route for the coolant to flow, altho i don't really know on that 1. All i know is i've got a float in mine but i've seen many where its missing!
Mojo & Matt if i see you at FF we can discuss this further...?

 

"I think the float being missing would help with cooling as it frees up the route for the coolant to flow, altho i don't really know on that "

Incorrect. Mine nearly overheated pretty many times when float was missing. Proper thermostat housing solved my problems.

 

You do not need to seal the IC to the Rad! lol
I have a huge gap between mine (maybe 3") and have been out today which is 28deg blasting around at 25psi (circa 270bhp) and 6000rpm+ for over half an hour and am not anywhere near overheating.
If your timing/fuelling are correct, your cooling system is working fine (not old and clogged) and your head is seated properly on the block you should have no issues at all!

 

Fans should only be for when stationary/in traffic. Whilst moving, they will do nothing, as the air hitting the rad should be better at cooling.

I'd say get some ally plate from B&Q or somewhere, make up something to shut the gap in the ic/rad, also get a vented bonnet, or bonnet raisers to help the hot air escape, and see if this helps

 

thermostats have absolutley nothing to do with fan operation temperature.

 

Well as ive said before i think im running a little lean anyway, so i'll wait for my setup before i play around with the rad/ic too much!

 

Cheers for the input chaps.

rad is perfect and not that old, its a new core and has brass end caps, fans cut in perfectly, as said they're 2 10" kenlowe's. i have a bailey alloy expansion tank too. The gap between my rad and IC is also approx 3 inches, with the fans on the the IC. Not tried the water wetter stuff but i flushed the cooling system not long ago, and again as far as i know its in good working order, the water pump is 18 months old and was fitted at NMS at the time of the last setup. and she's been antifreezed up ever since.

mine heats up nicely, she's into the norm within 2 minutes even in winter and the thermostat works afaik. the thing is she doesn't cool down again. once the fans cut in they dont cut out until i switch the engine off at the other end. the needle is rarely below "2 o'clock" position. i've tried driving steady and keeping moving (been out late at night testing at various speeds and constand driving as well as start stop in the cooler evenings. still same prob, she does run slightly cooler but not enough to cut the fans.

it never occoured to me though that it might be the timing or fuelling. As i said i wanted to get the issue sorted before i got it setup, but i'm thinking now this might be the cure. Not sure... Joe.

edit, also i had bonnet raisers on ages ago. they do nothing for cooling at all, and i will agrue that to the grave. also with them fitted my bonnet popped up twice, both times caught by the latch thankfully! the second time was enough of a wakeup to see it wasn't coincidence and i got them off shaprish. vented bonnet could be a way forward though.

 

are you sure you have the correct water to antifreeze ratio? Afterall its the water that disipates the heat.

 

Ive gotta agree with mojo on this, and iirc Field Motorsport done a test on bonnet raisers and they don't draw out any extra air... The vents might be better as tested & developed by Ford, they might draw air out from the rad area allowing a higher airflow.

Joe - If i were you get it setup and then see how it goes!

On the subject of antifreeze/water ratio, ive ran various cars over the years with just water for a few days at a time and the temps remain the same as with antifreeze in there... Altho maybe on a highly tuned engine antifreeze might keep the temps down but i don't know!

 

Whatever, just going by what helped my mate in his incredibly hot running c20let corsa. Won't bother suggesting fuck all next time.

 

Yes, the correct mix is used to the best of my knowlege. i followed the ratio on the side of the drum anyway. I was taught its not a good idea to run just water at any time, as the antifreeze lubricates the water pump and stops alloy components corroding. Running more antifreeze than water would cause an overheating issue though.

yup yup, going to get it setup Roger. i've decided thats my next plan of attack.




! we're all adults here mate, lets not turn this into a petty argument please. I appreciate all input as i'm stuck with the problem, and we're all here to learn.

Joe .

 

Joe - U at FF?

 

Its the water the provides the cooling not the antifreeze which does as its name suggests in the winter i.e. stops your water from freezing. Race cars use it for safety reasons together with additive which provides the necessary lubrication cos the glycol is slippy if spilled on the tarmac in a crash. Use de-ionised water though not tap otherwise you get a nasty build up of scale deposits. Obviously before winter drain the system and put the correct water/antifreeze mixture back in.