I am dog tired of having my car overheat everytime I come to a stop. check my sig for my setup. no a/c, Its built to be driven daily. I have tried various things got new 3 row radiator, tried purple ice, got fan switch to have both stay on all time and 180 thermostat. It don't work. I'd like some opinions on what combination works best waterpump, antifreeze, radiator....etc. Money is not object I will spent way too much if it will help stop the overheating. Thanks. Appreciate Ya'll. later.

p.s are the be cool radiators worth it?

 

I ran hot in my 383 (230°) when i put it in. I had all stock cooling system stuff. I replaced the water pump with a Stewart Stage 1 and it helped a little, now it ran 225°.

I then tried the water adders, like WaterWetter and such with no luck, maybe 1° lower.

I swapped the stock radiator with a universal fit Griffen dual 1.25" tubes. Now we are talking a bigger drop here but still warm for me and my AC, around 210°-215°.

I finally bit the bullet and replaced my dual IROC fans with dual SPAL 11" high performance fans. Wow!, this engine never goes past 190° now in the summertime.

Just thought I'd share my experiance and testing with everybody.

 

Sweet!!! So where did u get the spal 11inch fans from can i get them from summit?

anybody else wanna chime in is welcome to do so thanks!

 

http://becool.com/ .... lol

 

the ultimate cooling system is one that is capable of dissipating more heat then the engine makes. from both a standstill and when the car is in motion.

the ultimate cooling system does not overcool the motor. it allows the motor to quickly reach a set temp and maintains that temperature.

the ultimate cooling system may also be capable of cooling the motor after it is shut off.









only problem is, most people here dont truly understand how a cooling system works... they dont even understand that its a system and not "a collection of parts that need to be randomly replaced and changed to 'upgrade' it"
id post in depth, but no one listens anyway.

 

Thats true i wouldnt want to overcool the motor. when i said i wanted to hear what people have for a combination of parts that will dissipate the heat the fastest. when im doing steady driving the temp is fine. but when i stop at a light or traffic etc.. it goes to the red in the temp gauge in about 2 minutes. I do have airflow problems. I also have the dfi gen 7 maybe i can program it to turn the fans on at a certain temp and turn off one fan when it gets too cold. I like what john said about the spal 11inch fans. Im gonna try that and see how that works out for me. thanks for ya'll responses. Im still open to more ideas anyone?

 

Eh, my apologies to MrDude_1, over on my 4 corner water port post. He sounds like he knows how to make a cooling system work. Anybody who can correctly guess I was talking about a hurricane intake must be smart I just must have a bastardized setup that I don't seem to be able to get by using a thermostat. I'd love to hear what the real solution is to my setup.
Dual fans on front of Griffin dual row 1.25 radiator
stock iron big block pump, factory 3rd gen pullies for an '86
Fans turn on at 180, air dam in place, car runs 180-190 at 35mph and above and 210 in traffic when it is 100 out, but it seems to have no chance with a thermostat in during the summer.

 

yes it is a cooling system, not random peices... an you need the right parts for the right application.... soo each set up will require some different work/parts...

 

Interesting topic. I too have searched for the right combination of parts. It would seem that the ideal combination would allow the engine to operate at a comfortable temp where the fans were never needed, or at least, where they ran as little as possible. And in the last few years, I've found a good set-up that works pretty well--and I live in the desert, just south of the Mojave.

160* stat, 185* primary fan on temp(off around 175*), stock 238* fan switch spliced to a manual switch(still relay-controlled, if necessary ), no special water pump, 50/50 to 60/40 coolant mix, and for a touch of added assistance, Hypercool(which I prefer over Water Wetter). I've noticed it helps to slow rising temps. Two bottles helps even more. I know it's supposed to work better with a lesser mix, but I haven't had to nerve to try doing that yet, lol.

It seems that the best on temp for the primary fan is about 20* to 25* over the stat degree. Having the fan programmed to come on at stat temp range and with a fan switch of similar temp, your fans will probably run ALL THE TIME, which is a disaster waiting to happen(and which is why I went back to my stock fan switch).

In traffic, my primary fan can hold engine temp fairly well around 180* without killing itself, and when really necessary, switching on the secondary fan brings temps down easily and quickly.

Until I spliced into my fan switch, I can't remember it EVER running in 17 years(except one time when it was already too late ). So with it manually switched, it's useful as an aid, when necessary, which isn't often. Besides, if needed at 238*, there's probably already something wrong. Best case, only the primary fan is out. Worse case, and probably worse case, the WORST.

 

One of the key factors is moving air thru the radiator, you can have an high cfm fan or fans but if you can't get the hot air out from under the hood you can't bring in more thru the radiator.

Before you spend alot more money, remove the hood and see if that helps, if it dose reinstall the hood and try raising the back of the hood, removing the rear hood seal, and making the hood blisters/heat extractors functional.

 

Good point, which I forgot to mention. My "power bulge" has been open for years, practically since my car was new. You can see the heat pouring out of it, so no doubt that helps too.

 

Spal part number 30100846 ($235)

http://www.carshopinc.com/product_in...51071/30100846

Specs

http://www.spal-usa.com/pdfs/11Fans.pdf

 

Thanks John. How hard was it to install? does it just bolt right in? or do u have to do some fab work?

 

I almost sold my 383 GTA after being extremely frustrated of not being able to keep my cool. my temp was up to 230 - 240 at stop during the summer and I feared racing my car with the motor always running so hot . the motor seemed like it just couldnt ever cool back down only pick up more heat.

I also wired my fans seperately using a 30 amp fusible link per fan in hopes of getting them more juice. since I had burned up the one fusible link and the fans stopped working.

My thermostat was the culprit twice it wasnt opening and allowing hardly any water(just a trickle ) to flow through it so I totally removed it after buying an aluminum HOWELL race radiator this radiator is the exact same one sold by be cool but its 150 dollars cheaper.

Another piece of advice I have for you over heaters is get a reputable brand named temp gauge I found that the factory gauge was 25 to 40 gegrees off at times

After I started my car and let it idle I damn near passed out after letting the motor idle for 10 minutes the temp stayed at 145 then I got on the freeway and the temp never went a hair passed 160. my solution is 50 / 50 w/original fans

 

It was easy compared to the dual 1.25" core Griffin radiator. You can use those plastic tie's that go through the radiator but I made custom aluminum brackets. I can get pictures tomorrow if you'd like.

Here's the differance between the Griffin and a stock radiator.

 

those fans look nice. I have another question. I see those fans have shrouds around them meanwhile my cars dual fans has no shrouds. I can see that shrouds would help. it would prevent the hot engine air from circulating. It would be pulling more air thru the radiator fins and making the water cooler inside the radiator. Is my thinking correct? or am i way off? Thanks! reason why i thought this up is cuz i had a friend that had a nursery with a giant radiator taller than me to cool the inside of the nursery and it just popped in my head! It makes sense to me.

 

nice radiator! Looks like the one I just bought!!!! LOL. I'm also having somewhat of a problem.. I'm fixing to take a look at my t-stat to see if its working.. I'm running a 505 BBC in a 85 Camaro, partial block fill, 11:1 cr, etc etc.. Just bought the Griffin radiator in the above picture, I have a edelbrock alum wp that flows 20% more then stock (supposedly), 195 tstat (fixing to run it as a restrictor plate). Car gets to about 210 but stays there.. oil temp to about 240.. it seems as though nobody knows what operating temp of oil should be. My fans are dual flexalite 220 puller fans, I have a tranny cooler and oil cooler mounted infront of the radiator (both w/o fans). I put 1 container of antifreeze and the rest water in the radiator. I'll post up later to see if the restrictor plate fix helped any... oh and I have March underdrive pulleys, so that negates the 20% more coolant flow from the wp. LOL

 

Yea, I'm 9 ci. behind you, but dump the thermostat, have the fans come on at 180, and keep the antifreeze to a minimum (you should be fine with 1 gal) because water has a better thermal conductivity. Mine goes to 210 in traffic when it is 90-100 out. Make sure you have the air dam in place (helps a little to keep the hot engine air from recycling back through the radiator when you are stopped and obvious benefits when moving)

 

I'll give it a shot...

btw, how do your headers look? or more specifically..how close are they to your pan? I was thinking, since my headers are REAL close to the pan (I'm running a moroso pan) , it is heating up the oil.. tomorrow I was going to wrap that section with header wrap to contain the heat. Good idea? (I have the air dam in place also)

 

One of the tubes loops around right next to the oil pan. I had the Thermotec exhaust wrap on it to keep the heat down. I would recommend that, but I've never had an oil temp gauge, so I can't tell you what my temp is.

What heads are you using? Do they have raised exhaust ports, or not. I was wondering if there are headers made for the raised ports, because the Hooker ones are definately not. I had to work over some tubes to clear the steering although I got enough clearance to get rid of that big 'dent' hooker puts in there to clear the steering. Other than that I was always impressed that headers could be made for this sort of thing...

 

I have hooker supercomp headers also and Dart Pro 1 345cc heads but they're not the raised runner design I dont believe. I'll remove my t-stat and boil it to see if it pops open..even if it does I'll hollow it out and use it as a restrictor.. then I'll wrap the one side of the collector that is too close to the pan.. I dont remember if both are close to the pan or just one..