[slyvan1]

Engine is 1.3 straight gas turbo. I have a gemini 2 core radiator. A front mount intercooler. on the road temp is fine sits around 80 degrees. 4wdriving flat and down hills is also fine. soon as i go up a hill, not even under power it gets fairly hot. if i give it a hard time it will get real close to 100 degrees.

It doesn't go through any coolant. i can give it a really hard time on the flats and it doesn't get hot.

once i get back to flat or down hill it will cool down almost instantly. When the car is pointy up hill even idling it will not cool, if i switch it off on a hill and leave it for 10mins it will be back to around 80 degrees when i restart it.

i'm going of the original gauge plus an aftermarket one. when its hot and you lift the bonnet can tell everything is hot.

[shakes]

My guess is an airlock in the cooling system.

How have you gone about bleeding it all out?

[slyvan1]

The radiator sits about an inch above the rocker cover.
I run the engine facing up a hill until it reaches operating temp. i also have a small hole drilled in the thermostat where the brass bleed thing was

[Gwagensteve]

I'm not sure it's that strange. It just sounds like normal overheating behaviour to me.

My guess is the cooling system is marginal, and as soon as the car is on a hill you are asking more of the motor for longer than on the flat under all circumstances. Add some boost comes in you'll load the cooling system hard as you're adding heat via combustion AND via the front mount.

The car cools much quicker on the flat or descending because it's in motion.

If you turn it off it won't drop temperature very quickly at all as there's no flow through the radiator and no fan operation.

How's the discharge temperatures from your turbo?

What are you using for a fan?

First stop (for me) would be a mechanical vitara viscous fan.
Next stop (at the least) a vitara radiator.

I can't comment on a gemini radiator, although I'd guess it's not designed for much more cooling capacity than a stock 1.3 sierra.

Steve.

[slyvan1]

the gemini radiator has a slightly bigger core than a stock radiator. i don't have room for a viscous fan. so i have a stock 1.3 fan on a shorten boss. it cools down even not moving when it's facing down hill or on flat.
and it does cool down when i switch it off for 10mins which is really strange

[unique_seek]

When you say getting hot...100 degrees isn't that hot in a cooling system,but having said that,does it keep getting hot?or just climbs to around 100 and is still stable?Can you post a photo of your setup??

so your running the fan without the viscus?it seems like its an airflow issue,or could also be air locked...try running the car with the front end jacked up with the cap off..keep toping it up...if you have a heater turn it over to hot.

Why not run a decent thermo fan??have it on a temp switch and override switch.That way you can leave it on when doing hill climbs,and can turn it off when doing a water crossing.....

[Gwagensteve]

I think that's just some thermo cycling effects. I wouldn't read too much into that.

The fact it's getting hot up hill is the straightforward overheating issue. IMHO.

PS thought about attaching a thermocouple to your cylinder head to actually monitor heat in the motor? Or putting it in the BOTTOM radiator hose to check the efficiency of the radiator?

They're pretty cheap now as part of a automotive multimeter - a good way to check temp in your intercooler and turbo discharge temp.

IMHO if you have a stock 1.3 fan there's no way it can throw enough air for a boosted application in my opinion.

Steve.

[slyvan1]

i had a thermo of a magna, and the standard fan setup is by far better. i'm limited for room so this was the best option. i think the an air lock might be the problem cause theirs only an issue when facing uphill.



it's not in this photo, but i also have the standard shroud on the radiator

[shep]

the first step for me would be a strip and ream of the radiator, the last one i had done was $50

[unique_seek]

Try just jacking it up while its running and see what the temp does.....

Do you have the turbo feeds plumed into the heater lines??Is that before or after the heater tap???Its a common problem to get an airlock if you fill the radiator without opening the heater....and with the added lines of the turbo...make sure none of the lines elevate too much...

The other thing it could be it the fact that the turbo would be spooling/boosting up the hill...that will make the water hotter...thus heating it up...I had a similar prob with my turbo lines interfering with the water flow...

Went a second radiator(bike rad) and electric waterpump....might be a last resort...

[royce]

I see the problem, your top and bottom hoses arent hooked up and you dont have a fan belt

I would first of all be certain you are running hotter while idling uphill with a decent gauge like a the thermocouple like gbanger said, make a fan shroud fit cause fans are useless without it then think about moving the intecooler, makes it hard for air to get through such a thick block and the air under boost to the rad will be warmer as well

[jonno_racing]

have u tried chaning thermistat? every issue i have ever had has had to do with thermistat!

[ajsr]

slyvan is actually a mechanic by trade so the obvious has most likely been tried.

[Built4thrashing]

when did you get the radiator cleaned out last.?

B4T

[Gwagensteve]

royce wrote:

make a fan shroud fit cause fans are useless without it then think about moving the intecooler, makes it hard for air to get through such a thick block and the air under boost to the rad will be warmer as well

xgazilliionty.

Fan shroud FTW.

Steve.

[Gwagensteve]

royce wrote:

make a fan shroud fit cause fans are useless without it then think about moving the intecooler, makes it hard for air to get through such a thick block and the air under boost to the rad will be warmer as well

xgazilliionty.

Fan shroud FTW.

Steve.

[Brett]

might not help but how close is the fan the the radiator? ideally it would be half out of you shroud.

next time it over heats jump out and check the lower radiator hose hasn't sucked it self flat.

[TZAR]

Brett wrote:

next time it over heats jump out and check the lower radiator hose hasn't sucked it self flat.

Wish I could suck myself flat

[slyvan1]

i do have a fan shroud. haven't thought to check if hose is sucking in. i will jack front up to bleed. With it not loosing any coolant makes it a bit strange. i think using a multi meter might be a good idea to find out excatly where it is getting hot.
Thanks for all the replies

[slyvan1]

today i flow tested the water pump. it has a newish one on it but thought it would be a good place to start.
Removed thermostat and put a long top radiator hose into a bucket. Then kept a hose going will starting the engine.
The head bloke i spoke to said it should flow minimum of 20 litres a minute a minute. Mine didn't flow anything at idle and struggle to flow with revs lifted. the head bloke wasn't shore if there was a bypass at idle, but it looks like my water pump is cavitating.
I'll retest with new water pump hopefully tomorrow

[4age86]

could it possibly be heatsoak from exh malifold/turbo? i noticed in the photo that neither had shrouds. when 4x4ing up hills you'd have bugger all airflow thru your engine bay and i know from experience about heatsoak issues from unshrouded turbos and manifolds.
try going for a wheel up some hills with your bonnet off.