Improving on Engine Cooling.

[XfireZ51]

Ok guys. Car runs fine but last year at The Woodward Cruise, car began to overheat. We were c r a w l i n g in traffic. 1hr to go a mile. Decided to either replace with Fluidyne or clean it. What'dya guys think? Love it or list it?

[LGAFF]

looks like you had a dead cat or maybe a small dog....like a pug, stuck to the front of that thing

[XfireZ51]

Originally Posted by LGAFF

looks like you had a dead cat or maybe a small dog....like a pug, stuck to the front of that thing

Lee,

That was the Aqua ZR!

[XfireZ51]

Dyno,

Those pics are front and back not b4 and after.

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by XfireZ51

Dyno,

Those pics are front and back not b4 and after.

That means you have fin damage on both sides which is unusual

[XfireZ51]

Altho I bought a fin comb, I conferred w Mr. Polatsidis today and we decided too many fins were compromised. Could be a great winter project to straighten all out but in the meantime I'm installing the Fluidyne. Much better shape and better chance of doing it one time.

[mike100]

Get a radiator fin comb and go to town. That thing will cool fine when it isn't 40% plugged up.

Still, idling on a 90 degree day in traffic with the a/c on is going to run hot, especially if you are on black pavement (vs concrete road). The super heated road surface air, the oil cooler heat exchange, and a/c condensor heat can be a bit much. With reprogrammed fans and the ability to turn off the a/c, the stocker will work well enough.

I think it may be possible to never have to turn of the a/c with one of those 4 row aftermarket units, but I can't say for sure.

[XfireZ51]

Mike,

Not running A/C at the time. With all the cars around me, I'm sure the ambient temps were quite a bit higher than what the weather was. Sort of a micro version of Global Warming.

I power washed it and blew it out w compressed air as well as I could. I'm sure it will improve things considerably. Hopefully it won't take too long to go closed loop in cooler weather.

[Dynomite]

Excellent and Important Thread and photos

Originally Posted by mike100

Get a radiator fin comb and go to town. That thing will cool fine when it isn't 40% plugged up.

Still, idling on a 90 degree day in traffic with the a/c on is going to run hot, especially if you are on black pavement (vs concrete road). The super heated road surface air, the oil cooler heat exchange, and a/c condensor heat can be a bit much. With reprogrammed fans and the ability to turn off the a/c, the stocker will work well enough.

I think it may be possible to never have to turn of the a/c with one of those 4 row aftermarket units, but I can't say for sure.

Yep.....Like Mike says........you should straighten out some of those fins with a Radiator Comb

Originally Posted by XfireZ51

Mike,
I power washed it and blew it out w compressed air as well as I could. I'm sure it will improve things considerably. Hopefully it won't take too long to go closed loop in cooler weather.

Be VERY CAREFUL when you use a Pressure Washer or Compressed Air on a radiator as that alone can damage the fins.

But you already know that as it appears the before and after photos had the same fin damage

The radiator I cleaned just last week before I installed a radiator Debree Screen......had one of those small plastic grocery bags sucked up between the Oil Cooler and Radiator........you want the path below the Oil Cooler and Radiator totally clean so air can move under the oil cooler and up between the oil cooler and radiator as well.

It also is good to use Engine Degreaser on the Oil Cooler (and even Radiator) before you carefully use a pressure washer if oil has contaminated the fins as the oil collects the finer dust particles.

See Item #3 LT5 Added Systems

[Hog]

I had the 57 in a parade for Canada Day and with all that crawling around the old 283 got pretty warm. I had to do some neutral high idle/heater on action to cool her off. The strap in electric aux fan wasnt coming on. (It is easily removed for showing)




Has anyone ever taken a peak inside the water jackets/ passages of an LT5? A little bit of buildup in the water jackets, coupled with some crud builtup outside the rad, along with some bent fins can all add up to cooling that is off nominal.

There doesnt appear to be the extra "cooling reserve" in the C4's that there is in other GM vehicles. It is a sports car, not a tow vehicle, and is designed as such.