Hey everyone, just a minor over-heating problem in the car. It only happens on sustained speeds 80+ after about 30-40 minutes of driving in hot weather mid 80 degrees and the heat rises to about 4 ticks under the red and stays there. Any tips on how I can get the car running at a more consistently lower temperature?

Thanks,

Bret

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

Have you tried getting your cooling system flushed? It should cost $50-60 at a shop.

You can also try Redline's Water Wetter. I believe that should reduce temps by about 10 deg for a 50/50 mix.

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Brad
92&93 RT TT

Mods:
TD04L 13T's | Alamo Side Mount Intercoolers | RC 550 cc injectors | Supra fuel pump | SBC DXD 6-puck | 3SX Poly Motor Mount | TySpeed DP w/ TP | custom Magnaflow exhaust | DSBC | S-AFC | + much more

I'd suggest starting with that as well. They sell coolant cleaning products for the do-it-yourselfer which involves draining all the coolant, adding the detergent or whatever to a gallon of water, filling the system with it, running the motor, draining, and finally refilling with coolant.

I'd also suggest replacing the thermostat (with a stock one, not the 190 degree ones available from most stores) if it's got over 60K on it.

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06 Blue EVO 9

I'd follow Greg's suggestions on this first. As they are the same thing I would suggest.

What does 'the mechanic' have to say about all this? And how is Chad?

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~Joe - aka spider gear destroyer
'94 Stealth R/T
-Lightly Modded ;)

I would also suggest pulling the fans off the radiator, and yanking the radiator out of the car, while the coolant is empty... my car had half a bird jammed in there when Greg and I swapped the turbos... Cleaned him out, runs a decent amount cooler now... (which could have come from swapping out the coolant... )

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Bad decisions make good stories.
Look at it! LOOK AT MY @SS AND TELL ME IT'S PRETTY!

You probably hit that bird when you were trying to swerve and hit that cat.

But yeah, a good coolant flush and a thermostat change is a good place to start and isn't very expensive.

later,
Curt

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Minnesota 3/S message board: http://forums.mn3s.org/
Minnesota 3/S Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Minnesota.3S/

I like cats. They taste like chicken.

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Bad decisions make good stories.
Look at it! LOOK AT MY @SS AND TELL ME IT'S PRETTY!

If/when the coolant is drained, it is really easy to pull out the radiator. If the radiator is removed, spraying it with compressed air (or water) can remove lots of debris. I have done this on other vehicles and it is amazing how much debris comes out. You can also try this with the radiator in the car, but it is much more difficult.

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Brad
92&93 RT TT

Mods:
TD04L 13T's | Alamo Side Mount Intercoolers | RC 550 cc injectors | Supra fuel pump | SBC DXD 6-puck | 3SX Poly Motor Mount | TySpeed DP w/ TP | custom Magnaflow exhaust | DSBC | S-AFC | + much more

Chad is doing well, I hate to hit him up too much and don't mind sending some ching the dealers way every once-in-a-while. You guys are the best, glad that I hooked up with the Wisconsinites(sp?) when I did and have to send a shout out to Curt for the UMG for making it happen, Chad and I will certainly be there next year. Thanks for the advice.

Bret

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

Forgot to add:

Check and make sure your fans are plugged in and working. The passenger side fan has 1 black plug located by the headlight. The driverside fan has 2 plugs (one black one grey).

A simple check to see if they're working is to turn on the AC with the motor (completely warmed up) running at idel. They should both turn on.

Then turn the AC off and wait a minute. When the coolant temp gets above a certain temp (I think it's 195 degrees, gotta double check), one of the fans should kick on. If it doesn't, this could mean the trip sensor is broken (common) or unplugged. It's located at the bottom of the radiator (1Gs only, 2Gs have it in the thermostat housing).

I just spoke with the crooks at the dealership and they said if the car is only over-heating while driving on a hot day and not at idle that the radiator is probably bad and just can't keep up with the cooling requirements. Of course he didn't recommend the flush/fill, thermostat. What do you think? I would hate to pay for the flush/fill/thermostat if the radiator is bad, should I just replace it?

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

Tell the dealer you are a millionare, hand him a tube of K-Y, spin around, and bend over. He'll be impressed you know "the mitsu dealer position."

change the fluid, and flush the radiator. get a new t-stat. see how you do.

its pretty cheap for a flush and new coolant.

if you do need a new raidator, don't by a new one from the dealer. get an aluminum aftermarket, that will actually do a better job...

was the dealer messing with his belt buckler/un-buttoning while talking to you? That's usually a hint...

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Bad decisions make good stories.
Look at it! LOOK AT MY @SS AND TELL ME IT'S PRETTY!

:taking notes:

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pearl 93 stealth r/t tt

on the apparently never-ending quest to get my car running right

I pretty much figured that, having the VR4 for eight or so years now and doing all the work at the dealership has finally jaded me. Every time I went in it was like "Oh, you've got the VR4! We'll then, we have to double the price for parts and labor". Is the thermostat something I can put in or should I just let the dealership handle all that. If it is something I can put in, where is it? Is it safe to get a radiator flush/fill from the oil change places? They scare me, but flush/fill seems pretty straight-forward.

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

The T-Stat is very simple to change. No need to pay to have it done.

Its directly below the radiator cap. I'm not 100% sure on what parts need to come off first on the turbo cars, but on my NA, I just removed the intake pipe and the 2 bolts holding the housing on.


I flush my own coolant, but I've had mine done on another car at an oil-change place before and the car was fine.

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~Joe - aka spider gear destroyer
'94 Stealth R/T
-Lightly Modded ;)