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Overheating with turbo kit.

9K views 50 replies 10 participants last post by  Speedy911 
#1 ·
Got the head gaskets done put the motor back together and deleted the heater core tubes and move the coolant sensor into the intake.

It runs like a champ but...

I have overheating issues now that I never had before (with the turbo).
Change this and change that is not the solution it did not overheat before.
 
#3 ·
also, adding a turbo puts a lot more heat through the cooling system. even if the turbo is only oil cooled, a cooling system that may have been sufficient for n/a purposes may not cut it with a turbo.

for example, i had this diesel car, it was slow as piss and i couldn't stand it so i turbocharged it. immediately afterwards the radiator started pissing coolant, so i replaced it and then it was not leaking but the temp guage was uncomfortably high. so thennnnn, i got an all aluminum radiator and a nice electric fan, finally, that setup was up to the task.

and this was a pissant small oil-cooled turbo on a pissant small vw diesel engine that never overheated beforehand.

just my 2 cents on that one.
 
#4 ·
The car (cooling wise) was fine after my initial turbo install (2 months ago). Then i blew the head gaskets about a month later. I replaced them this weekend and now I have a over heating problem. The head gaskets were put on correctly.

How do I "burp" the system?
 
#12 ·
The head gaskets were put on correctly.

How do I "burp" the system?
Define this. Do you mean you read the face of the gasket and don't have them in upside down? If you can say the head gaskets were installed correctly, then ask how to burp the system, I need to ask who installed the head gaskets? What did you torque the heads to? What pattern? ARP Studs, ARP Bolts, or OEM bolts (did you re-use OEM bolts)?

I'm quite certain my stock cooling system would have been fine for the turbo
That's not a very logical assumption. You add power, you add heat.

EDIT: The timing check is a great thing to verify!
 
#5 ·
well the first thing you want to check is if your thermostat is opening up. Before you started the car you filled it up with coolant right? and after that the Rad seems full at the time. So you start the car let it idle with the Rad cap off and you should start seeing the Rad level go down(which means the the thermostat is opening up and the coolant is making its way into the engine. you add alittle more coolant than the rest water and put some in the over flow. What i used to do is once its full and not taking any more water leave the cap off and let some spill out of where the Rad cap is and than put the cap on and never had a problem.
Now what i do is i got this tool from snap-on looks like a big funnel that you attach to your Rad with a cap it comes with and you fill it from there and you will accually see the air bubbles pop in the funnel when that is done you take it off and put your reg cap on.

Sorry this is so long but if you say the headgaskets are on right then you either have a stuck Thermostat,air pocket or maybe didnt fill it up enough. and if you have a clutch fan check to make sure that is still good as well.

Are your turbo parts ceramic coated or wraped at all?
Hope some of this helps let me know
if i can shoot you anymore ideas on stuff to check
 
#6 ·
The entire coolant system is full. It overheated with the thermostat in so we took it out, and still overheated but took longer to overheat. How do I check if my fan clutch is still good?
 
#7 ·
what kind of thermostat do you have 180 or 195? i would test that as well now that you have it out. put that in boiling water and check that temp with a temp gauge you use for meat or whatever to see if it opens at the temp its rated for
 
#9 ·
During the summer months, I found out that my electric fan could not cool my turbo setup.
On the highway, it should not overheat. If it overheats on red lights, you probably need a better radiator/fan setup.
If it overheats on the highway, replace the thermostat like stated above. I drilled a hole in my t-stat just in case it ever got stuck.
A turbo blanket may help too. Do you still have a stock hood?
 
#10 ·
Today I discovered...that I don't have 3rd gear either.
I thought I had only killed OD but apparently...3rd tagged along.
I'm quite certain my stock cooling system would have been fine for the turbo but since my tranny only gives me 2 gears (as well as the summer time heat) it isn't up to the task.

I'm sure a nice big alum rad and electric fan(s) will help out ;)
 
#14 ·
You running straight water or a coolant/water mix? You said you removed the thermostat and it slowly creeped up. That does not sound like an air pocket. Typically that will cause a very fast temp spike.
The sensor in the heater tube is what the computer uses to determine timing vs temp. I don't think moving it to the intake would be an issue. Why cap off the heater core hard lines rather than loop them? Do you think that is causing a hot spot as coolant is mot moving? I am trying to remember how they feed and drain and all I can remember is the large threaded connection on the front PS of the lower intake manifold.
You should really check your timing and see if you are off a tooth on your distributor. No bubbles in the coolant right?
 
#15 ·
I removed the tubes. They're gone.
The sensor is in the lower intake now.

Idling it does not over heat only while cruising.

In my opinion the cooling system was barely cutting it before but now that I'm missing 2 gears it can't really hold off.

No bubbles in coolant...
 
#18 ·
Nope not yet, but I didn't run it before either(with turbo) and I had no problem.
I recently picked one up from a ranger (the big air dam) going to be putting it on shortly.
I have a random misfire during idle that is driving me berserk.
 
#19 ·
check to see if your wires are arching? i had that problem and it turned out one of my wires got burned cause the miss.
Do you have an alum rad? and are your tranny cooler lines going through the Rad? If so you might want to get a seperate cooler.
 
#21 ·
No room to wrap the stuff downpipe. I had to hammer the bitch in.

I have stock rad and stock fan. Changing those two should fix the problem in itself.

The miss comes from the coil there seems to be a "stutter" every now and then. Could it be a setting is MS?

I'm planning to get a turbo blanket soon but $$$$. Will look into a tranny cooler when i get my new AOD in...(I traded my xpipe for a working AOD..what a day)
 
#22 ·
No room to wrap the stuff downpipe. I had to hammer the bitch in.

I have stock rad and stock fan. Changing those two should fix the problem in itself.

The miss comes from the coil there seems to be a "stutter" every now and then. Could it be a setting is MS?

I'm planning to get a turbo blanket soon but $$$$. Will look into a tranny cooler when i get my new AOD in...(I traded my xpipe for a working AOD..what a day)
 
#23 ·
well just changing he stock fan and rad should make a nice difference. if you go with an E-Fan get a Mark VIII and a DCC or someother controller to handle the high amp draw. You will also have to have a
3g or getter ALT upgrade because the stock one will no cut it.
IF you have no room for header wrap i would sugest you get them atleast ceramic coated.
 
#25 ·
I had my totally stock 92 mustang turboed. I blew the head gasket in about 3 months. I started to get alot of air in my cooling system (temp spikes, bubbling overflow tank)
So i replaced the head gaskets. They lasted 1 day and started doing the same exact thing. i changed my radiator cap twice, thermostat twice, water pump, and washed out my radiator. It turns out i had a warped head......

I got the heads machined and put some new gaskets on and now its perect, and back to stock :crying:

PS a higher flow waterpump kept my temp down 10-15 degrees
 
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