Hello, I just finished turbocharging my 4.0 and now I'm having some cooling issues only at idle with ac on. I believe my problem is my air to water heat exchanger in front of my radiator and condenser is restricting airflow at idle. I've already tried a Hayden severe duty clutch on the stock five blade and just tried the 11 blade explorer fan swap. I think the 11 blade helps slightly but it's still creeping up to 230, the 115 degree Vegas heat probably isn't helping either. Now I'm thinking about mounting the heat exchanger somewhere else with an auxiliary electric fan I'm just not sure where.
Turbo Jeep cooling issue
- Thread starter Mrmassdestruction
- Start date
If the heat exchanger you are using is too dense as in the fin count and spacing are wrong it will kill airflow. The spacing of the heat exchanger off the AC condenser matters as well. Ultimately mounting anything in front of the cooling stack hurts flow and cooling. Done properly the cooling is only slightly affected. I was just tuning one of the kits on a '04 LJ this week in 100+ degree here in Dallas and it never got over 210. My LJ with it's huge heat exchanger, water cooled turbo and high compression 4.7l with aluminum head gets to 220 on the highway at 80 with the AC pumping. It hit 223 the other day, but it was 105 here and the tollway temp was 118 per my mirror.
Actually I bought your kit, so you didn't have any problems with overheating after you built the kit? the heat exchanger is about 17x11 do you think reducing it to a 17x6 if I can find one would help?
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I’m running the RSI kit as well and with ambient temps in the mid 80’s to 90, my coolant temp is virtually identical to when it was naturally aspirated, both with and without AC use. So no overheating or increased temps here with installation of the turbo or heat exchanger.
KennethS
TJ Expert
No issues that I am aware of. The 04 LJ we just did the install on runs right at normal temps, but it's not 115 here either. Check to make sure you have a little clearance between the heat exchanger and the ac condenser. I know it's tight, but you want 1/8-1/4" if you can. Also check your shroud for gaps. The shroud should fit tight all over with no gaps. I did the Explorer fan on my LJ as well, and had similar results to yours. The temps didn't drop dramatically, but I think it helped. Cleaning the ac condenser and straitning out the fins helped mine some as well. I also raised the idle slightly and that made a small difference as well.
So I pulled the heat exchanger forward a little bit and cold started it, without even raising the rpm or driving coolant temp reached 230 ambient temp is 109. Do you think that maybe I should relocate it? I'm not sure where I would move it but at this rate I'm running out of options. I've already seen what people think of electric fans and aftermarket radiators on the forum. I almost wish there was enough room for a small pusher fan on the heat exchanger but it's too close to the grill.
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Wouldn't methanol injection only help temps while under boost? I'm only having problems at idle.
Hey guys, I know this is an old post but over the last year I've been running spal electric fans with marginal success and now it's running pretty hot again. I just put in a larger rad and I had to go back to my explorer clutch fan to no avail. I'm just feeling very discouraged working on this at the moment. I'm almost ready to get rid of that heat exchanger. I kind of regret installing a turbo on it. I appreciate your support.
Before you condemn the turbo, just know that even some NA guys have your problem in the summer.
IMO, your issues seem more like a questionable thermostat or water pump, but I don’t know how much more your HE restricts air flow than my HE with the PSC steering cooler above it.
I’d probably install a new thermostat after ensuring it opens, or at least boil the current thermostat and run a thermometer to ensure it opens at 195*. You could also drive and then idle the rig with no thermostat installed to see how it performs.
There is the 180* thermostat option but that won’t buy you too much extra time if you are hitting 230* with a 195* thermostat (assuming yours is opening correctly).
That said, I plan to do forum member Steel City 06’s 19” brushless Camaro e-fan install and run a “100% on” switch for when I’m idling in the summer with the AC on. The setup is the best cooling option I’ve seen and the only e-fan setup I’d consider (4,000 cfm iirc). I’m currently running the Hayden 2791 with stock fan.
Also, what is your water to coolant ratio? I’d target between 30-50% coolant no more no less. Water is the better cooler but going under 30* coolant lowers the boiling point below what I’m comfortable with. I’m running around 33% coolant. Having too much coolant will make the system act more like an insulator which is also not ideal. I’ve considered running water wetter since I’m running more water in the ratio, but I don’t know if it will change anything.
Are you only having problems when idling with the AC on in Vegas summer heat? If so then I’d consider the e brushless e-fan. If you are having issues in idle even with the AC off I’d be looking at the thermostat. If it’s having issues at other times as well I’d lean water pump before radiator assuming the ones you’ve tried aren’t clogged up or junk designs.
IMO, your issues seem more like a questionable thermostat or water pump, but I don’t know how much more your HE restricts air flow than my HE with the PSC steering cooler above it.
I’d probably install a new thermostat after ensuring it opens, or at least boil the current thermostat and run a thermometer to ensure it opens at 195*. You could also drive and then idle the rig with no thermostat installed to see how it performs.
There is the 180* thermostat option but that won’t buy you too much extra time if you are hitting 230* with a 195* thermostat (assuming yours is opening correctly).
That said, I plan to do forum member Steel City 06’s 19” brushless Camaro e-fan install and run a “100% on” switch for when I’m idling in the summer with the AC on. The setup is the best cooling option I’ve seen and the only e-fan setup I’d consider (4,000 cfm iirc). I’m currently running the Hayden 2791 with stock fan.
Also, what is your water to coolant ratio? I’d target between 30-50% coolant no more no less. Water is the better cooler but going under 30* coolant lowers the boiling point below what I’m comfortable with. I’m running around 33% coolant. Having too much coolant will make the system act more like an insulator which is also not ideal. I’ve considered running water wetter since I’m running more water in the ratio, but I don’t know if it will change anything.
Are you only having problems when idling with the AC on in Vegas summer heat? If so then I’d consider the e brushless e-fan. If you are having issues in idle even with the AC off I’d be looking at the thermostat. If it’s having issues at other times as well I’d lean water pump before radiator assuming the ones you’ve tried aren’t clogged up or junk designs.
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That camaro fan seems pretty promising if it pulls 4000 cfm. My dual 10" spal fans are rated at 1100 cfm a piece. When I got this new radiator I was going to try the single 16" fan that it came with but it was hitting the snout on of the water pump. There's a fairly large gap between the new fan shroud and the radiator so maybe I'll be able to modify it a bit so it can fit. Only thing that fits right now is the clutch fan.
I wish the clutch fan would work , seems like a more reliable system but I'd be interested in that camaro fan especially if it's only $350.
I'll try to do more testing and see if anything comes up.
Thanks for the info.
I wish the clutch fan would work , seems like a more reliable system but I'd be interested in that camaro fan especially if it's only $350.
I'll try to do more testing and see if anything comes up.
Thanks for the info.
What is the amp or wattage rating on you current Spal fans? That is a much better indication of power than CFM.
Also, just to put it in perspective, the surface area of a single 16” fan is about 25% larger than two 10” fans.
Part # is 30102057 wattage is 15.55 watts each.
Edit: amazon is wrong 15.55 watts at 13 volts is only 1.2 amps
Edit: amazon is wrong 15.55 watts at 13 volts is only 1.2 amps
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JEEPSTEVENANAIMO
TJ Enthusiast
He’s got an air to water setup in there now. I don’t think an air to air would fit (not one that would properly drop IATs).
I've definitely thought about that, my oil pressure seems to drop to about 25-30 after warmup since I've installed the kit. I'm running 10-30 and it seems to have helped a little. Maybe my oil is getting too hot.
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