Had thought of that, but didn't know of a way to test it.
Have the temp gun, and like the idea, but thinking it will be hard, as the whole front is covered in coolers.
CK5
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Cooling System Overhaul - Stumped and Frustrated
- Thread starter dhcomp
- Start date
Had thought of that, but didn't know of a way to test it.
Have the temp gun, and like the idea, but thinking it will be hard, as the whole front is covered in coolers.
Gunnar1971
1/2 ton status
If you were closer I would let you try my diesel radiator I just had rebuilt. Sounds like you have tried just about every fix out there. Any good junkyards in your area where you could find one?
Can probably only easily measure the temp at the inlet and outlet...will at least give you the efficiency of the radiator/fan.
Wonder if there are specs out there on what is a good % of temp drop across the radiator.
Wonder if there are specs out there on what is a good % of temp drop across the radiator.
Junk yards are tough. I really am not around enough during the week or weekends, truthfully. Stuff only gets done if it shows up at my house, so i can take care of it on weekends.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
To ME it would be worth pulling the shroud and running the truck in your driveway and running the ir gun along different points of the rad checking for cold spots.
OK, we may have a clue here..........
First, if you are talking transmission, power steering, air conditioning, and engine oil, then you are dumping all your accessory's heat back into the engine....
Maybe some relocation is in order. Post a pic.
If we are talking beer coolers.......... Then I definitely think we may have located the problem....
black dawg
1/2 ton status
I cant speak for the ones that summit sells, but I have lots of first hand experience with the universal type that speedway sells. They dont cool anywhere near as good as a comparable sized copper brass. I have seen several of these cheap (speedway) radiators replaced by better name slightly more expensive radiators, and all overheating issues cured.
Further Pics at http://coloradok5.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2667583&postcount=47
When i did it, it seemed like an acceptable way to do this.
I've looked into the trans coolers with the built in fan, but they are $$$. I'll pay $3-400 for a Radiator, but not for a trans cooler.
With a factory oil cooler and a factory (or dealer installed) trans cooler, you'd end up with nearly the same configuration as what you have, while not helping matters, I don't see those being the sole issue.
That just got me thinking though...do you run a trans temp gauge? Does the engine heat track with the trans heat increasing? From my understanding trans temps climb very quickly under certain conditions, and running so much hotter than the engine, that very well may be dumping enough heat to see a correlation.
That just got me thinking though...do you run a trans temp gauge? Does the engine heat track with the trans heat increasing? From my understanding trans temps climb very quickly under certain conditions, and running so much hotter than the engine, that very well may be dumping enough heat to see a correlation.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
I forget now, did you have an identical situation with the old radiator?
black dawg
1/2 ton status
I am curious on this also. From what I remember, your trans temps are high even with the cooler. On a diesel burb I had a few years ago, I had the lockup sol on a switch. I could watch the coolant temps change by locking and unlocking the converter.
square inch for square inch, a decent 2 row alum cool better than a copper/brass...
Yep, i did. Same cooling issues, but not the same issue with the Tstat opening so high.
Basic thermodynamics says that heat goes from a hotter source to a cooler.
Transmission and engine oil temps are always higher than coolant.
Plus the new transmission cooler is mounted "sideways" compared to the radiator and the factory cooler.
Not sure how important that is.
But anything that interferes with air flow is trouble.
As far as a fan cooled cooler, there are dozens of different sized radiator fans on various cars.
Most folks want the Aerostar fans because they are as large as you can to fit on a radiator.
But lots of compact cars use smaller fans, I'll bet you can find one that would fit that cooler and let you mount it elsewhere.
Take that much heat out of the radiator plus increasing airflow, and I think the problem would go away.
Transmission and engine oil temps are always higher than coolant.
Plus the new transmission cooler is mounted "sideways" compared to the radiator and the factory cooler.
Not sure how important that is.
But anything that interferes with air flow is trouble.
As far as a fan cooled cooler, there are dozens of different sized radiator fans on various cars.
Most folks want the Aerostar fans because they are as large as you can to fit on a radiator.
But lots of compact cars use smaller fans, I'll bet you can find one that would fit that cooler and let you mount it elsewhere.
Take that much heat out of the radiator plus increasing airflow, and I think the problem would go away.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Interesting. Well, i guess your down to trying no thermostat, and running the IR gun all over the radiator.
EDIT: Also, i hear tale of running diesel fans and that they pull a ton more air. Just something to think about.
EDIT: Also, i hear tale of running diesel fans and that they pull a ton more air. Just something to think about.
I just read some more of the thread, Are you still using the stock guage? If so you need to get an IR temp gun and a Mechanical temp guage. I ran a Mechanical temp gauge under the hood and used it to verify the stock guage. You could also get a data logging program and cable to read the computer temp sensor.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
He's done that.
Yah, verified with a mech. Tstat is opening late, and temps without load are easily 210-220 on occupations.
Mech gauge was visible for a bit, but now under the hood.
Finally pulled the TStat. It better run well without it, as its supposed to be 110 in sac tmr where i'm headed.
Drilled 4 1/8" holes in one, and am carrying an undrilled one in case.
We shall see...
Mech gauge was visible for a bit, but now under the hood.
Finally pulled the TStat. It better run well without it, as its supposed to be 110 in sac tmr where i'm headed.
Drilled 4 1/8" holes in one, and am carrying an undrilled one in case.
We shall see...
So, i ran all weekend with no tstat. It was 100-110 in sacramento.
Ran fine on the freeway, no load, ran under 210. Heated up under load still.
Wanted to idle parked with the A/C blasting when it was about 100˚, but dark out, and i saw about 235˚.
Also, first real heat with the HD fan clutch. Definitely pulls hard and loads up the motor when its hot, even on the freeway. It stayed on til the temps outside dropped below 100.
I need to figure out what radiator i am going to get, and hope the weather cools off before i head up to tahoe this week with the boat.
Ran fine on the freeway, no load, ran under 210. Heated up under load still.
Wanted to idle parked with the A/C blasting when it was about 100˚, but dark out, and i saw about 235˚.
Also, first real heat with the HD fan clutch. Definitely pulls hard and loads up the motor when its hot, even on the freeway. It stayed on til the temps outside dropped below 100.
I need to figure out what radiator i am going to get, and hope the weather cools off before i head up to tahoe this week with the boat.
Are you running without the grill like in the pics? Even if not maybe you could try this anyway.
Is there any way you could temporarily run with the transmission cooler out from in front of the radiator?
For instance, swing it out 90 degrees so that it is sticking edgewise out front? Maybe make a temp bracket.
The idea is to do the minimum amount of work to get it out from in front of the rad.
Trying to do it so it does not mean disturbing the hoses.
Then make a run somewhere so that you can see if that fixes the problem.
I'm worried that if its a combination of heat load, and the different fin direction blocking more air than usual, that you will buy an expensive new radiator and have it not fix the problem.
Like I say, if that is it, you should be able to relocate the cooler and add a junkyard fan off a compact car.
What would be really cool......OK did not see that until I typed it..... would be to mount the transmission cooler in a junkyard heater housing where the heater core goes.
Leave the speed control resistor in place, and you could adjust the fan speed to match your transmission load.
Is there any way you could temporarily run with the transmission cooler out from in front of the radiator?
For instance, swing it out 90 degrees so that it is sticking edgewise out front? Maybe make a temp bracket.
The idea is to do the minimum amount of work to get it out from in front of the rad.
Trying to do it so it does not mean disturbing the hoses.
Then make a run somewhere so that you can see if that fixes the problem.
I'm worried that if its a combination of heat load, and the different fin direction blocking more air than usual, that you will buy an expensive new radiator and have it not fix the problem.
Like I say, if that is it, you should be able to relocate the cooler and add a junkyard fan off a compact car.
What would be really cool......OK did not see that until I typed it..... would be to mount the transmission cooler in a junkyard heater housing where the heater core goes.
Leave the speed control resistor in place, and you could adjust the fan speed to match your transmission load.
