David Neibert
SCCoA Admin
I've been unhappy with the cooling system performance on my 93 SC with a v8 turbocharged motor since it was first built in 2005. Since that time I have done numerous things to improve the engine cooling, but I still couldn't get it to run cool enough that I was comfortable driving the car for extended distances in the summer. It's already got the biggest Griffin aluminum radiator I can fit into the engine bay, Mrk8 puller fan, Spal 14" pusher fan and a heat extractor vent in the hood. But it was still getting up to around 210-215 in the summer. In the winter it would stay right around 180-185. I couldn't really do much more to improve the air flow to the radiator, so for this round of work I decided to concentrate on coolant flow.
I replaced the stock style 180 t-stat with a Robert shaw high flow 160 degree unit (that I stove tested) and replace the stock mechanical water pump with a Meziere billet 55 GPM electric water pump. To make engine cooling between rounds at the track a little easier a water pump over-ride switch was installed inside the car to allow running the pump with the engine and ignition turned off. The DCC mrk8 fan I'm using, already operates independent of the ignition, so no changes to the fan controls were needed. When testing the cooling system for proper operation and getting the air out, it was discovered that the vent on the radiator overflow catch can was clogged causing it to build up excessive cooling system pressure. Dan removed the vent plug and replaced it with a 90 degree fitting and nylon hose and now it's no longer got a rock hard upper radiator hose.
On the 35 mile drive home from the shop that installed the parts (Hyperformance), I never saw temps higher than about 170 and that is about what I expected with the cooler thermostat when outside temps are in the 30s. I won't really know if this has improved the cooling system performance until it starts getting warmer in the spring, and the real test won't be until summer. Here are a couple pictures I took.
BTW, this pump was an even tighter fit than the old belt driven one was, and required a little clearance milling on the pump to clear the aftermarket balancer and MSD crank trigger wheel. And a little notching on the fan shroud to clear the pulley on the new pump. It was also necessary to switch to a belt that was about 7/8" shorter to maintain same tension with the smaller diameter WP pulley
David
I replaced the stock style 180 t-stat with a Robert shaw high flow 160 degree unit (that I stove tested) and replace the stock mechanical water pump with a Meziere billet 55 GPM electric water pump. To make engine cooling between rounds at the track a little easier a water pump over-ride switch was installed inside the car to allow running the pump with the engine and ignition turned off. The DCC mrk8 fan I'm using, already operates independent of the ignition, so no changes to the fan controls were needed. When testing the cooling system for proper operation and getting the air out, it was discovered that the vent on the radiator overflow catch can was clogged causing it to build up excessive cooling system pressure. Dan removed the vent plug and replaced it with a 90 degree fitting and nylon hose and now it's no longer got a rock hard upper radiator hose.
On the 35 mile drive home from the shop that installed the parts (Hyperformance), I never saw temps higher than about 170 and that is about what I expected with the cooler thermostat when outside temps are in the 30s. I won't really know if this has improved the cooling system performance until it starts getting warmer in the spring, and the real test won't be until summer. Here are a couple pictures I took.
BTW, this pump was an even tighter fit than the old belt driven one was, and required a little clearance milling on the pump to clear the aftermarket balancer and MSD crank trigger wheel. And a little notching on the fan shroud to clear the pulley on the new pump. It was also necessary to switch to a belt that was about 7/8" shorter to maintain same tension with the smaller diameter WP pulley
David
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