Temp gauge rising

Do what I do, call Matt and have him bring the parts you want to FFO, then just find an uncle with a pick up truck and some room to bring it back into Canada for you.

Sounds doable.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Ok! Update! Finally picked up the vikauto aluminum rad! I chose to go with the 7” dual fans but am somewhat regretting that decision. In order to have a clean install without the “pin through fin” hardware provided I fabricated some simple aluminum brackets. The 10” fans have available brackets and look a little cleaner not to mention the added cooling. Anyway, I thought I’d save a few bucks and stick with the stock size. Time will tell whether they perform. I also weighed the stock rad, stock fan and the fully assembled aluminum setup. The weight is in pounds cause I’m Canadian. As you can see the new setup weighs less. More picture to follow with the new rad installed etc..
 

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Some pictures of the old rad. When I removed the old rad I stripped it down and for one noticed this huge gouge on the front fins and second it was plugged with crud.
 

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I think you found your root cause!
Hope the new radiator and fans work well for you. Let us known if they solve the problem you were haviing.
 
Mike Schofield said:
Some pictures of the old rad. When I removed the old rad I stripped it down and for one noticed this huge gouge on the front fins and second it was plugged with crud.
Click to expand...

I'd consider a hybrid approach, if you have only one stock fan, mount that in the stock location (the rad has the studs for a stock fan), and then use one of the two aftermarket fans as your second fan.
 
Mike,
In your pics above it looks like the aluminum radiator is heavier. Did you weigh it with the fans? Also, how do you think adding coolant to each rad would affect weight?
 
Yes, both fans and steel cross member are attached to the aluminum rad. The aluminum rad is a bit thicker than stock so perhaps it holds more coolant....
 
I just had her out for a drive and found that while driving the temp stays at 190 but when idling it creeps up.....any other ideas??
I was thinking thermostat....
The fans kick in but the temp still seems to creep which makes me think it’s the thermostat. It doesn’t get anywhere near where it was getting with the stock rad but it’s my understanding that the temp should stay at 190 regardless.
Help!!
 
Mike Schofield said:
I just had her out for a drive and found that while driving the temp stays at 190 but when idling it creeps up.....any other ideas??
I was thinking thermostat....
The fans kick in but the temp still seems to creep which makes me think it’s the thermostat. It doesn’t get anywhere near where it was getting with the stock rad but it’s my understanding that the temp should stay at 190 regardless.
Help!!
Click to expand...
If it is able to hold 190°F under load, I would not suspect the thermostat. When you say the temperature is creeping up, does it keep going up, or does it stabilize at bit above 190°F? Or fluctuate a as the radiator fans cycle on and off?

As Dan Sarandrea pointed out in this post yesterday, the gauge in the X1/9 reads the temperature directly, without an ECU in between trying to make the temperature reading more comforting to the driver. I would not be too worried if the temperature goes up a tad at idle, as long as it does not keep increasing.
 
Ng_randolph,
It does stabilize at about 200 or so if I’m guesstimating and fluctuates with fan operation. I’m just so paranoid now with any fluctuation of the gauge.
Mechanogeek,
Thanks for the link and also for the seat at FFO. I’ll be diving into that this winter. : )
 
You might want to take some actual measurements to verify the veracity of your sensor/gauge, a laser sensor can be very helpful and they can probably be gotten at Princess Auto or similar for pretty cheap. The coolant temp sensor is reading high on the head on the fire wall side around cylinder #3.

It may just read ‘high’.

Additionally the thermostat is working to hold it to 190 but the temp from the radiator does vary and if the thermostat is fully open it can’t do anything about it.

A good possibility is, something many see, high temps in the engine due to low flow at idle from the waterpump. There are a variety of discussions about this with little to do about it beyond holding the idle up a bit with your foot or changing how the cooling system works.
 
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My 85X has a Bob G rad. It was 95F here Sunday with high humidity. My gauge showed just under 190 while driving, just a bit over 190 while idling at traffic signals. It always came back to just under 190 once i got underway again.

If you are seeing similar behavior, you are probably ok.

With the old rad the temp would slowly climb even on the highway. My 85 has a second fan with a manual switch, but I never use it anymore.
 
Ok, good to know. I just happen to have a laser temp gun so that’s some good advice.
JimD, when you used your manual fan did you see any change in temp? I think I might wire my fans to a manual switch as well.
I just may get a new water pump as the cost is quite reasonable and switch it out this winter.
I suppose while I have the system drained I should change the thermostat at the same time. Although, after reading a bit on the other threads I don’t think the thermostat is malfunctioning as a bad one would cause almost immediate overheating with no stabilization...
 
Mike Schofield said:
Ok, good to know. I just happen to have a laser temp gun so that’s some good advice.
JimD, when you used your manual fan did you see any change in temp? I think I might wire my fans to a manual switch as well.
I just may get a new water pump as the cost is quite reasonable and switch it out this winter.
I suppose while I have the system drained I should change the thermostat at the same time. Although, after reading a bit on the other threads I don’t think the thermostat is malfunctioning as a bad one would cause almost immediate overheating with no stabilization...
Click to expand...

Yes, activating the manually switch fan slowed the progression of the heat build up with the old stack rad in place. It was not a cure, but it helped. The new rad was the cure. I have not replaced the t-stat in this car, so the behavior changes are due to the new rad.

A thermostat can fail open, closed, or somewhere in between. So instant overheating isn't always the symptom, but it is the one that catches your eye the quickest. :eek:
 
Lol, good point! The biggest investment in the cooling system is now complete (rad and fans) so thermostat and pump seem like chump change. I think I’ll drive it around for the rest of the season as is (barring any large swing of overheating) and tinker in the winter. Canadian winters should give me a large chunk of time to do so.
 
I must say I am very happy with the new rad/fan setup. The fans are incredibly quiet and the rad seems to perform as expected not to mention ease of install. My problem with this car is that it literally sat without regular driving for 10+ years. Poor thing. Although, I must say the previous owner did care for it as though it was his baby. Replacing many many small and large items as the years went on.
 
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