Why is my motor getting so hot?

[fox racer]

ok, ever since i put tailpipes on my car, it seems to run hotter. it idles jusr below the halfway point of the gauge (stock) and when i drive it hovers over it almost near the little white dash about the midpoint. that is MUCH hotter than before when i had dumps.. wat gives? the car has aluminum heads btw. would a radiator flush help me out? maybe some water wetter?

 

[HISSIN50]

What are you thinking the relationship between tail pipes and motor temps is? Unless you have a restriction in the pipes (think banana in the tailpipe), I dont see how one has anything to do with the other.

A real gauge might help with diagnostics. Was any other work done recently?

Good luck.

 

[fox racer]

like 3 weeks ago i swapped rears... then a month before that i did a 5 speed swap.. the last time i touched the motor was the end of may beggining of june.

im not sure when this started tho... the car sat for most of the summer. wat type of gauge should i get? or are you talking about like an autometer or sumthin? (im tight on funds) thanks alot for replyin so quickly hissin.

 

[HISSIN50]

Is there a chance that it is just running hotter than you remember because it has not been driven in the summer much? Cooling system is all burped? Does this only happen while idling (it cools down once at speed)?

More info will help to pinpoint what it is.

Even a parts store 10 dollar temp gauge is much much better than stocker. You dont have to keep it permanently mounted - use it for a week so you can see what is going on or mount it under the hood after that.

Or: grab a turkey thermometer (99 cents at Wally mart). On a cold motor, remove the radiator cap and insert the thermometer. let the car warm up (be careful of hot coolant jumping out of the radiator neck, etc). As the car warms up, note the thermometer temps vs the gauge temps and compare the two. That is a cheap way to go (and way back when, what lead me to get a real gauge). My stocker can read off as much as 45*F compared to the aftermarket mech gauge.

Of course, dont use that thermometer for living consumption again (food for people, animals, etc). I keep a thermo in the garage for that purpose only.

Good luck bud.

 

[fox racer]

well it heats up during driving then cools off (goes below the midpoint) when idling. when the hood is up it doesnt feel hotter. also when i turn the car off it seems to cool off in the same amount of time. i hope its just a bad gauge. but to be safe im flushing it and swapping the thermostat, hopefully its that.

 

[HISSIN50]

Cool. So the fan works fine, and the radiator is able to reject heat (it does at idle). But ambient air flow seems to be insufficient, or there is a dynamic at work when at speed (like perhaps a collapsing lower radiator hose). Having the air dam under the car is pretty important IMHO too.

Flushing the radiator and a new stat might not solve the issue, since it does run cool while idling.

I dont have any great ideas for you though other than the couple small things I typed here.

Good luck and bump.

 

[shttygtstang]

hissin what kind of trippy bong is your wizzard smokin out of in your avatar?

 

[midlife89]

What kind of antifreeze mix are you running I know mine runs cooler on straight water.I'read water is more efficent.of course no corrosion protection.

 

[Car RamRod]

before anything, get a better gauge.

 

[HISSIN50]

hissin what kind of trippy bong is your wizzard smokin out of in your avatar?

You are going to have to ask Daggar.

 

[fox racer]

before anything, get a better gauge.

i want to, but im in debt, hardcore now that i finally got all the supporting equipment for my cobra intake.

 

[Car RamRod]

i want to, but im in debt, hardcore now that i finally got all the supporting equipment for my cobra intake.

ouch. Ill see if I can dig something halfway decent up the next time I go to a junkyard or something.

 

[fox racer]

ouch. Ill see if I can dig something halfway decent up the next time I go to a junkyard or something.

thatd be cool... imma just steal my moms cooking thermo for the time being and do wat hissin said... then keep it and tell her she lost it. for the time being lol.