Thankyou Hemi Anderson. The K-Car Cooling Issue.

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Thankyou Hemi Anderson. The K-Car Cooling Issue.

Postby 89ARIES » Wed Aug 13, 2014 6:08 am

I haven't seen my friend Hemi in 4 years, and he is a retired certified Chrysler mechanic of 50 years. He sent me this synopsis today
from Arizona. He concurs that thermostats MUST BE DRILLED IN THESE CARS WHEN YOU WORK ON THE COOLING SYSTEMS!:

HEMI: Here is my reply as best I can cover the generic 2.2 and 2.5 engine.
overheat |DEFINITION make or become too hot:
What do you consider “Too Hot” ? For an automobile engine in good condition, with
50/50 Antifreeze to water and a reliable 16lb radiator cap anything under 220
degrees should be considered safe, depending on ambient temperature, engine
load and driving conditions.
First we must consider the age of the cars today. The earliest 2.2 is 33 years old,
the RADIATOR must be considered first of all.
On the cars with a metal upper and lower tank, it is easy to have them checked
and the core cleaned by a radiator shop. Of course ‘Radiator Shops’ are getting
rare to find as most people these days just replace their radiators. If you have a
plastic tank radiator as most of you likely have, if you suspect the radiator is
plugged in any way, replace it.
You MUST know that you have a free flowing radiator. This is where you get rid
of all the excessive heat produced by your engine.
On cars with fuel injection, and I hope most of you are in this class, there are 2
electrical components that have to do with coolant.
The COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR which communicates with the engine
controller (computer) Here is where the cooling fan is controlled. As the engine
temperature rises, into the 200 degree zone, when it reaches 210 degrees, the
fan relay is activated and the radiator fan should come on and run until the
coolant temperature lowers to 198 degrees when the computer deactivates the
relay. This is normal action for all the older computer controlled cars.
So for all who have an actual temperature gauge, take note where the gauge
needle is when the fan comes on, you will know that the coolant has reached 212
degrees. This should be remembered as a reference point. It is normal to see the
needle reach this point when you are in stop and go traffic.
The lower temperature (198) should be considered to be the high point when you
are driving in relatively cool conditions with the A/C off, if you have it.
Where the needle is on your particular temperature gauge, is dependent on the
TEMPERATURE SENDING UNIT. The ‘little guy’ in the cylinder head. Over the
years I have seen temperature gauges that read very low to gauges that read
quite high. You will have to research just what sending unit your particular car
calls for. Your “friendly” Chrysler Parts ‘person’ can look up the correct number,
he/she will tell you it is NS1 most likely, but get the number and any number that
it supersedes to. You can then look it up on the internet and try to locate a
sending unit that crosses over to this number. It may help your situation with the
instrument panel gauge or it may not.
As to drilling the hole in the thermostat, I have done so with my 195 degree ‘stat’.
The hole only serves to vent the cylinder head when the coolant has been drained
from the engine and you are refilling the engine and radiator with new coolant.
The hole helps to vent the air trapped in the head as there is no other way for it
to escape except by removing the plug on top of the water manifold which usually
refuses to unscrew.
I live in Arizona where summer means 110 to 125 degrees F. My 85 Laser with a
2.5 Turbo engine runs no lower than 205 degrees and usually around 220. I NEVER
worry about it because it does not overheat, it merely runs HOT!
I do not loose coolant and it never boils. If you do not loose coolant and your
coolant never boils, you should have no worries, Just keep a close eye on coolant
level in the reservoir regularly. I do run a 185 degree thermostat in this engine
but it still seems to like to run hot. I have driven this car 48,592 miles since I
built and installed this engine. It runs strong, it runs hot and it doesn’t mind the
heat. So I don’t either.
I did install a separate mechanical gauge so I can monitor the heat since the
factory gauge doesn’t give me a reading in degrees.
Happy to assist. I hope this will ease the worry that people have over the heating issue.
There is no doubt that there could be engines out there that are in need of head gaskets as they fail over time just from being there, subjected to coolant on one side and HOT compression pressure on the other.

Guy: Thanks Hemi. Now, can we keep these cars cool driving up steep grades in 100 degrees, or in Death Valley? I am guessing that is above
the tolerance. What do you think of this pink Evans cooling coolant? One more thing, if the fan is suppossed to come on at 212 degrees, and your car is running at 220 in 115 ambient, does that mean that fan is unable to cool it
below 220. It basically stabalizes at that point. And, at one temperature does the aluminum get stressed? Or, maybe its lifespan gets shortened. These
are all the questions running through my head.

Hemi: Guy, I cannot guarantee anything specifically, just consider that I run my TC and my Laser, both 4 cyl., turbo intercooler engines in this sort of weather all the time. They have smaller radiators than the non-intercooler engines.
Death Valley is a challenge for anyone. Why push your luck. What is in Death Valley that you have to prove your old, maybe 'not so up to it’ engines to the temperatures of summer heat and the low altitude. One thing that can happen more easily to an engine in such conditions is pre-ignition which can burn holes through pistons, burn valves and blow head gaskets. Driving up steep long grades such as out of Needles CA going west is quite a pull. I have seen V8 engines blow on that grade, yet I make the pull with either of mine with no problem being able to maintain 70 mph all the way. This is due to the turbo boost, but that creates a lot of additional heat in the engine coolant. Certainly it gets hotter, but as long as there is no detonation and the coolant does not boil out, there is no harm done. Here again, an engine in poor tune will have less power, struggle more and drive slower because of power loss. Hoses can blow, radiators can rupture.
An operator of any vehicle has to have enough confidence in their machine if one is to take on additional obstacles. Don’t push your luck.
As for Evans Waterless Coolant, read for yourself at http://www.evanscooling.com I have personally never used it, though I may try it in one of my cars.
Guy, if you are asking specifically about my Laser, it runs the fan a lot in high ambient temps. Driving at normal street speeds such as 45 to 55 on our main thoroughfare, the temperature of the coolant will likely be below 200 degrees so the fan is off, but almost as soon as I slow down and air quits flowing through the radiator sufficiently, the fan will come on (that’s 212) and run until it cools below 200. If I continue slowly or stay stopped, it will soon turn on the fan again as the coolant absorbs a lot of heat from the engine quickly. At freeway speeds I really don’t know if the fan comes on since I cannot hear it. If the A/C is on, of course the fan comes on each time the compressor clutch is engaged.
That is a good question, I’ll have to install a light to indicate whenever the fan is engaged. I have not seen any adverse effect of high coolant temperatures in the ranges I have mentioned.
In race engines, they usually begin to worry when the temperature goes beyond 250.
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