MODIFIED 16V GETTING V.HOT - uprate rad?

[Jon Howe 0]

Hi all,

 

I've just bought a 2.0 16v (j plate) and it seems to be getting pretty hot. it's my 1st injected VW, just sold my mk1 cabrio. When driving reasonably hard just now the temp gauge hit 110, so i switched off and let it cool down to 80. Drove along very gently after that and it tried to do the same, just took a lot more time about it. Oil temp on the MFA was reading 114 at it's hottest.

 

I've read on here from someone else that it should sit at 90 when moving and go to 95 when idling, if i'd let it i reckon it would have kept getting hotter.

 

The previous owner overheated it a couple of times so he had the thermostat changed and reckoned it was fine after that. Thing is, it apparently has Golf GTi KR Cams fitted, plus some form of tuning, producing a fair bit more power. about 150 bhp? (don't know if thats true)

 

Could this cause higher temps and would an uprated radiator help at all?

 

I'm gonna flush the sytem tomorrow to rule out a rad blockage due to gunk from the previous overheating.

 

I'd appreciate any advice anyone might have, I'm willing to go belt and braces with uprated rad and any other parts if it prevents problems in the future.

 

Cheers, Jon

[aide 0]

hey john, welcome to the forum

 

those temps do sound rather high. assuming engine idles fine then cams shouldn't affect temps, worth investigating exaclty what else was done for that extra power though.

 

best establish cause rather than try to manage the effect, see how you get on after a thorough flush tomorrow, maybe check the thermostat whilst your at it too - it's in a plastic housing on the bottom of the water pump.

 

if things no better then this is the right place to get the advice :salute:

[PROVR6 0]

Not sure about the valver but my oil temp readings on the VR6 is about 112-114 when driving hard which is normal. Peeps with MOcal oil coolers will obviously get cooler temps.

[dirtytorque 0]

the standard radiator should easily cope with current engine specs.

The coolant temps shouldn't really go much higher than 90 degrees.

When driving reasonably fast you should be getting good airflow to the rad and see good temps.The system is most stressed in slow stop start traffic.

So sounds like you need to investigate all the normal type cooling things,i.e fans coming on,stat opeing properly,rad in good order etc..

Any smoke coming out the zaust pipe?

Any may on oil cap or oil residue in coolant?

[davidwort 0]

as above, the 16v rad should work just fine, mine's up to the job of cooling my 170ish bhp 16v, you could of course have a partial bockage in your rad.

There's been quite a few postings on hot running valvers recently, could be a number of things,

thermostat may still not be right

metal water pipe from nr waterpump to round the side of the head may be quite corroded

engine might be running too lean

could be other partial blockages around the head and block

fan switch, motor and/or relays may not be operating at the right temp or on both speeds properly

[Jon Howe 0]

Thanks guysm i'll try all those things! in process of flushing now. then gonna check what engine temps the fan cuts in and out at. it went up to 110 last night and didn't cut in till i switched it off.

 

Just discovered that the fuse on top of the relay block next to the header tank has been blown, then bridged with a bit of wire?? cant be good.

It's got an aftermarket rad on it. can't see a seriel no, but it has ENGLAND MR3 on the top. The car was a Cat C some years ago and i think this was when the mods were done from the history i've got.

 

What more could i expect for 900quid!

[Jon Howe 0]

the standard radiator should easily cope with current engine specs.

The coolant temps shouldn't really go much higher than 90 degrees.

When driving reasonably fast you should be getting good airflow to the rad and see good temps.The system is most stressed in slow stop start traffic.

So sounds like you need to investigate all the normal type cooling things,i.e fans coming on,stat opeing properly,rad in good order etc..

Any smoke coming out the zaust pipe?

Any may on oil cap or oil residue in coolant?

No smoke and and water are very clean. i plan on changing fluids and filters with the best recommended for the motor once i know it's be staying in there! cheers mate.

[davidwort 0]

aftermarket rad will probably run just fine, won't be quite as efficient but it's only really on very hot days or driving very hard that it would get a bit warmer over the proper VW one. Best of luck with sorting it out.

[dragon green 5]

i have an aftermarket rad on my valver, had it about five years, havent noticed any difference in heat. Have a look at your waterpump, they have been known to fail. !

Also check your timing, if its been tuned,/cammed it could be out enough to make it run hotter.

Good luck