Civic radiator(back from the dead)

[vtecds1]

Before anyone jumps the gun...I searched and didn't find the specific answer I was looking for.

I'm thinking of running a Civic radiator to clear up space in the bay. Problem is that I still have the ac intact and removing it is not an option. I don't plan on using it but it's there for the future owner. Does anyone have this setup and have overheating issues? When I did a search, seemed like everyone that had this setup had their ac deleted.

 

I'm running a Civic radiator with a/c & stock condenser w/stock condenser fan

I had a 10" puller fan attached to the radiator & in stop & go traffic with the a/c on the temps would go up to 215* F. I've since switched to a 14" puller fan & the temps have gone down to 200* F in traffic with the a/c on. I'm ging to add a pair of jdm hood vents which should drop the tepms down another 10-15*F when in traffic with the a/c on.

The trick is to put the largest fan you can fit in the space (14" is the largest I could fit) & get a radiator that's @ least 2.5" thick. Without the a/c on in traffic temps are normal. Adding the hood vents will definately help a lot as the 1g we put them on did see a drop of 15*F in stop & go traffic.

EDIT: Here's a picture of the aluminum stick welded to the bottom of the radiator to use the lower factory passenger side bracket.

 

[vtecds1]

Thank you sir!!! Life saver for sure. I found a shop selling one local for $70.(Remind me never ever to post the same question in another board. All I got was stupid answers that didn't have to do anything with the question.)

BTW, I use to have a switch made to turn the fan on and off manually. You think that`s an alternative to have the hood vents? It kept the temps below the half way mark on the gauge(didn't get to log the temp). Helped out a lot in the Vegas heat. I`m just wondering is there is any drawbacks on doing this.

 

No problem. Just make sure the radiator core is @ least 2.5" thick. Everything is wired in like stock so no need for a manual switch.

 

[vtecds1]

I was going to wire everything like stock but do a "1G Cooling Fan Relay Bypass Mod". I haven't really heard anyone on the board doing this, but it worked well for me in my 1g and I use to have it on the VR4.

 

[mitsuturbo]

If you live in a hot climate, you may want to run a slightly lower temp thermostat. I put my halfsize radiator in when i was in Utah, and it was like 90°. The car wanted to run at about 220° with whatever thermostat was in it (i think it was a 195° but can't remember). I put a 165° thermostat in it, and it ran fine in the heat there, but when i came back home to WA, and drove the car in midst of winter, if i didn't let it warm up completely before setting out, it would barely get warm enough to defrost the windows properly.

 

[vtecds1]

IIRC, I have a 160 or 165 in there right now. In hot days, I would see around 203 at a stop and roughly 195 cruising. The car will be hibernating in a about a month, so no problem with it being up to temp.

 

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

Like Garfield said, make sure you get a radiator that's at least 2.5" thick and a 14" fan.

 

[OMFGeofffff]

Im gonna try to stick this here because it kind of has to do with cooling with the fan. When trying to put the temp sensor in should I weld in a bung or would it work by just drilling and tapping a hole?

 

[Boostdtalon]

Where are you trying to put the sensor?

 

Drill & tap is what I did. The radiator I used has a sensor location similar to the gvr4 stock unit. I simply drilled it out as it was too small & tapped it. Screw the sensor back in like factory.

 

[OMFGeofffff]

Quoting boostdtalon:
Where are you trying to put the sensor?



I'd be putting it towards the bottom similar to where the stock one is located on the stock radiator.

 

Depending on how thick the end tank is you might have to weld on a bung. Make sure it's not larger than the sensor so you can tap it for the sensor to fit in it.

 

[OMFGeofffff]

Do you know hat size the threads are? Hopefully I might be able to drill out the drain plug and use that.

 

Don't recall, sorry.

 

[mr.mitsu]

It's a lot easier to just use one of the sensors on the t-stat housing for a temp sensor.

I have it run like this on my car.

Hope this helps.

 

Quoting OMFGeofffff:
Do you know hat size the threads are? Hopefully I might be able to drill out the drain plug and use that.



Come to think of it, it was the drain plug I drilled & tapped.

 

[dsmless]

I used a fluidyne unit for about a month in the june july of 2009 with full a/c the temps would always be around 105* in stop and go traffic the gauge would go to 240 easy so i had to turn off the a/c, cruisingthe temps were at 205 but I have a 170* termostat so really didnt give me the goal I was shooting for, I have gone back to using my mishimoto 1g unit with two pullers a 10 and a 14 inch with no problem temps in traffic are 180* but i did have to cut infront of the condensor and push it foward so i can move my radiator foward some

 

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

Quoting mr.mitsu:
It's a lot easier to just use one of the sensors on the t-stat housing for a temp sensor.

I have it run like this on my car.

Hope this helps.



+1. That's what I did.

 

[OMFGeofffff]

I just thought of something for people that want to do this in the future. In regards to the stock temp sensor on the radiator not being compatible with a civic radiator, wouldn't adding one of those temp sensor adapters for the coolant lines work on the lower rad hose? This weekend I was about to rip out my radiator and try drilling and tapping. Using one of these might work out better though. If worst comes to worst I'll have to tap the adapter in case thread adapters add too much length. Does it really matter though?