Ed,
at this point no I'm not certain about anything.
the truck is 2yrs old, it had 5k miles on it when I purchased it and currently has a bit over 19k. I'm going to assume (probably wrong of me) that the cooling system is functioning correctly for a stock rig. But let me explain why I'm assuming this.
Correct me if I'm wrong but for you folks out there not running a sc your normal operating temp is 210 or right around 210 correct? I know before I had the SC put on 210 was normal for my truck.
From what a lot of you with SC's have told me 210 on a rig with a 160 t-stat is no longer considered normal.
Since my truck is still running at 210 I can only assume that I have a problem.
Now I am or would be COMPLETLY happy if come summer in Las Vegas the truck would stay at or around 210. Problem is its not gonna happen.
Now perhaps its a problem of where I live but when the ambient air temp in LV reaches 120+ and pretty much stays around there for 12-16 weeks during summer I have a problem seeing my cooling temp raising to 250+. At 260 the bells and whistles on the center display go off telling you that the engine coolant is too hot. This to me is a problem.
I know you folks on the east coast have some hot sticky days but there is a huge difference between 100 degrees with 90% humidity and 120 degrees with 3-5% humidity.
I don't know if a larger capacity aluminum radiator is going to solve my troubles but it's one more piece in the puzzle, one more step towards getting to a point where I don't have to check the weather channel to see if I can take my truck out of the garage.
As for lean but not lean enough.
I'm stuck in ca and I don't have access to my paperwork in LV. but when I had the dyno ran to see what the motor was producing after the SC was installed the guys that were running the dyno showed me a graph of what a normal (non SC'd rig) fuel curve was supposed to look like. Picture graph paper with a base line drawn in blue, then they laid over that what they considered normal for a truck that has had a SC installed and running the stock tune, assign a green line to that. Then on top of the other two they put up where my truck was (a red line) running and from looking at the three lines on the graph they came to the conclusion that my truck was just slightly (more lean) than that which they were calling a base line for a truck with a supercharger.
Since part of this particular shops business is custom tuning I didn't much listen to the sales pitch for why I needed to pay them six hundred dollars to adjust my fuel curve a couple of points especially after the tech had said it wasn't an issue since I wasn't towing anything or racing the rig.
So perhaps I'm chasing my tail and I don't have any cooling problem at all.
Perhaps it's merely a by product of where I live and the fact that when you place a SC on top of a motor you are going to generate more heat.
I don't know I only have this fourm as a reference point and when 3-4 of you have said that I should be around 180 for a normal operating temp since I have a 160 t-stat what am I supposed to believe or think when my truck never goes below 210? (yes the sending units and the gauge its self have been replaced) so I don't think it is a faulty gauge or sending unit.
I should have left the truck alone but hind sight is always 20/20. I have to deal with the decisions I've made.
Thanks to all who have offered up suggestions.
quote: Ed G.
Posted 03-13-06 03:13 AM
I agree with OC and HGW about the radiator. What did you mean by "lean but not enough to cause a problem"? Any lean condition will cause your engine temp to increase. Are you sure that your water pump / cooling system is functioning properly?
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