86.5 7MGE Problems

[Tbredd7]

Originally Posted by 86.5 7MGE

Thanks for the input I'll look into that, I was wanting to get an aluminum radiator any ways now I might have a reason to get it earlier than anticipated

Trust me upgrading to the aluminum radiator is great. I would recommend getting a 3 row radiator with some electric fans to cool it. Thats what I did when I bought the car because the radiator was messed up. That thing cools down so fucking fast.

[Krem]

I'm looking to do this fix too, since I live in vegas and w/o a fan shroud on the crank fan, I'm at high risk for over heating next summer. Luckily that means I have time to save and do homework on the project. However, I still have come across some questions I'm hoping someone can answer for me rather than me asking the manufacturer themselves.

I have a 7mge that was manual, is now automatic... Looking into:
Aluminum Radiator and Aluminum Dual Fan Shroud

However, I noticed that the radiator says 86-92 manual. Why's the transmission type make a difference? Are the radiators different specs/sizes? Since I can't find any aluminum radiators for an automatic, I have to think it doesn't matter... but if it didn't matter, why do they specify manual? Same applies to the fan shroud since that's the radiator it'd best mount up to...

Am I SOL cause I have an automatic? maybe stuck with using Elec. fan mounted to radiator? or can I do this upgrade on the auto? Further more, if I mount the single fan to my existing radiator or upgrade the radiator and throw in the dual elec. fan shroud assembly, do I pull the fan off the crank? or does that stay for weight balance?

[86.5 7MGE]

Originally Posted by Krem

I'm looking to do this fix too, since I live in vegas and w/o a fan shroud on the crank fan, I'm at high risk for over heating next summer. Luckily that means I have time to save and do homework on the project. However, I still have come across some questions I'm hoping someone can answer for me rather than me asking the manufacturer themselves.

I have a 7mge that was manual, is now automatic... Looking into:
Aluminum Radiator and Aluminum Dual Fan Shroud

However, I noticed that the radiator says 86-92 manual. Why's the transmission type make a difference? Are the radiators different specs/sizes? Since I can't find any aluminum radiators for an automatic, I have to think it doesn't matter... but if it didn't matter, why do they specify manual? Same applies to the fan shroud since that's the radiator it'd best mount up to...

Am I SOL cause I have an automatic? maybe stuck with using Elec. fan mounted to radiator? or can I do this upgrade on the auto? Further more, if I mount the single fan to my existing radiator or upgrade the radiator and throw in the dual elec. fan shroud assembly, do I pull the fan off the crank? or does that stay for weight balance?

First of all you definitely want to pull the manual fan off if you put electric ones on because that's going to more problems than solutions and plus I don't think you could get the dual fans on without pulling the clutch fan off. The difference between the auto and manual radiators is that the automatic radiator has transmission coolant line connections which you need versus the manual which doesn't have any use for them.

[Krem]

Originally Posted by 86.5 7MGE

First of all you definitely want to pull the manual fan off if you put electric ones on because that's going to more problems than solutions and plus I don't think you could get the dual fans on without pulling the clutch fan off. The difference between the auto and manual radiators is that the automatic radiator has transmission coolant line connections which you need versus the manual which doesn't have any use for them.

Ah, I was wondering that... and that actually concerns me... since the car was a manual and an auto was thrown in... I'd have to guess that I have no transmission fluid cooling going on... :\ Also, you confirmed my suspicion about the crank fan coming off... didn't look like there would be enough clearance anyways... I'm just wondering if it can come off at the crank, or if I need to leave the clutch assembly attached to balance weight somewhere along the lines.. granted it's not much weight to be balanced, but spinning that fast, the smallest offset could throw the thing into a sloppy rotation.. much like a washing machine with an uneven load? Eh, that's my logic... which is why I ask questions, I know I'm not a mechanic, but I want to get used to my mk3 rather than being concerned about what every pop and ping I hear might be. Also hoping this concern will subside the longer I drive the car in good running condition... having it die after two weeks of owning it doesn't exactly support a positive confidence in reliability..

[cre]

Leave the mechanical fan and forget the electric... for some ungodly reason it seems no one ever manages to install them properly and I'm sick of all the "my fans caught fire and my wire harness is f@#%ed" sob stories... besides, there are virtually no gains to be had from it. The more electrical drain you put on the alternator the harder the alternator become to move... you lose what you gain.

If you feel you need something which imposes less resistance the best solution is a flexible fan... they're lightweight and they flatten out the faster they move causing a drastic decrease in resistance while maintaining a *reliable* source of airflow.