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General rundown...

EJ20 na motor in an L series wagon. Dual core radiator with EJ fittings, bugger all room between the radiator and the motor. Pair of super thin fans from supercheap. Fans are operated off the factory ecu switch points.

Problem

At idle all is good, temp gauge sits on thermostat point perfectly, about 1/4 gauge.
At anything over 40km/h it is also fine, will sit on 1/4 without problem.

Between rolling and 40km/h the temp gauge rises heaps, up to nearly 3/4 level, doesn't seem to get any higher than this.

I want this thing to run on the beach etc so would like to have stable temperatures at all driving conditions. Do I need to look at having a switch for the fans to be on when driving offroad? As this is mostly where I am going to be driving at those speeds. If I drive slow and it gets hot, just stopping for a few minutes is enough to cool it down!!

Prolly a stupid question but you haven't got the polarity arse about on the fans have you?

What thermostat have you got?

There is a few things that I would look at trying.
First off, make sure the fans are spinning the correct way. Then try an old thermostat with no guts in it. Last resort would be to have the fans hard wired to a switch.

byb555 wrote:Prolly a stupid question but you haven't got the polarity arse about on the fans have you?

Nope, thats fine, air blows the right way...

byb555 wrote: What thermostat have you got?

78° replacement from repco with 3, 4mm holes drilled in it

byb555 wrote:There is a few things that I would look at trying.
First off, make sure the fans are spinning the correct way. Then try an old thermostat with no guts in it. Last resort would be to have the fans hard wired to a switch.

Had a thermostat with no guts, ran too cold on the highway so put the working one back in. When it had no guts it had the same heating up at low speed problem. Radiator came from Wes's L series and was fine there.

Maybe cheap fans really are shit?

Maybe you could try 1 bigger thermo. I know from other forums that 1 16" thermo will flow more air than 2 10" thermos. Maybe something to try?

Also check for: air in the cooling system - will give the same result as you are describing;
Enough coolant.
Coolant leaks (loss of pressure will lead to overheating)

Hi Mate
Try changing the coolant for a stronger one like 90 grade.
Wire up the fans with a remote switch , but makw sure that there
wired on the ignition side so they dont run when the cars turned off.
A large oil cooler would help.
The thermostat of choice is as low a temp as you can get
remembering it does effect the fueling in the car.
Cheers Pete

Put a genuine themostat in it, aftermarket are just shit for red motors. Is the heater core OK? Core blockages or no heater circuit at all will cause problems.
You don't want to overheat a late engine continuously, the tin foil headgasket won't like it.

The joys of conversions.

Check coolant temp against a thermometer, should run about 95deg
Steve

Which sensor are you using for the dash gauge?
I know there's a separate one for the ECU, but the one for the dash gauge on the EJ's reads a different range to the EA version.
EJ sensor will make the L series gauge read at about 1/4 at operating temp & I think at 3/4 you're well into the red.

Others feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I ended up welding up the hole for the EJ version & adding a bit of meat around it & then drilling & tapping for the L series sensor. This only makes the dash read correct though.

wagonist wrote:Which sensor are you using for the dash gauge?
I know there's a separate one for the ECU, but the one for the dash gauge on the EJ's reads a different range to the EA version.
EJ sensor will make the L series gauge read at about 1/4 at operating temp & I think at 3/4 you're well into the red.

I have an L series sensor in the radiator replacing one of the old fan switches which are no longer required.

wagonist wrote:I ended up welding up the hole for the EJ version & adding a bit of meat around it & then drilling & tapping for the L series sensor. This only makes the dash read correct though.

I don't know how the older EJ's work, but my engine has a sensor which sends signal to both the dash and the ecu - I can't replace it at all.

jzk25 wrote:Put a genuine themostat in it, aftermarket are just shit for red motors. Is the heater core OK? Core blockages or no heater circuit at all will cause problems.
You don't want to overheat a late engine continuously, the tin foil headgasket won't like it.

The joys of conversions.

Al, you wouldn't have a part number for that would you?

What about a VIN to suit an MY99 impreza, the local subaru dealer just stares blankly if you want a part and don't have a VIN...

I need the following bits -
AC Compressor (startin to get hot down this way ) with fittings to weld L ones to.
Set of Plug leads.
Thermostat.

The early EJ's (Mine's a 93) had 2 sensors side by side in the pipe. Makes it easier for me

I got an NA EJ A/C comp when I got my donor car.
It will fit, providing you get the EJ20T brackets that bolt it to the motor. I needed those because of the water/air intercooler pipes. Air/air might not be so picky.
& yes, I've got to get the EJ pipe ends fitted to the L pipes as well yet.

Water pump's ok?

MUDRAT wrote:Water pump's ok?

I'm trying to imagine there is no water pump in there for the moment

Thing is its cool at idle, its cool on the highway, just not at high revs and driving slow - kinda eliminates the pump because it obviously works....

Ok, cos mine was the opposite, you had to rev it to keep it cool.

Haven't verified it against another temp gauge yet I'm assuming?