Another L-series overheating

jsubie · Post by **jsubie** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:43 pm

Yep another one! The radiator on my L-series was shot and I do mean shot, it would get warm on hot day and I wouldn't be able to us the air-con, so this week I bought a new one ( could only get auto model *has 2 extra outlets*) I had no trouble fitting it ( you can ignore the extra outlets) I also replaced the thermostat. So both the thermo fans are working correctly car runs well the temp is good until I turn the air-con on then it take 10 mins to push the temp up to boiling point and I have noticed that the overflow bottle fills up and the pressure builds up at the same time as the temp. The overflow bottle seems to work normal when the air-con is switch off. What has the air-con got to do with the temp except for the extra work for the engine?

DODelaney · Post by **DODelaney** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:52 pm

mine has the two extra outlets also !!
i was thinkin it was for a auto set up but wasnt sure
thanks for clearing that up for me

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:57 pm

Not much really, but maybe the little extra work is the straw that breaks the camels back? What does your coolant look like, and at what point on the gauge to both fans come on? Do both fans start when A/C is switched on regardless of temp?

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:58 pm

Air con works by extracting the heat out of the air inside the cabin. That heat is absorbed by the refrigerant in the air con system and is pumped to the air con condensor at the front of the car where the heat dissipates.

Because the air con condensor is mounted infront of the engine radiator, any heat given off by the air con condensor blows right into the engine radiator, reducing its ability to remove the heat from the engine.

Is there a lot of grass seeds and dirt blocking the air con condensor's core? That will effect air flow through the radiator.

How old is your water pump, the impeller could be worn and not pumping propperly

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:06 pm

having the air conds condensor set up in front of the radiator as they all are, takes a bit of the cooling edge off things for the radiator. As for a/c sapping power...I couldn't believe yesterday - in the GLTA, a/c on and I am accelerating into a 100kph zone and turned off the a/c for a bit more zip and it a few seconds to switch off for some reason? and then holy cow ! I went from 110 to about 125 in no time flat. Running a serviced radiator, new thermostat and tranny cooler lonesome , my temp gauge won't move above quarter. I hear elec fan cut in and out but no change in the gauge. Running viscous and elec fan.

jsubie · Post by **jsubie** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:18 pm

SUBYDAZZ wrote:Not much really, but maybe the little extra work is the straw that breaks the camels back? What does your coolant look like, and at what point on the gauge to both fans come on? Do both fans start when A/C is switched on regardless of temp?

Normally the fans come on just above half way but when A/C is turn on they both start up.

jsubie · Post by **jsubie** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:23 pm

I will check the A/C condenser core and I don't know how old the water pump is so I will change that as well.

What if I place a fan on the front of the condenser core? *is this just stupid*

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:30 am

No , far from stupid . Virtually all manufacturers now have the AC condenser fan/s in front of it so that the AC works when the vehicle is stationary .

There is a real chance that if the condenser core is getting hot and the air from it flowing through the radiator that cooling capacity is markedly reduced . Had I kept AC on my RX I would have had two elec fans in front of the condenser core and taken steps to prevent any air flowing out sideways between the condenser and radiator cores .

I'd say Subaru designed the AC L's with the extra fan to increase the engines cooling capacity but had they thought a bit more about how to cool the condenser they could have killed two birds with the one stone .

Power taken to drive the AC compressor - you better believe it . Its very noticable when the donk doesn't make much to start with and more so when its got a zillion miles on it .

Cheers A .

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:00 am

Having a fan on the rear side still cools the AC condensor. It draws air through, the air has to come from somewhere - it comes from the front of the car and gets drawn through the AC condensor and then the radiator.
I can't see any reason why this wouldn't also work when the car is stationary.

Having the fans on the rear also means you get more airflow from the wind when you are moving. With the fans on the front, they block airflow themselves just by being there - the surface area of the middle part of the fan does this, air has to go around it.

I think the fan configuration on the L series is perfectly fine and the best upgrade (fan wise) is simply to replace the fans with more powerful ones.

Obviously a much better upgrade is to get a custom dual core made up, or customise the bottom radiator support to fit a Liberty radiator.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:58 pm

For all those interested, i'm just about to leave to drop an L radiator off to aussie desert coolers to see what they can make up.

So if anyone's after an L radiator, they'll have a template to work from to make what you want.

I'll get back to you as to how it goes.

Bennie

Leaving now