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Old Jul 14, 2004
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Better cooling fans/radiator?

Has anyone installed better radiator fans or a better radiator to compensate for the intercooler? I keep heating up too much at a stop light and then it cools back down as soon as I drive... the stock fans just don't pull enough air through the intercooler/ac/radiator to keep it as cool as stock. If you put your hand behind the fan on mine vs. my friend's stock Civic you can tell a lot less air is coming through, so that's definately the problem.

I know Dezod sells a Koyo radiator and FAL has fans that will fit our car that push 3x or 4x the air that the stock units do, just wanted to get some opinions from anyone with a turbo and intercooler that has had to do this upgrade.
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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C2i0v0i1C had a radiator installed, but i can't remember which one. I know his shop had to make custom brackets. It might have been a fluidyne but not sure. PM him.......he isn't on too much anymore, but he will get it soon.
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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Originally Posted by RiceBurnrEX
Has anyone installed better radiator fans or a better radiator to compensate for the intercooler? I keep heating up too much at a stop light and then it cools back down as soon as I drive...
blown head gasket
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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I've seen fluidyne radiators on older model civics that only take up half the space. I was wondering if one of those would fit and still be efficient in keeping things cool.
I'll look into later but i dont think anyone or many of us at that have gotten to your level where we might need one. You I think you still have the most money invested in your kit...MAdwheel should be close::
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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Originally Posted by aznboysrfr
blown head gasket
No.

Blown head gasket would mean the car would eat coolant, which it is not. There would also be some mixing of coolant and oil, none of which has happened. It would also mean a constant overheating, not only overheating whenever the car is not moving quickly on a very hot day.

It's the same symptoms as fans not working because they can not move enough air through the additional restriction of the intercooler to the radiator.

Speedracer32- The half size fluidyne radiator would probably not be enough, a lot of the 5th gen civic guys have to upgrade to full across radiators when they go turbo. Would be nice for engine bay space though.
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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hmm...well i eliminated my AC so i haven't been having any problems
but my new intercooler will be in the same spot as yours
hopefully i want have any problems.
Ima actually going to look into this somemore...I haven't seen any threads relating to this topic
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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If you removed your a/c condensor, you may not have as much problem as me, since that's one less restriction. Mine only does it on days over 92 or so degrees, but right now, that's constant here.
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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my gets hot on the freeway but it goes down when its stop and go or when my car is stop.
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Old Jul 14, 2004
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Is it only hotter after you've been in boost for a little while (as in getting on the freeway) or from just regularly driving it on the freeway, cruising along?

If it is warmer after just cruising normally out of boost... that may be another problem. At freeway speeds the airflow should be good enough to keep everything cool; maybe you are running low on coolant or have a bad thermostat/thermosensor? Just a few things to check, since that sounds like a different problem than what we're talking about here.

But if it only happens after a run in boost or when you push it hard... yeah, mine does that as well. Everytime I get on the freeway using high boost it gets a little warmer and then cools back down about a minute later while cruising on the highway.
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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yea i had the same problems as all of you listed above. happened once i fixed it. happened again. I fixed it. it was the headgasket.

but ne way. dezod sells a radiator for us its very nice and im bout to order one myself. check it out on his website.
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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so what are the symptoms of a blown headgasket?


<--- not blown just curious
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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^^^^
Originally Posted by RiceBurnrEX
No.

Blown head gasket would mean the car would eat coolant, which it is not. There would also be some mixing of coolant and oil, none of which has happened.
Should be a nasty smell and smoke also
Oil is white and engine/coolant is blue???
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Koyo makes a radiator for the 5spd 7thgens.

http://www.dezod.com/cat_radiators1.cfm
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Originally Posted by Hatorade
yea i had the same problems as all of you listed above. happened once i fixed it. happened again. I fixed it. it was the headgasket.

but ne way. dezod sells a radiator for us its very nice and im bout to order one myself. check it out on his website.
Riceburnerex: told ya.
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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The headgasket is not blown, I already checked that theory out, and the car does not have any of the symptoms except overheating at a stop, which is the same symptom as inefficient fans.

I’ve had a car with a blown headgasket, and it ate lots of coolant, blew smoke that smelled really bad, and there was oil in the coolant and vice versa. It also overheated all the time. My car is doing none of this. It only heats up on a hot day at a stoplight, if I drive it that same night when it is cooler, the car does not heat up at all.

Just for you to try… find a friend with a stock Civic like ours and put your hand behind the fans while they are both running and feel the air flow. Then do it on yours. You’ll feel a lot less air come through with your car, and that is what is causing my problems.

Anyways, Dezod: do you carry FAL fans, and if so, do you have an application for an 01 Civic EX?
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Originally Posted by RiceBurnrEX
The headgasket is not blown, I already checked that theory out, and the car does not have any of the symptoms except overheating at a stop, which is the same symptom as inefficient fans.

I’ve had a car with a blown headgasket, and it ate lots of coolant, blew smoke that smelled really bad, and there was oil in the coolant and vice versa. It also overheated all the time. My car is doing none of this. It only heats up on a hot day at a stoplight, if I drive it that same night when it is cooler, the car does not heat up at all.
I currently have the SAME problem and have a blown headgasket. I blew it racing a modded STi and my car began to overheat. It never overheated until my turbo's final race (speaking of going out with a bang...), which amazingly my turbo won. But then there began my overheating problems.

My friend Josh has a turbo 01 dx and is also currently having the same problem and also blew his headgasket (running 12psi... WITHOUT alcohol ). I -was- turbo, but had too many problems I didn't want to deal with so that is why I am now n/a. btw, I was only running 7-7.5 psi. I think I may have blown it because my alcohol switch failed
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Just finished installing two new FAL fans to replace the stock fans, drained and refilled with 1/3 coolant 2/3 water, and the problem has gone away. It's about 97 degrees here right now and I just drove it around for 30 min including a lot of idling, and the temp gauge never moved a bit.

These things move a LOT of air even through the intercooler, a/c condensor, and then radiator... and I'm going to wire up manual switches to both fans just in case I need it at the track.

Doesn't look like I'll need to replace the radiator just yet.
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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how much that run yah??
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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I bought them used from a friend who abandoned a project car he had, so that only set me back $75 total.

I have no idea what they are retail.
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Originally Posted by aznboysrfr
I currently have the SAME problem and have a blown headgasket. I blew it racing a modded STi and my car began to overheat. It never overheated until my turbo's final race (speaking of going out with a bang...), which amazingly my turbo won. But then there began my overheating problems.

My friend Josh has a turbo 01 dx and is also currently having the same problem and also blew his headgasket (running 12psi... WITHOUT alcohol ). I -was- turbo, but had too many problems I didn't want to deal with so that is why I am now n/a. btw, I was only running 7-7.5 psi. I think I may have blown it because my alcohol switch failed

i ran 12psi with no fuel system cuz my pump failed without me knowing it........and my car is fine.......for now
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Originally Posted by RiceBurnrEX
Just finished installing two new FAL fans to replace the stock fans, drained and refilled with 1/3 coolant 2/3 water, and the problem has gone away. It's about 97 degrees here right now and I just drove it around for 30 min including a lot of idling, and the temp gauge never moved a bit.

These things move a LOT of air even through the intercooler, a/c condensor, and then radiator... and I'm going to wire up manual switches to both fans just in case I need it at the track.

Doesn't look like I'll need to replace the radiator just yet.
you had to custom fit these correct????
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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i got a C&R radiator, and it came with a fan, and that radiator is a half size, but its twice as thick, first time around , i had a stock radiator with an electric flexalite fan
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Old Jul 15, 2004
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Anyone have a model number on the FAL fans? How was your install? Did you have to fabricate any parts?
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Old Jul 16, 2004
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I used the 190B FAL fans. They're made for the Ford Focus, but there are a lot of focus guys here and one decided to abandon his project... so they were cheap. Had to trim a little bit of the shroud material but they fit perfectly, used .25" thick 1" wide aluminum I got from the local hardware store for the mounts.

Plus side on these fans, they come with their own temperature sensors and you can select the temperature you want them to activate at, as well as easily wiring in a manual fan switch and connecting the wires for the A/C activation. Or you can use the stock wiring if you want the ECU to control the fans completely.
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Old Jul 16, 2004
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damn about to goto pepboys and get their 60 $ special and throw a new one in there...
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Old Jul 16, 2004
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If you're going to Pepboys for replacement fans, check the CFM rating of the fans. FAL's usually flow quite a bit more air than regular cooling fans and are usually thinner overall than stock style fans.
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Old Jul 16, 2004
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sounds hot. i might have to get me a set.
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Old Jul 17, 2004
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u know i checked and Compaired My car to my friends 02 ex.... My air , (when the fan is on) not the a/c fan either.... my **** flows just as much... and its TWICE as cold as his stock 02 ex.
maybe u just had defective oem fans, cause even with my FMIC there is no difference on my car-
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Old Jul 17, 2004
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The OEM fans worked fine, that's the first thing I tested when I started overheating.

How thick is your intercooler, and is it tube-fin or bar-plate? It can make a really big difference in how much air can come through the intercooler.

One thing I never did find out before that may be related to this... do the SF kits have any kind of heat insulation on the downpipe or turbo itself, or a heat shield? Mine has none, and I think that's part of the reason the radiator gets so warm.
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Old Sep 28, 2004
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I just installed a Koyo radiator...it cured my overheating problems.... SLP (streetlevelperformance)
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