cheap heat tricks?

[chesspirate]

Alright, i just purchased my first place and have to move. So instead of living 1 mile from work I now live 30 miles from work in the mountains, so driving home my truck can get a little hot.

I've been thinking of cheap ways of keeping it cooler under the hood, one idea that i've been leaning toward is to install Louvers on my hood, functional ones obviously, so it looks like i'll be spending at least $125 for those, I was just wondering if anybody had any cheap fix ideas.
and don't forget, mine is a first gen with and auto tranny w/shift kit, and the factory towing package.
Thanks for any input, serious or otherwise.

[KODIAKWARRIOR]

i would see about some of that coolant additive that lowers temperatures 40 degrees, that would definatley give you a difference. what thermostat are you running?

[JROD©™®]

that 40 below product made by pro blend only works with water based cooling systems. it creates a water jacket in the combustion chamber lowering the temp. up to 40 degrees. however i did once read about another coolant additive called "water wetter" its made by RedLine,

WaterWetter® is a unique wetting agent for cooling systems which reduces coolant temperatures by as much as 30ºF. This liquid product can be used to provide rust and corrosion protection in plain water for racing engines, which provides much better heat transfer properties than glycol-based antifreeze. Or it can be added to new or used antifreeze to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems. Designed for modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass and bronze systems. Compatible with all antifreezes, including the latest long-life variations.

check their site out here (http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp)

[JROD©™®]

hmmm..i watched that little flash video of the water wetter demo...i may try it out...i idle alot in traffic...them temp usually hovers a notch below 210...wonder if this could be used with prediluted coolant...

[Sparky2263]

Water Wetter works like a champ. In a straight water cooling system ;).

We use it in all our race cars. Does a tremendous job by reducing the surface tension of water allowing it to absorb and shed heat quicker.

One thing to keep in mind is water has about a 25% better ability to absorb and release heat than does antifreeze. By reducing your antifreeze to 10-30% solution your cooling system will do it's job much easier. 'course, come winter time, you gotta bring it back up.

Also, make sure that pressure cap is holding the 16 lbs. it's supposed to.

[chesspirate]

I am running a 195 thermostat right now, kinda have to cause it gets real cool out in the mountains at night. Been talking to another guy about a hood spacer so that the back edge of the hood is raised enough to let out the air from the engine compartment. Anybody tried that before?

[KODIAKWARRIOR]

Been talking to another guy about a hood spacer so that the back edge of the hood is raised enough to let out the air from the engine compartment. Anybody tried that before?

Never tried it before, but it does sound interesting. what about a flex fan or a 4 core radiator. i know that the rad. upgrade wouldnt be cheap, unless you went junk yard hopping.

[Rhansen]

Been talking to another guy about a hood spacer so that the back edge of the hood is raised enough to let out the air from the engine compartment. Anybody tried that before?
I'm using a 1" spacer on mine. It helped my carb (boiling fuel) problem but did nothing for coolant temp. Use water wetter with no antifreeze.

[chesspirate]

where did you get your spacer???

[03 Rado]

Forget the water wetter or anything like that, it doesnt work for over the road. It does shed heat faster than coolant alone, its made for racing and cool down periods, but no where near whats needed to run cooler. As long as you run a tstat with X size radiator, those are your controling factors of how it will run. NOTHING as and additive will make it run any cooler by enough to notice or measure a difference.

[Rhansen]

Got my spacer at the hardware store.
Switching from 50% antifreeze to water wetter w/o any antifreeze is worth 10 degrees every time I do it. Not just 10 deg. at the track between rounds, but on the highway and in the city in my daily driver.

[03 Rado]

Physically cant if it the Tstat and cooling system is doing its job. The only way it "could" run cooler if if you were running no Tstat or it was always beyond the Tstat in range due to cooling system problems.

[JROD©™®]

physically it can't but how bout chemically... ;-)

[HenryJ]

I believe that the stock cooling systems in the V-6 equiped S-series are undersized for the hotter climates.
This is where the Water Wetter shows such a difference. It improves the coolants properties allowing for a better transfer of heat.
The thermostat does control the temperature to the point it has an open flow, then it merely restricts the flow allowing the coolant more time in the radiator to transfer heat.
I believe that increasing the core volume , not only allows the coolant more time to transfer, but also increases the surface area for dissapation.
The additive helps in the latter.
If you want to visualize what happens by adding a surface tension reducer, put a drop of water on the counter. It beads up in a ball on the countertop. Now get a dab of dishwashing liquid on your fingertip and touch the droplet on the counter. The soap reduces the surface tension of the water and it spreads across the counter. It now has contact with a greater surface area, and transfers better due to the reduction in surface tension. Much like having a water balloon on the table and taking away the balloon. One less obstacle to insulate between them.
The larger core volume is going to be hard to beat for improved cooling. Make sure that you can move the air as well. The engine driven fans move more air than do electrics. A good shroud and properly spaced fan should do the job. Adding a pusher can be done to assist at low speeds if needed. If it stays cool on the highway, airflow is where you must concentrate (fan). If it has a hard time staying cool at highway speeds you may need to increase the system capacity. Keep the frontend open and giving it a place to exhaust is not a bad idea too. My cowl induction hood seems to help some at slow speeds.

[03 Rado]

physically it can't but how bout chemically... ;-)

Henry summed it up, larger radiator. The water wetter may allow more transfer of heat within the radiator, but ours is sized and most are today, the time within the radiator cooling is not long enough for something of this nature to really get a good hold on to work. You might if you added a thermostat within the radiator itself see a few degrees cooler before the stat opens up again and flushes.
This stuff is for water users and not so much coolant users since newer coolants have the same properties of this water wetter.

[chesspirate]

I figure that going to a 180 Tstat will be the cheapest way to go, is there anything I might run into on my first Gen when I make the switch?? Years ago I ran a 160 for a couple of months no prob (at least that I could tell) and then my mechanic practically forced me to take it out, (it was his truck first and he is a big factory fan). Anyway, 180???

[Nodragginframe]

Hood scoops will lower the temp some. You could try to use an electric fan in conjunction w/ the clutch fan?!

[chesspirate]

okay, maybee a stupid question, but i've forgotten. When adding just water to the radiator i'm not supposed to use tap water i'm pretty sure, but what do i use? Sorry, dumb question... (still need the answer though)

[03 Rado]

Distilled

[Hammer]

my xtreme doesn't really stay as cool at highway speeds as my first gen did. if figure the grill opening is too small and the air dam pushes air away from underneath and then it won't come up from under.

bigger radiator is probably the solution, imo.
where do you get bigger ones that will fit in a stock setup

[03 Rado]

Jags that run carries V-8 swap radiators and also a local rad shop can remake yours with and extra core. Either way its under 200!

[Hammer]

what are ours, 2 core? and can you get them in aluminum?

[HenryJ]

Extra Capacity Replacement Radiator (http://www.s-10crewcab.com/og1/modinfo/rad/rad.htm) from the S-10CREWCAB.COM website (http://www.s-10crewcab.com/og1/crewcab.htm)

Mine cost $100 after selling my stock radiator. They retail for $150-$200.