supercharger overheating

[spitfire5454]

good news is i found and fixed the gas leak i was having. the bad news is now that i can drive it i find that its getting very hot. It is hot as hell down here in south texas. just driving around town i notice it gets just before the red. Technically, its still in normal range, but its on the very upper end of it. One problem that may be making this bad, is that my supercharger wasnt made to use the egr, which is supposed to lower temps by recycleing exhaust. Is there any damage that can be done by runnning it at high temps as long as its not in the red. by the way, ive checked all the usuals (fluids, radiator, etc). How do the temps run for you other supercharged guys run in the summer. thanks!

[WormGod]

Oh ya, heat will most certainly damage components over extended use. I wasnt aware that there was even a S/C designed for us that did not utilize the EGR. Seems to me that you would be doing nothing but staring at the big, ugly CEL the whole time.

Sounds like a good thing you fixed the fuel leak, cause who knows how long before that leak and that heat would turn your VX into a smoldering shell.

Has to be something you can do to resolve the EGR. I don't know that it is 100% of the problem but it certainly does have enough bearing on the heat issue. Really hard to say without being able to see this thing and get up in the guts of it. :confused:

[newthings]

Where was the gas leak?
Roy

[etlsport]

i remember reading here somewhere that someone was able to get a kit to utilize the EGR from alpine.. not sure who said that though or what the circumstances were

did you try checking your fan? its pretty common for the fan clutch to go.. mine started to heat up when my fan clutch was going

[VehiGAZ]

Your coolant level may be good, but it may be old or the radiator may be plugged up somewhere.

[spitfire5454]

ok, so I'm still overheating after checking everything. I'm convinced its the lack of the Egr. I've come to the conclusion that I just need to add it. My egr block has the threaded output for the tube. So all I need to do is take a tube thread one end, put a flange on the other, drill a
Hole in the back of the s/c intake and attach it. I've never seen one with hole in the back of the manifold. Is there any thing special I'm missing here? Thanks .

[Ldub]

:_wrench:

I hope this helps...the EGR tube is the one held on with three allen head bolts.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/vac_routing.jpg

[WormGod]

Ugh, EGR + S/C = headaches.

The position of it makes it, in my book, the most difficult area to reach on the VX. Be prepared to cut your hands up and to have a box load of patience ready. It was one thing putting a prefab in, but from scratch, I don't envy you, heh.

Good luck man. :cool:

[spitfire5454]

yeah. It doesn't seem that hard. What's gonna be a pain in the *** is just taking the whole thing off to drill and tap the holes. At least I'll be able to finally get that cel light off! I'm also gonna put new O-rings in just to be sure I'm not leaking there! I'll post some pics when I'm done

[Ldub]

Remember to order some new intake gaskets from Merlin BEFORE you tear it down...:smilewink

[spitfire5454]

do you really think new intake gaskets are necessary? I put new ones on when i put the S/C on about 2000 miles ago. Also, the instructions (and i use the term loosely) say to use sealant where the egr tube meets the supercharger. What did you guys use? I figured it would have to be able to deal with the high temps. Thanks!

[Ldub]

do you really think new intake gaskets are necessary? I put new ones on when i put the S/C on about 2000 miles ago. Also, the instructions (and i use the term loosely) say to use sealant where the egr tube meets the supercharger. What did you guys use? I figured it would have to be able to deal with the high temps. Thanks!

I just like new gaskets, every time...I'm funny that way.:smilewink

My reasoning is: they aren't THAT expensive, & you already know how much fun it is to R & R the S/C if it turns out that you wish you had used new...:sighwgray

I use black Hi-Temp RTV (permatex I think, can't remember if sensor safe)

[johnnyapollo]

I used Permatex - if you don't you'll smell the fumes in the cabin.

I had elevated engine bay temps but this stopped when I installed the cold air intake - the external air to the filter made a huge difference.

-- John

[WormGod]

Like John, I used a hi-heat Permatex as well. And ya, it's a good thing you picked up some new O-rings. I lucked out and mine were all still in good condition and didnt tear, so I re-used them. Had a bag of new spares on-hand in case.

May as well get some new coolant too. A fresh flush never hurts. Hell, you gotta drain down anyways.

Oh, and I am sure you know, but clean the plenum very well after drilling. Metal shavings BAD. ;)

Good luck and have fun. :)

EDIT: Damn John, seeing your post just reminded me.... I forgot all about those pillar covers! I'll holler at my mom tonight (since they are in her garage, heh) and see if she can ship them out to ya. I still got your info. Sorry.

[johnnyapollo]

Hey Gary,

Not a biggie - figured you'd get around to them eventually.

-- John

[Rene M]

Some food for thought.
I have run charges down here for years and can tell you that the egr will not help much but the fuel mileage on long closed loop runs. It will do very little for the heat problem.
A VX has a big problem.. big motor very small bay, now add a charger which is aluminum which will pick up under the hood temp....

I have had luck with only three things..

1) run fat in the summer time. " Do not go and pig out!" I mean run rich on fuel raise the fuel pressure and this will hurt the pocket but save motor and charger wear.
2) install a lower t stat for summer " which will also cause a fat fuel situation.

3) install a charger cooler and tick-tock oil pump assm to drop charger temps.
Not cheep but very effective.

The most important thing!
back the timing off as well to prevent a piston melt down or a pre detonation situation.

[Ldub]

Some food for thought.
I have run charges down here for years and can tell you that the egr will not help much but the fuel mileage on long closed loop runs. It will do very little for the heat problem.
A VX has a big problem.. big motor very small bay, now add a charger which is aluminum which will pick up under the hood temp....

I have had luck with only three things..

1) run fat in the summer time. " Do not go and pig out!" I mean run rich on fuel raise the fuel pressure and this will hurt the pocket but save motor and charger wear.
2) install a lower t stat for summer " which will also cause a fat fuel situation.

3) install a charger cooler and tick-tock oil pump assm to drop charger temps.
Not cheep but very effective.

The most important thing!
back the timing off as well to prevent a piston melt down or a pre detonation situation.

What are your thoughts on going one heat range cooler on the spark plugs?...:_wrench:

[Rene M]

The problem with a cooler plug is that there just are not that many available and the individual coil packs are designed for a resistance which will change with a cooler plug there by causing and over fuel when it thinks the plug is fouled. Then the plug does foul out and the idle goes to hell etc.
I tried it a few times with not much luck. others may feel different.:)