Plugging off coolant.....

[jayfotos]

I'm about to drop my truck off to the shop pretty soon and I was thinking of (being I'm in AZ) plugging off the coolant line to the intake manifold or "skipping" over it....good idea?

I'm trying any means nessasary to keep things cooler, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks- Jay

[Ldub]

Intake manifold or throttle body?

[jayfotos]

Sorry, ment thottle body.

[Ldub]

I put a ball valve inline on mine. Open it in the winter, close it in the summer.It gets a little cooler up here don'cha know by golly den.

[jayfotos]

That, my man it a great idea.....where can I get one? I have a Jeg's catalog, having a hard time finding it.

[Ldub]

I...uh, just went down to the hardware store, plumbing aisle & got the biggest brass 1/4 turn ball valve that I thought would fit inside the hose...1 cut & 2 hoseclamps later...
My memory isn't the greatest, is yours the one w/ the steel braided hoses?,If so my hillBilly engineering probably will need some refinment (fittings etc.)

Ldub

[jayfotos]

Yea, steel braided. Ya know if they would make them in s/steel or alum?

[volume311]

I did that some time ago. Get vacuum caps to plug the coolant ports on the throttle body.Don't remember the size though.

[Ldub]

Jay,
Try these guys: www.plumbingsupply.com go to valves on homepage,stainless steel fittings on nxt.,& quality ball valves on nxt.
You're on your own as far as size & fittings, Good Luck,Ldub

[Triathlete]

While crawling along at slow speeds through the Az desert on summer wheeling trips I have never had any overheating problems (even with the A/C on). The little needle never gets much higher than half way.

[jayfotos]

While crawling along at slow speeds through the Az desert on summer wheeling trips I have never had any overheating problems (even with the A/C on). The little needle never gets much higher than half way.

Are you running with a SC? After installing the SC on hot days, sitting in traffic the needle start's rising. That's why I'm going with and electric fan as well.
Also add in heat soak from the engine, cutting off that coolent is a no brainer.

[Triathlete]

Nope, no S/C.

[Dallas4u]

Plugging the coolant line through the TB is an old trick to get an extra horse or two, thinking the hot coolant would heat up the TB to warm the car up a bit in cooler temps... but eventually the hot TB would make the air hot inside it, making the engine suck in hotter air. How much extra power you really get out of it, who knows...

I can tell you that I did have an SC and I did have the coolant lines plugged into and out of the TB. You just route the line going into the TB from the engine over to where it goes back into the engine from the TB, then plug off the holes into and out of the TB with vacuum plugs, or whatever works. I did this with the VX and have done it with almost every other car I have owned... mentally, you think you feel a difference. Whether you really do or not, who knows.

I changed the lines back over to stock when I sold it.

[Tone]

Simply get a barb fitting to join the two 3/8" pieces of hose together after you disconnect from the TB. Remove the barb when winter comes if you need to and connect back to the TB. Ports on TB don't have to be covered but look better with either the black rubber vacuum covers or a short piece of 3/8" tubing looped behind the TB joining the two ends.

Triathlete - good luck with the electric running cooler than stock - I tried two different shrouded, dual high flow flow fans to pull through the radiator and could not keep it below the stock running temps and consistently ran hotter. There was also a lot of noise and some vibration. A push fan on the outside might be more efficient but there is less room there. I also saw no increase in power with the fan removed. Please let us know how it works out for you though.

Running in 90+ temps with the AC on and a proper mix of 1 year old coolant, never causes a significant rise in tempo. Proper coolant mix and regular replacement is IMPERATIVE for the radiator working efficiently. I have seen a decrease in temps using WaterWetter or the equivalent Royal Purple coolant additive.

[jayfotos]

Talking with my shop guy(and a few other people) I'm just pluging off the line all together.
With 110+ weather coming soon I want to try any means nessasary to keep things cooler. I'm bringing my truck to the shop pretty soon(waiting for the fan), having the coolant flushed, adding 40 Below coolant additive and swaping out the radiator hoses with some chrome bling bling, should look nice with the custom alumium fan cover/shroud.