With summer is getting closer and closer I knew I didn't want to end up in the same situation I did last year, with 1 month before the E30 Picnic and a laundry list of stuff to get done. Not this year, this time I'm getting an early start!
I'd always had issues running the m30 + A/C on + stop-and-go traffic + 90F ambient temps. The 16" Spal fan just wasn't cutting it for airflow with all the heat coming off the condenser added in. I also knew I had a small coolant leak in the heater core as I could smell coolant with the heat on.
My first task was to find out just how much fan I could fit on the engine side of the radiator as a puller. Using the excellent drawings that Spal provides on its website, I made a cardboard mockup of several sizes until I finally settled on a curved-blade 10" model. It will fit right in front of the alternator in the upper left-hand corner of the rad which, conveniently, is also where the 16" pusher doesn't have any overlap (meaning that when I'm not moving, that part of the rad is doing 0 cooling).
Once the fan arrived I was able to test fit it and confirm the clearances. Talk about a tight fit!
Next up was to mount it permanently. I found a great type of zip-tie at the local Napa auto parts. They're listed as parts for an automatic transmission, not sure why :shrug:
Then I had to decide on how I wanted it to be triggered. The 16" pusher is on the 80/88C aux fan switch with a manual override switch in the center console, so I knew I wanted it on the same system. But rather than fork over another $50 for another Spal resistor I decided to only have it run on HIGH and come on at the same time as the other fan. So I ran a new 12V source:
Wired up a relay I had laying around:
I tapped in to the stock aux fan wiring for a trigger, and boom! The 16" pusher comes on at medium speed at 80C, and at 88C both fans come on at high speed. Hopefully this will take care of the issue!
I also had to fix that damn heater core, so I borrowed this sweet Snap-On pressure tester from Austin:
After hooking it up, pumping it to 16psi and checking for leaks I actually found 4! Only one was in the heater core; the other 3 were around hose clamps and coolant hoses in the engine bay. Time for new hose clamps! 3 clamps later and all is well.
Time to get in on the heater core:
I found slightly damp carpet under the core, as the leak was from the end tank and not the core it self, thereby it bypassed the drain system :rage:. After drying the carpet and wrestling the old core out, I popped in the new one and got it all sealed up with new O-rings.
Turn on car, turn on heat, bleed system, add coolant, verify fan operation, etc etc etc:
All is well! Between a 2nd fan and patching those small leaks I think the cooling system is ready for just about anything I can throw at it. Now I just need to detail the engine bay, all that filthy dirty shit around the hood hinges and behind the headlights is driving me mad!!!
I'd always had issues running the m30 + A/C on + stop-and-go traffic + 90F ambient temps. The 16" Spal fan just wasn't cutting it for airflow with all the heat coming off the condenser added in. I also knew I had a small coolant leak in the heater core as I could smell coolant with the heat on.
My first task was to find out just how much fan I could fit on the engine side of the radiator as a puller. Using the excellent drawings that Spal provides on its website, I made a cardboard mockup of several sizes until I finally settled on a curved-blade 10" model. It will fit right in front of the alternator in the upper left-hand corner of the rad which, conveniently, is also where the 16" pusher doesn't have any overlap (meaning that when I'm not moving, that part of the rad is doing 0 cooling).
Once the fan arrived I was able to test fit it and confirm the clearances. Talk about a tight fit!
Next up was to mount it permanently. I found a great type of zip-tie at the local Napa auto parts. They're listed as parts for an automatic transmission, not sure why :shrug:
Then I had to decide on how I wanted it to be triggered. The 16" pusher is on the 80/88C aux fan switch with a manual override switch in the center console, so I knew I wanted it on the same system. But rather than fork over another $50 for another Spal resistor I decided to only have it run on HIGH and come on at the same time as the other fan. So I ran a new 12V source:
Wired up a relay I had laying around:
I tapped in to the stock aux fan wiring for a trigger, and boom! The 16" pusher comes on at medium speed at 80C, and at 88C both fans come on at high speed. Hopefully this will take care of the issue!
I also had to fix that damn heater core, so I borrowed this sweet Snap-On pressure tester from Austin:
After hooking it up, pumping it to 16psi and checking for leaks I actually found 4! Only one was in the heater core; the other 3 were around hose clamps and coolant hoses in the engine bay. Time for new hose clamps! 3 clamps later and all is well.
Time to get in on the heater core:
I found slightly damp carpet under the core, as the leak was from the end tank and not the core it self, thereby it bypassed the drain system :rage:. After drying the carpet and wrestling the old core out, I popped in the new one and got it all sealed up with new O-rings.
Turn on car, turn on heat, bleed system, add coolant, verify fan operation, etc etc etc:
All is well! Between a 2nd fan and patching those small leaks I think the cooling system is ready for just about anything I can throw at it. Now I just need to detail the engine bay, all that filthy dirty shit around the hood hinges and behind the headlights is driving me mad!!!
Comment