4A-GE Cooling Systems and Radiators

Translated from Taka8's home page www.86life.com

Even in freeway driving conditions, the high revving 4A-GE runs a bit too hot for our liking... So here's what we came up to address the concern. With ambient temperatures of near 30 degrees in the summer, the engine oil can get to 115 E#8249;C and water at 85E#8249;C. This cannot be good as oils tend to breakdown at only 15 degrees more, which can be reached by hard driving quite easily. To address the problem, we tried to remove the OEM late model Levin grill to see if we could get more air through the front. (note: The USA bumpers also have reduced air flow due to extensive metal surfaces the block the radiator air in exchange for safety and reduced collision damage...another reason one may consider the Japanese and Euro -spec bumpers) Now to the common passerby, this does appear to be a wrecked car with incomplete repairs...haha... But surprisingly, running the car this way reduced the oil temperatures to 109E#8249;C and 76E#8249;C respectively...Wow, just be removing the grill, we lowered the engine temperatures by full 5 to 6E#8249;C ! So going further, we now remove the rubber seal, located at the top of the firewall to see if we can let out more air. Grab it by hand and start yanking...rip...and it was gone. This modification will however make the cabin air intake loaded with hot air and will cause leaks into engine compartment in severe weather... But what the heck, lets try to lower the temperature anyway we can, and for cheap... But Low and behold, the water and oil temperatures decreased by additional 3E#8249;C...success!. At similar conditions as before without the grill and gasket, we now see regular 106 E#8249;C and 76C water temperatures, for a total of 10 degrees. Not bad for free tuning...just by removal of existing parts...though the aesthetics are questionable. At least we know what can be done in even a temporary situation as part time racing or similar duties. As we can see from here, even with 2 core radiators and oversize oil coolers, efficient use of air can really contribute nicely to engines and transmissions.