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Has anyone done any cooling system improvements or alterations to their engine? Have you had any success?
Background Story: When offroading hard up in the mountains in the summer time my 2.8L was getting hot to the point I would have to pull over and let it cool off. The rad is new and built with larger dimpled tubes and more fins. Keep in mind I have no clue what the water passages in the block are like since I have not had the heads off the engine to look. However frequent coolant changes did not yield any sediment.
So I am building my 3.2L (Still, got the wrong pistons waiting on new ones) and got to pondering the modifications mentioned in the Chevy power manual. One section mentions slightly enlarging the water passages in the head gaskets. However one paragraph above it mentions "for endurance racing engines" but does not specify if they are talking about this modification. So I am wondering if anyone has tried it on the street. The other modification involved enlarging the water pump inlet which I think I will try. For comparison can anyone measure 3400 head gasket water holes for me?
One other thing I was looking at is 4 corner cooling. For example on the 4.3L is has coolant passages from the head to the thermostat which are cast into the intake manifold. However it also has passages, which are slightly smaller, coming from the back coolant ports of the cylinder head, that merger into the thermostat area aswell. On the 60 degree iron head RWD motors these ports are just blocked and water is forced through the front of the head. My modification would be to tap the manifold in the rear for tubes that lead to the front water passages. I have noticed on a lot of engine builds this type of modification is becoming more and more mainstream.
So any thoughts?
Background Story: When offroading hard up in the mountains in the summer time my 2.8L was getting hot to the point I would have to pull over and let it cool off. The rad is new and built with larger dimpled tubes and more fins. Keep in mind I have no clue what the water passages in the block are like since I have not had the heads off the engine to look. However frequent coolant changes did not yield any sediment.
So I am building my 3.2L (Still, got the wrong pistons waiting on new ones) and got to pondering the modifications mentioned in the Chevy power manual. One section mentions slightly enlarging the water passages in the head gaskets. However one paragraph above it mentions "for endurance racing engines" but does not specify if they are talking about this modification. So I am wondering if anyone has tried it on the street. The other modification involved enlarging the water pump inlet which I think I will try. For comparison can anyone measure 3400 head gasket water holes for me?
One other thing I was looking at is 4 corner cooling. For example on the 4.3L is has coolant passages from the head to the thermostat which are cast into the intake manifold. However it also has passages, which are slightly smaller, coming from the back coolant ports of the cylinder head, that merger into the thermostat area aswell. On the 60 degree iron head RWD motors these ports are just blocked and water is forced through the front of the head. My modification would be to tap the manifold in the rear for tubes that lead to the front water passages. I have noticed on a lot of engine builds this type of modification is becoming more and more mainstream.
So any thoughts?
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