Engine Cooling, what works?

[arlowf]

So I have a 4.3 that apparently was bored over (conformed) .060.

The main issue with that is apparently heat; if I can keep it all cold it'll run smooth and last longer.

What can I get to cool my engine heads/pistons more than stock?

 

[Yav8]

Whats wrong with stock. New stock radiator should work just fine for your application. The old radiator might be on its last legs because of age. New ones are cheap, check on ebay or your local parts store.

 

[MrSony]

Running too cold can cause long term wear and foul spark plugs. ideal temp for an internal combustion engine is 180f-200f coolant temp. Especially for a stock tbi(?) engine. maybe even a bit warmer. just a good factory setup in working order is fine.

 

[ELCAM]

It might be cheaper to get another block and pistons and build a different engine rather than trying to cool an engine with too thin cylinder walls.

If core shift is too much you might also find that .060 over cylinder walls are not stable at high RPMs.

 

[arlowf]

I'm getting the engage swapped in 60 days. But I need it to not blow on me before then. I was hoping to get some tips like oil weight, or some bolt on, or some trick to keep cylinder walls from over heating until then. I know nothing about bored cylinder head stability other than people have done this and gotten away with it without issues. I didn't do it, I bought it like this.
So a performance radiator? How about an intercooler? I'm suggesting those two things because they would survive across engine swaps.

 

[ELCAM]

Just some ideas.

Oil cooler.
Big a** radiator.
Pusher fan in front of the radiator.
Better water pump if there is such a thing.
Water injection.

 

[arlowf]

Just some ideas.

Oil cooler.
Big a** radiator.
Pusher fan in front of the radiator.
Better water pump if there is such a thing.
Water injection.

Those are all good ideas I just don't know which is the best for this particular issue. My first guess is radiator.

 

[1KWIKSIX]

Here’s another suggestion

FlowKooler Hi Flow Water Pumps

FlowKooler pumps patented impeller designs help stop engines from overheating and reduces engine temperature up to 30 degrees by doubling the flow of coolant and building system pressure.

flowkoolerwaterpumps.com

 

[565bbchevy]

In your other post you said you were installing a 5.7 with a 700R4 so I would be planning the cooling for that engine instead

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

The ideal operating temperature for long engine life is 200-210 degrees. More complete combustion, less combustion byproducts to sludge the engine up. Chevy 4.3s cylinders wear more oblong than a V8 due to the split pin crank that even fire V6s use. Also the front two cylinders on 4.3s are known to wear faster because they are cooled more than the other 4. Too cold increases wear and promotes sludge.

If you are planning on swapping in a V8 later on, it makes sense to install a V8 radiator now, a 2 row aluminum rad should be adequate. If you are using a mechanical fan you will want a V6 shroud for now.

Here is a handy formula I posted in another thread. If you know the amount of fuel your engine will consume, then you can figure out how many BTUs that will produce and compute the expected waste heat through the radiator. Then choose a radiator by its BTU rating. One pound of gasoline produces 19,000 BTUs per minute. One gallon of gasoline weighs 5.92 pounds, so 5.92 x 19,000 = 112,480 BTUs per minute. So GPM X 112,480 ÷ 1/3 should give you a ballpark figure. 1/3 of the energy (BTUs) in gasoline goes out the radiator as waste heat, another 1/3 out as heat in the exhaust, only 1/3 is left to do work, and some of that bleeds off to operate the engine and accessories so less than 1/3 to propel the car 😢.