Coolant "Water Wetters"

SS Crew · July 17, 2006

I tow my boat (5000 lbs.) through the desert in 110+ degree heat it does fine, it stays at about 200 degrees until I hit the hills and holding the speed at 75 mph, it'll downshift to 3rd, but the coolant temp rises up to 240. I'm still 20 degrees from the overheating according to the guage, but I still don't like seeing the coolant temps that high. This is why I was wondering if adding something like the Hyperlube Supercoolant or the Red Line or Royal Purple "water wetters" will help in this situation and lower my temps under these conditions.

Frozen001 · July 17, 2006

2 words... slow down....

mannymach1 · July 17, 2006

The wetters are only good for 10 degrees max. It will help you a little, but not enough to make the huge difference you need. I noticed that you had a westers hot tune. Have you tried running the motor on the factory tune in those conditions? ....and like Frozen001 said, slowdown to 65 MPH.

ken1mod · July 17, 2006

I will add my two words too.

Slow down. I tow my 3200 lb boat in Phoenix in the summer and the temps never exceed 220. But I slow down on steep grades. Soft pedaling really works.

ken

jwalker · July 17, 2006

You might want to try a few simple things to start.

1. Have your cooling system checked by a professional, & have it flushed & filled. There may be a air pocket in the system that is causing the higher temps.

2. Have your raditor professionally cleaned. You wouldnt believe how much crap gets stuck in your radiator/AC condenser.

3. Water Wetter products, 40 below, & any JB products works better with running water only in your cooling system. These products work with anti freeze, but are mainly designed to be used with water.

4. If all else fails, you could purge your system of antifreeze for the summer & run a mixture of 100% water with one of the aforementioned products. Why you ask? Anti-freeze holds in heat significantly more so than water, which makes your cooling system slow to react to temp changes. I noticed a drop in temps on our circle track car of 30 degrees by switching to straight water. If you want more info, google the topic & you'll see quite a bit of info.

ken1mod · July 17, 2006

running water alone is a mistake. the corrosion inhibitors are important and all the sensors are calibrated for the greatly increased boiling point of antifreeze mix.

Water alone does move heat better but there is more involved in this system than just that.

You might also have a problem with local hot spots in the head boiling and locally overheating because of steam formation.

Use the correct mix.

Ken

dewfpo · July 17, 2006

2 words... slow down....

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Ditto......

DEWFPO

Nice rig · July 18, 2006

Slow it down and let the tranny do it's job.

SS Crew · July 18, 2006

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, yeah, I know I need to slow down on those hills. I don't know where everyone thought that I wasn't running coolant, I'm running the DexCool stuff that the factory recommends. It was replaced last November when they replaced the water pump. I was just hoping that adding some of the water wetter stuff would help the coolant dissapate more heat.

Tree_Hugger · July 18, 2006

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, yeah, I know I need to slow down on those hills. I don't know where everyone thought that I wasn't running coolant, I'm running the DexCool stuff that the factory recommends. It was replaced last November when they replaced the water pump. I was just hoping that adding some of the water wetter stuff would help the coolant dissapate more heat.

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It might help, but if it does, it'll probable help pick up more heat from the block, and make the coolant temperature higher. Rmemebr the sensor is reading the coolant temperature...

That would still mean you're cooling better, but you're cooling adequately right now, it's only the sensor reading that's got you worried...

C & A s Dad · July 18, 2006

I cannot speak for all "water wetters" but I will speak for Kool It by Lubegard. Lubegard is known for it's trans supplements but they make a rad additive called Kool it and it is recommended by Modine Radiator co. The co. I work for sells it and I use it and believe in it. It will only drop your temps by a few degrees but more importantly, it is designed to help eliminate Elextrolisis which is a major enemy of any modern cooling system.

Check out the product on their website fro more info.

autopat · July 18, 2006

I'll agree with the slow down thing, but the Redline Water Wetter will drop your temps up to 30 degrees. I just sold my '94 Z28, when I bought it in the summer of '98 (in PHX), it ran between 220 and 240 all the time, and it would spike past that if you so much as blipped the throttle. I've talked to lots of other 4th gen f-body owners, and they all say; yep they run hot, nothing you can do about it. I took it upon myself to fix it. Fast forward; summer of '99, now with lots of mods (mostly bolt-on), hot tune, ran a best of 12.93 @ 114mph, yeah traction was a problem! The car stays rock solid at 180 with the air blasting at 115 degrees outside, I even had some of my dealership tech buddies asking what I did to it. I completely flushed the system, ran a 25% coolant (Dexcool, at that!), 75% water, with water wetter, installed a 160 t-stat, and adjusted the fan switch accordingly, no more overheating! I've been using it in all of my vehicles ever since! It makes a huge difference in how fast the temp recovers, Just follow the directions exactly, it tells you right on the package to run 25% coolant for the lubrication of the water pump, and inhibiting corrosion. This stuff works!

az'03Silverado · July 18, 2006

I run Royal Purple Purple Ice with a 50/50 DexCool and while cruising will notice up to a 30 degree decrease in coolant temps. It's designed to allow more heat to escape the coolant when it's in the radiator so when the thermostat opens it gets a cooler gulp of water. It works. I'd go ahead and give it a try. All of these 'water wetters' are designed to break down the surface tension (take a physics class) in the water to allow it to flow more freely and dissipate (sp?) heat better.

SharkRacer · July 18, 2006

Do these trucks come with aluminum radiators from the factory? If they don't, that could help keep your truck a lot cooler.

SS Crew · July 18, 2006

Do these trucks come with aluminum radiators from the factory? If they don't, that could help keep your truck a lot cooler.

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Oh yeah, the trucks since the 1988 body redesign have been using aluminum radiators with plastic tanks. Once you spring a leak, it's time for a new radiator.