RoyaleWithCheese

This is how my day went yesterday.

It was pouring down rain so I had to roll my windows up which I usually don't do as my door handles are broken. Both of them. I usually unbuckle the sunroof so that I can get back in if I need to. I forgot to do this. I noticed my temperature gauge was reading off the charts so I pulled over, popped the hood and got out. I left the keys in the ignition.

aaaaand... shut the door

So I was locked out in the pouring rain with an engine that had coolant boiling in the lines. I figured I would just have my girlfriend come pick me up in the truck and tow it home. Only 2% battery left on my phone. I got one text for help out to her and it died. I had no idea if she was actually coming.

So I was hanging out in a Taco Bell near the car and she showed up on a bus from work and then got on another bus to go get the truck to help me. I stayed behind to wait because I didn't have cash for the bus ride. After waiting for over an hour I got impatient and went back to the car.

I found myself a nice large rock on the way and smashed out my rear passenger window. The guy from the house I pulled in front of came out and asked me a bunch of questions to make sure I wasn't trying to steal things from the car, which is funny because I have been stripping it for the track so there is literally nothing in it but a seat and the dash.

I decided I was just going to limp it home since it wasn't very far away and when I turned the key... nothing.

The radiator fans drained the battery. My girlfriend finally showed up and we had to just leave it to make it to a baseball game with some friends.

Worst day ever. I'm going to tow it home tonight though and get to diagnosing what the issue is.

Does anyone have any idea what could have caused an overheating issue from removing the A/C? It was fine before I removed it and I would figure, if anything, that it would run cooler without the condenser in front of the radiator.

This also motivated me to put my new door handles on (yes I have them, I've just been lazy). It's going to get a fancy new lexan window as well.

Voith

Had similar day few weeks ago, only it consisted of e39 528i bursting water hose at 180kmh and me not notice it at the moment it happened, since it was morning and I'm not eyeballing temperature gauge all the time.

Result was compression in cooling system and I am still without my dd, now sharing audi a3 with my girlfriend. I hope its only head gasket.

odonnell

Huh, usually the fans work more effectively after the condenser is out of there. I would investigate the wiring to the fans, I had this problem a couple of months ago. Turns out they weren't spinning fast enough. The fact that your battery drained also lends suspicion.

Did you mess with the wiring at all?

mytrplseven

The fans are supposed to come on when the A/C is on. If you've removed all that then probably the fans won't come on at all. The other fan should come on with the temp switch in the radiator. If the temp switch is bad (shorted) it will cause the fans to run even with the battery off. Have you bled the air out of the cooling system. That's usually one of the things, other than the fans, that will cause the temps to get high.

seafeye

Maybe if the car was in stop n go traffic it would overheat. But as long as you are moving I think the temps should stay normal regardless of the fan speed.
But just to be sure you should test to see if both fans are working. Did you check your fluid level as well? Pressurize the system and see if you have a leak?
The only other thing I can think about is that your water pump packed it in. Or your belt?

V2Rocket

For future reference, if you have a screwdriver handy the rear windows come out in under a minute..

Legoland951

Sounds like a completely unrelated issue. From what you have posted, you probably have a low budget 944 that has multiple problems. Fans should never drain the battery as they turn off even if you have the ignition on. When you boil the water and the radiator is dry, the fans turn off even though it is overheating because there will be no water on top of the radiator where the fan switches are located so the temp will read low.

You have the fans rigged to run constantly it seems. I would look for other causes that are unrelated to A/C delete.

RoyaleWithCheese

That would have been great info to know the other day. lol

So from what I'm gathering the fans are not supposed to run if the car is turned off? My fans will run at a very low speed until the car cools off. I can tell that one of the previous owners worked on the car so maybe they rigged it up funky.

After removing the a/c I topped off all the fluids so that is definitely not the issue. I'm thinking maybe the water pump crapped out. I read that a vacuum leak could cause a lean running condition and cause it to overheat too so I have some investigating to do.

The car is definitely a bit of a lemon but I got it for cheap to race it so fixing all the small issues is not a high priority. I'm planning a v8 swap so if the motor crapped out or it will be too costly to fix I guess the swap will be the next project on the list. I was kind of hoping this engine would last a bit longer so I can learn to drive it slow before I drive fast

Legoland951

Yes the fan should run very low speed until the car cools off. This should NEVER drain the battery as it will take probably an entire day to drain the battery.

If you are low on funds, do not start a V8 project as it will cost more than buying a nice turbo car.

Dougs951S

+951

You are looking at ~5k for a basic lt1 swap, more if you want the aluminum heads and better reliability of the ls1. Costs skyrocket from there...

admiralkhole

No, it won't. Ask me how I know

Edit: I guess my circumstances aren't available to everyone else. It is possible to do it under 5k if you do all of the work yourself and source parts effectively.

Legoland951

If you have the skills to do the conversion yourself, your time is going to be worth more than $3k by itself at 1/2 of shop rate. A complete LS1 motor and wiring/computers costs $1.5 to $2k. This is without any other conversion parts. I doubt the OP has the skill set to fabricate his own parts or install the motor on his own so he would have to pay for labor.

This has been discussed many times in the past.

I have a 671 BDS blower with a SBC chevy (capable of 900+hp), reverse manual valve body built TH400 trans, and a roll caged 951 (fiberglass fenders, hood, 3" flare quarter panels) chassis for the last 10 years along with a 73 corvette rear suspension/rear axle/differential (15"x14" wheels in rear). Without proper help, I won't attempt to put this thing together as I don't have the proper skills for this particular conversion.

RoyaleWithCheese

I bought this car specifically to do a v8 swap.

I have built and swapped a chevy 350 into a 1970 land cruiser that I owned a few years ago so I'm well aware of the work involved to complete a project like this. I know the ls1 is a bit more technical because it's fuel injected but all the documentation to do the swap is available online.

Money wise I am going to keep it on a budget but if it exceeds $5k that won't be a huge deal. I just bought a house this summer and it kind of stole my v8 funds but I bought the car as a project so It doesn't matter to me if it sits in the garage for a year while I accumulate the parts needed.

The way I see it right now is that if the water pump is shot and I have to do the pump, rollers, belts, special tools, for $500 I might as well drop another $500 and buy an ls1 and just start accumulating parts for the project. I saw an ls1 long block going for $850 on craigslist a couple weeks ago and there is one on there right now for $1000.

I'm still going to diagnose the motor this week though because it would be nice to be able to drive it while I collect the swap parts if it is just something simple.

RoyaleWithCheese

BTW this car sounds insane!

Got any pics of it?

Legoland951

It is all in pieces with a rolling chassis for almost 10 years. If it were not difficult, I would have put it together already.