Anyone ever have a clogged or jammed up Heat Exchanger?

[sweetlou1182]

Hello SVT Folks!

I had a thread last week about getting airlock in the system and making the car heatsoak like a mofo but now I have a new question. Has anyone had an aftermarket HE fail on them or get clogged up?

My Friend who is a mechanic and I have been trying to fix this issue for a week. Fuses,electrical are all good. The IC pump has power and ground and you can see it turning on BUT NO COOLANT IS BEING MOVED. Pump was replaced less than a years ago.

I blew compressed air thru all the lines and still nothing. We tested the system with water over coolant and still no movement. Randomly at times when you fire up the car fans will come on, coolant bubbles, shut the car off and try to start it again 10 seconds later and No fans and NO coolant moving.

So playing the process of elimination game we are onto the heat exchanger itself. Has anyone had one that failed or needed to be cleaned out? Possbily something restricing the whole cooling system from flowing freely?

Thanks for any input as we are running out of ideas! Hopefully I can get this resolved soon!

 

[me32]

Have you tried forcing fluid through it with a hose or something to check?

 

[sweetlou1182]

Have you tried forcing fluid through it with a hose or something to check?

Yup gave that a try with a hose.

 

[PM-Performance]

Are you testing flow without the pump in the mix? Just direct through the HE? If not, try that. I wonder if the pump is just jammed up and not allowing flow through it?
That being said, yes an HE can exibit same issues as a radiator. Just depends on the fluids and much running through it. If not good fluids I guess it could get crap built up in it like a radiator.

 

[HKusp]

How long have you had this HE? What did the fluid look like that you removed from it when you first noticed this issue? If it is clogged, why would the fans come on sometimes and not others? I don't think they would do that, they should be operating completely independent of what is happening flow wise.

 

[Catmonkey]

I'd hook up a garden hose to the heat exchanger side and then intercooler side separately. That should confirm which one, or either, are plugged. I've heard where combining two different type coolants can plug up a cooling system, but I have no first hand experience with doing so.

 

[PM-Performance]

How long have you had this HE? What did the fluid look like that you removed from it when you first noticed this issue? If it is clogged, why would the fans come on sometimes and not others? I don't think they would do that, they should be operating completely independent of what is happening flow wise.

Fans are probably triggered on the pump is my guess. Mine run together in tandem. I never noticed if the fans went off when the pump triggered off though. I doubt they did though.

 

[HKusp]

Fans are probably triggered on the pump is my guess. Mine run together in tandem. I never noticed if the fans went off when the pump triggered off though. I doubt they did though.

The relay for the pump and the fans could be the same relay. I know VMP has a harness that you can turn the fans and the pump on while the car is off, but it is still the same relay. My point was that if the fans and pump are running intermittently, together or not, there is something else going on here, regardless of whether or not the HE is clogged.

 

[Catmonkey]

Unless you jump the pump relay, you're at the mercy of the set point for IAT2 in the tune to turn on the pump. It's 100* in the stock tune. With an aftermarket tune it's anyone's guess, but most likely lower than stock. The trigger wire for most fan relays is spliced into the pump wire, so pump and fans should work in unison. If I'm not mistaken, there is a short delay for the pump to run at start up.

Aftermarket fans on heat exhangers typically have their own relays. Usually one per fan. Those relays have a trigger wire that when energized, will turn the fans on.

 

[Black Cobra '99]

If the pump is not moving then its just air locked. I also struggled with no flow when I upgraded to the 13/14 pump, the pump turns on and I hear it buzzing but there was no flow. I just went through and opened up every hose until all the air came out and the pump finally worked. Make sure there is coolant in the pump.

 

[sweetlou1182]

I have had the car 5 years and the IC was already installed so my guess is 7-8 years old.

This weekend I am going to isolate just the IC itself most likely with a hose to check if either side is jammed or if there is something jammed in it.

As far as opening every hose I did the last week too. I installed the Moroso coolant tanks and ran new hoses/made sure no kinks. I think when I go to look at the IC I am going to do a full flush just for good meaasure.