Engine Temp High at idle- what am i missing?
 

Okay- First off i have replaced with brand new:
Radiator (Nissens), Fan Clutch (Hayden), Water Pump, Aux Fan Motor w/ the Napa equivilant and turning the proper way--I am in S. Florida, so my AC is on high and confirmed that Aux is working., Grey TSAT, Serpentine Belt with proper routing and Hoses.

I have NO leaks and have properly bled the system- Coolant sits just above COLD LEVEL on the expansion bottle when I check her out every morning lately and I have no waterfall sound!

Here is what I am experiencing: My temps have never been so low with all the new parts...under normal long drives (40 mph and over I am down to 183) Its for the heavy stop and go thru the downtown city driving that makes my temps creep up to 215.

I have noticed that if, while waiting at a long light, I bump it into Neutral and rev the RPM's a bit (1900) I can quickly drop the temps by 8-10 degrees. My engine is idling at 670 at lights per Ultragauge- This seems a bit on the low side to me, yes? All signs would point me to a mal-performing clutch? (it passes the "peanut butter" tests: spin by hand cold and will turn less than 1/4 rotation)

Any Ideas? Thanks guys!

my 03 idles around 670 as well, im sure its normal. You may want to try bleeding the system again. Is the temp gain pretty consistent or just occasional? I couldnt imagine your water pump being that inefficient at idle. If its consistent then youre probably right about the fan clutch. Maybe its not engaging ever.

Yeah- I'm leaning toward fan clutch. Which is new as of June...I almost never hear the engine "rev" telling me the clutch is engaging at prolonged stops, coming off the hwy ramp, etc... I'll rebleed in the morning one last time to be sure-

Is there something better than the Hayden and less $ thanks OEM?

Thanks pal!

When I changed clutches I first went with the GM version (new at AutoZone). I noticed no temp change, and it failed the spin test hot and cold.

I exchanged it for the rover one, which lowered idle temps and passed the spin tests.

These were both the torqflo brand, which is probably the same Chinese part as Hayden but the AutoZone version.

Condenser fan working right direction?

Same thing I've seen in my '03. In addition to all the same changes you've done, I've also installed a new fan clutch and new coolant hoses. Belt routes properly, aux fan turns on (need to confirm it's spinning in the right direction....didn't think of that one), and no leaks that I can see.

Temp on UG has been nice and low during normal traffic and cruising, but I was surprised to hit the 220's when stuck in a traffic jam this summer on the way "up north" with ambient temperature at about 27* Celsius. I put the heater on full and revved the engine slightly, and like you, it contained the temperature a bit (while making it very uncomfortable for me and the kids inside).

Does anyone know what kind of flow the aux fan provides? I'm thinking I might upgrade to a higher performance electric fan...maybe even a dual fan.

Fan clutch test that matters is when it is hot, and it should still feel like peanut butter inside. Of course if it free wheels cold, it will do worse when hot.

I used an air flow meter to test my D1, and the electric fans made about 300 feet per minute boost, from 800 ish to 1100 ish. Keep in mind, at 60 mph, you'll have 5280 feet per minute just from forward progress.

So it makes sense that heat would rise when you cut airflow to 20%.

Alwasy good idea to be sure no trash in the fins of radiators and cooler, and that a paper towel is held to grille by air flow, not pushed away by misrouted belt or fan wired wrong polarity or blades installed backwards (cupped side of blade goes toward engine block).

Test rad with IR thermometer, on fins, top to bottom. More than 10F spread indicates clogged rows from something.