Will a cold air intake stop hot fuel problems in desert climate ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

[skip68]

I have been doing allot of thinking of ways to help with cooling the carb.   My air cleaner is just sucking in the hot air from the engine and radiator in traffic.  It is like an oven under the hood hear in Vegas and we see temps over 100 degrees plus for months.   So, I was thinking if I put some sort of cold air intake that it would make a huge difference and stop the carb from getting as hot.        These Chargers seem to have bad ventilation under the hood and if you live in a desert area I think it's a must have.         I'm not taking my hood off or cutting my hood for a scoop.        

[maxwellwedge]

I think you would have better luck with some kind of phenolic carb spacer and a carb heat shield type of gasket deal.

Not sure what kind of carb you have. Have a look at these links. It should help if your fuel is boiling in your carb.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntt=phenolic+carb+spacer&searchinresults=false&Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&N=700+302859+115&x=29&y=9

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+115+302859&D=302859

[ACUDANUT]

Ya, you need a Carb spacer to help isolate it from a Hot Intake.

[67_Dodge_Charger]

Cold air intake will help with putting more air in your engine quicker.  Add a carb spacer for more hp; every little bit helps.  By getting fresh air from the outside of the engine compartment you will help with quicker throttle response plus you will notice differences in response with difference in air pressure and humidity and air tempersature. 

It will liven up a motor and help with hp plus you could  realize a potential in better gas mileage.  The power gain is mostly noticed in the throttle response.  Are you experiencing vapor lock or hard starts?

An intercooler will help but that is used mostly with turbo systems. Cold Air equals more horsepower.

[green69rt]

I wonder if you measured the temp under the hood in someplace like kansas and then measured it in Death valley, what the difference would be.  I bet it wouldn't be a lot.  I would tend to say:

1) insulate the carb from the intake ( a spacer).
2) insulate the gas line in the engine compartment.
3) make sure the carb and ignition are set right.
4) Maybe then think about a cold air intake.

[Ghoste]

Like everyone else is saying Chuck, a cold air intake isn't going to stop fuel problems, but it is going to help.

[skip68]

    Thanks guys.    I'm running a 440 30 over, Demon race 750 carb, Torker II intake, mopar 292 cam, Indy cast heads, Ross race pistons, gold roller rockers.....   I put a 1/2" wood with fiberglass spacer under the carb and it seems to be leaking.       I'll go find a 1" spacer tonight or in the morning.  I will have to find a different air cleaner because I don't have anymore room under the hood with the 1" spacer.   I put a cooking thermometer in the radiator and the hottest it got to was 195 degrees.  So I know the motor's not running hot.  When I go to touch the carb it's hotter than hell.  Time to go shopping again.   

[mopar_nut_440_6]

   Thanks guys.    I'm running a 440 30 over, Demon race 750 carb, Torker II intake, mopar 292 cam, Indy cast heads, Ross race pistons, gold roller rockers.....   I put a 1/2" wood with fiberglass spacer under the carb and it seems to be leaking.       I'll go find a 1" spacer tonight or in the morning.  I will have to find a different air cleaner because I don't have anymore room under the hood with the 1" spacer.   I put a cooking thermometer in the radiator and the hottest it got to was 195 degrees.  So I know the motor's not running hot.  When I go to touch the carb it's hotter than hell.  Time to go shopping again.   

If you are running into air cleaner clearance issues I would think a 1/2 inch phenolic spacer would be fine. I  personally cannot see the extra 1/2 making a huge difference but I am no expert on this matter.

[67_Dodge_Charger]

Death Valley does have potential for a higher air temperature even compared to eastern Montana where the temperature could reach 118*.  Kansas I am sure has a much higher humidity than Death Valley and of course Montana.  The cooling system is taxed at these extreme temperatures as many of us have experienced.  I would hope that the thermostat is keeping the engine at 180* give or take.  That is if everything is operating properly.....

The air temp in a engine compartment will differ with variances in outside air temperature; try living in areas with extreme high or low temperatures.  What temperature does your car like?  What humidity does your car like?  Is the car running lean?  

There most likely is a leak in the coolant system that is creating higher engine compartment temps....    Or your radiator, water pump is not able to keep your car cool.   There are some very good additives for the cooling system that  reduce engine temps and add life to your cooling system.  Is the car kept in a temperature controled garage during the hot days of Vegas?  Like what the others have said insulating the fuel line and a carb spacer will help with fuel temps.  

[67_Dodge_Charger]

"High performance cooling.
Purple Ice is a high performance synthetic radiator coolant additive for both gasoline and diesel engines. It is formulated to reduce the surface tension of the coolant, which improves heat transfer through the cooling system, while providing additional protection against rust, corrosion, and erosion. This additive prevents the formation of scale deposits in the radiator for optimum coolant flow and lubricates the seals of the water pump. One bottle will treat three to five gallons. It is ideal for use in straight water racing applications or in antifreeze/water mixtures. Purple Ice is compatible with traditional ethylene glycol antifreeze (green) and GM Dex-Cool antifreeze coolants."  From summitracing website.   

I am not sure if this brand was used in the Hot Rod tour last year or so by some of the participants, but it help with cars experiencing overheating.  Do you have access to equipment to check surface air temperature on the intake and other areas in the engine compartment? 

[skip68]

Thanks 67_Dodge_Charger for the tips.  I'll get a digital temperature gun in the morning.  The car runs fine on cool days like 60-70 degrees.  But once it's 80 degrees and up it runs bad.  I have a huge 32" Griffin Alum. radiator so it should keep it cool.   As long as I'm moving it's not to bad but as soon as I get into stop and go traffic it starts getting bad and you can smell the fuel real strong.   I am changing plugs tomorrow and setting the gap at 35 instead of 40.   I wonder if the 1/2" wood/fiberglass spacer is causing some of the problem ?  Will the phenolic spacer make that much difference from the wood one ?  I'll find out I guess.

[67_Dodge_Charger]

Definitely replace the carb spacer with a phenolic spacer.  Is there a fan shroud? Do you have AC?  Is the radiator clear  of debris, no bug or heavy dust?  Sounds like a gremlin that you will have to chase until you finally capture it.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

I live in a cooler climate up here in the north but we do have our days of warm weather. One thing I did notice sitting in the staging lanes in Ashcroft where it is as warm as the weather in Vegas was vapor lock issues. I changed my fuel line to 3/8" and fabricated a cool can out of a  can the size of a Charger vacuum canister with a plastic lid. I added a drain cock to the bottom so I could drain it after the ice had melted. I then wrapped some 3/8 copper tubing  around a piece of pipe to create a row of coils and added these to the can with the inlet protruding out of the bottom and the outlet at the top. I also bypassed my mechanical fuel pump on the engine and used the electric and kept the fuel line as far away from the headers as possible. This totally cured my fuel problems and I found I did not even need to fill up my cool can with ice or water. I believe you could hide the can behind the grill if you wanted. This was alright on my old drag/street car but maybe is not what you want to do on your GL. I just thought I would share!

[67_Dodge_Charger]

mopar nut where did you mount the fuel pump and route the fuel line?  An ice can is a great idea, did you coil the fuel line in the can?

[mopar_nut_440_6]

I mounted an electric pump in the rear off the frame rail in front of the tank where you see most people mounting them. The lower the better but be careful you have enough clearance. I put the coil inside the can and routed the intake and outlet through holes I had cut through the side which I sealed with silicone. That is the worst part but the whole process took under an hour and cost me about 5 bucks and worked flawlessly. In retrospect the 3/8 line and re routing away from the exhaust may have been all that was required but I did it all in one shot as I did not want to run into the issue when I came back to the strip.

[ACUDANUT]

 Don't forget a viscus fan clutch.  That adds 15 Hp and helps too.

[maxwellwedge]

His problem does not sound like water temp - that looks fine. Run a 175-180 T-stat anyway. Go with the phenolic and the heat shield. The heat shield was standard issue with the '70 LT-1 (gasp) Chevy and did the job. You need to get the heat away from the carb.

[ACUDANUT]

 Ya, I know. Thanks. Just thought I would add that. 

[green69rt]

Here's another thought.  Even though the temp indication is what it is the actual combustion temp can be different.  Wall thickness, fouling of the cooling channels and so on can affect how you engine performs.  I don't know how you fix these problems outside of a full engine hot tank and rebuild.  Maybe others can give some clues.  Beyond a rebuild you need to keep the engine temp (read this as combustion temp) down.  Some of the above comments should help.

[skip68]

My engine is new with about 1500 miles on it.   

[Ghoste]

You could always just move to a cooler climate.  Canada is great except for the rampant socialism and, oh yeah, that rust thing.

[firefighter3931]

Overheating can also be caused by improper tuning ; a lazy advance curve on the ignition or a carb that's running lean will cause overheating issues as well. 


Ron

[67_Dodge_Charger]

Overheating can also be caused by improper tuning ; a lazy advance curve on the ignition or a carb that's running lean will cause overheating issues as well. 


Ron

I agree with Ron since your engine has only 1500 miles on it.  Check your spark plugs. 

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Didn't you just put a new carb on your engine a couple of weeks ago? Was it heating up prior to the change?

[500INCHBIRD]

Cold air is only so cold at a 118 degrees.Sounds like timing.Or a mechanical problem.How big a bore is your motor now after having been rebuilt?.Loss off material in the cylinder wall can result in a higher operateing temp which is normal.