Cooling Tips for the 455

[centurion 455 ragtop]

I had mentioned on another post and some of you know that I do tow with my Centurion with a combined total weight of 9,700 pounds or so. And doing so recently had towed with the a/c going and I have not run hot or even overheated. Now granted I have not got caught in bumper to bumper traffic with the a/c on. But I have been stuck in heavy traffic and have not overheated. If I hit bumper to bumper traffic the a/c would be turned off. The electric fan is used only on local driving when towing and when in heavy traffic.

1. I had to remove the cross brace bars in front of the radiator support so that I can fit a "Black Magic" electric fan

2. Installed a transmission cooler eliminating the lines going into the radiator.

3. Radiator is a four core with large tanks. It resembles the factory one, so nothing expensive or fancy.

4. Use a 160 degree thermostat. You should always use one or a restrictor plate. Otherwise on highway driving the water moves too quickly and doesn't get cooled. The restrictor or thermostat slows the water down so that it can cool a bit in the radiator.

5. Factory Buick clutch fixed fan

6. Instead of using the factory clutch for the fan a HUGE cooling plus is to order a clutch for a 1989 Chevy truck HD 455. You can see in the photo its fatter and it does work great! It can be slightly noisier but not as near as a flex fan. When you install the clutch you do have to cut the snout on your water pump about an 1/8" as the HD clutch will bottom out on the longer snout. YOU MUST DO THIS. I used an air grinder and cut the snout with the water pump on the car. I also cut a spare water pump in case while on long trips the water pump goes, this way my extra will fit. Other than that and eye balling the new clutch (will explain later) it will fit perfectly and your 455 will run a lot cooler.

There are a few companies that make this version of the clutch I was told that some versions will not have the correct bolt hole pattern. So I strongly recommend you remove your fan and old clutch and bring it with you so that you will know for sure it will fit. Car Quest sells the clutch for around $80, part #77276. I bought mine from Advance Auto Parts, part # 215045 made by Imperial Automotive Products and paid $69.29.

Results with the above towing with the a/c blasting traveling to Columbus, Ohio, a 600 mile trip (one way) in 85 degree temps and cruising around 65-70 mph the water temp stayed on 210-215. Even on local slow stop and go driving it stayed on 215. It NEVER boiled over. On the return trip late day early evening the water temp was 195-210.

Not towing local driving with the a/c going the temps stayed at 180-195

So that's the poop guys. My cooling worries are long gone!:beers:

Below is what the HD Clutch looks like. Its slightly fatter and heavier but it will work great!

[Robroy]

That was a solid cure to stay cool, thanks for sharing it!

The part on the water pump which you referred to as snout that needed to be grinded off to make the new clutch fit, that was on the water pump housing (a non-moving part) right?

Thanks again

[centurion 455 ragtop]

That was a solid cure to stay cool, thanks for sharing it!

The part on the water pump which you referred to as snout that needed to be grinded off to make the new clutch fit, that was on the water pump housing (a non-moving part) right?

Thanks again

The clutch has a hole in the center (see photo below) in which the water pump snout fits into holding it in place along with the 4 bolts. The hole in the HD Chevy Clutch isn't as deep, so the snout bottoms out inside the clutch, not making the clutch fit flush on the pump. The factory Buick Clutch has a deeper hole in it to accommodate date the longer snout. Let note here that you only need to grind off about 1/8th of an inch. You DO NOT want to remove the entire snout, you only need to trim it slightly shorter.

I don't know the proper wording other than to call it a snout, so I attached a photo.

[Robroy]

The clutch has a hole in the center (see photo below) in which the water pump snout fits into holding it in place along with the 4 bolts. The hole in the HD Chevy Clutch isn't as deep, so the snout bottoms out inside the clutch, not making the clutch fit flush on the pump. The factory Buick Clutch has a deeper hole in it to accommodate date the longer snout. Let note here that you only need to grind off about 1/8th of an inch. You DO NOT want to remove the entire snout, you only need to trim it slightly shorter.

I don't know the proper wording other than to call it a snout, so I attached a photo.
I’m with you now, that little axle/snout on the water pump which guides the clutch on place needs to be cut off 1/8” so the clutch reaches the bottom when being mounted.

One of the reasons for my curiosity was that parts that rotates easy get out of balance if you grind off material on them

I’m a bit lost when it comes to technical denominations in English sometimes, so your wording was probably just perfect ...:o

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Not a problem. I kind of figured that. I would rather someone question it further so to make sure they get it correct. Sometimes in translations slang words just will not sound right.

Hope it helps for those having cooling concerns, it worked for me. One last note is that I mentioned you can shorten the snout with the pump on the car. Using an electric or air gun grinder. I borrowed one that is small and was able to do it with the fan shroud removed but the radiator was not removed. If your grinder is larger you may have to remove the radiator to get at the water pump.

[BuickLover]

Hi all :)

I'll upload some quick pics of my "work in progress", (1973 Buick Centurion Convertible) on the bottom of this post. :Dou:

I live in Phoenix where it get's really hot in the summer and it's darn difficult to run the A/C almost anytime with the standard 3 core with stock fan and clutch setup so I pulled the 3 core and installed a nice big aluminum 4 core. Then I attached 2 - 14in electric fans in the PULL direction because you will gain a lot of cfm when pulling vs pulling for the mere fact of how weight of air distributes. Then I removed the stock fan and tossed it into the junk to use for another day pile with the rest of the rusted bolts.
:rant:
Afterwards, I found I had to lower the idle becuase of the difference in weight on the engine, then I found I gained about 30 hp not to mention the Silence added to the engine operation.
To control the fan operation, I used a relay setup I purchsed from checker auto that once wired up correctly when you turn on the A/C it automatically signals both fans to on regardless of temperature and when off the fans come on according to what temperature you set the sensing bulb which is mounted into the supply water side of the raditor (i.e., the top). This allows the A/C to recieve plenty of temperture drop even while idling, the A/C works fantastic now even when I am stopped and in gear. I also added some heatsink grease to the sensor for good conductivity. So far so good without problems but since we've only experienced a 85 deg high so far for this season (today is March 18 2010) we'll have to see what the real heat brings this summer. I'll post further results when it happens since here in Phoenix we get up close to 120 deg and even higher sometimes!

BL

1. basic car quick pic
http://onlineshoppingoutletmall.com/BuickLover/QuickPicCarBasic.jpg

2. the twin 14" electric fans on the pull side of the radiator
http://onlineshoppingoutletmall.com/BuickLover/Twin14Fans-4Core.jpg

3. some past sweat equity :p
http://onlineshoppingoutletmall.com/BuickLover/DashCleanupAndStereoInstall.jpg

4. my updated trunk compartment. :laugh:
http://onlineshoppingoutletmall.com/BuickLover/TrunkUpdate.jpg

5. and of course my big helper
http://onlineshoppingoutletmall.com/BuickLover/HelperSophie.jpg

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Nice ride. Seems you have it ready to keep cool. I know Adam will love that stereo speaker set up. Now let me guess, your dog is used to see how good the base is. If your dog bounces from the base vibration while in the car, its good to go LOL

[BuickLover]

Hi just currious, youi didn't mention your ambient temps.

BL

[BuickLover]

LOL! Really! Actually she seems to like some pretty serious base when I'm working on the car and pop in "Smoov-e" she lays down on the driveway and just listens along. I do keep it down some in the neighborhood though. Yea the cooling seems to be under control for the moment. Again I'll have to wait until the outside temps go up and up and up and honestly I do expect to see some heating problems especially when temps get to the 115 and up level but we'll see and I'll post. BTW your ride does look awesome!

BL

[Buicken]

What type of stereo is in the car ? What are you doing for rear speakers ?

[BuickLover]

What type of stereo is in the car ? What are you doing for rear speakers ?

Hi Buicken,

There are 4 Kenwood 6982ie speakers in the back, 2 behind the seat neatly tucked into the back board and 2 more one on each side of the seat lower panel. I'll take some pics and post how they fit later if you like, they do look really nice. The deck is Pioneer DEH-P980BT. There are 4 more Polk 4" speakers under the dash, 2 in the center and one each on each side neatly tucked away just under the speaker openings. Rockwell Sub Woofer Amp and Audiobaun 4 channel for everything else. The system sounds really good, I enjoy the hell out of it! :)

I also installed a battery in the trunk, you can see it in the pics above in this thread. This serves 2 purposes 1. I don't need to run a cap since the wires are so close to the sub amp and 2. I installed a 200amp continuous duty soleniod were if I run down my primary battery (yellow optimus which can be discharged often and not ruin the battery) I flip a switch under the dash which kicks in the rear (red optimus which always stays charged up) battery and starts me up without problems. :) I only needed to get stuck a couple times to figure out how to implement that fix :P All in all this system came together very nicely.

I'm currently working on polishing the stage one combustion chambers that will go on a new HP engine build I'm working on currently that I'll be dropping into this car before too long.

BL

[Buicken]

Yes, I would appreciate the pictures. I am concluding a long restoration project and one of the last items will be a new sounds system. I had considered putting 6x9s behind the rear seat, but I read here that's a bad way to go. I'm also considering putting speaker in the plastic corner piece above the rear quarter trim. I've also consider just mounting an enclosed speaker in that corner. Pioneer makes a couple of options. I definitely want a sub.

I've recently completed a complete front suspension overhaul with new Energy Suspension Poly control arm and sway bar bushings, new Moog, ball joints, tie rod ends, springs and control arm shafts. I powdered coated the control arms and added the new Eldebrock shocks.

I've removed the rear control arms and have boxed them in and powder coated them as well. They will get the new poly bushings as well. New Eldebrock shock and Moog springs for the rear as well. The rearend has been rebuilt with a 3.73 posi-traction differential.

[BuickLover]

Wow, sounds like you're going all out. Nice. I'm not trying to do any kind of original restore on this particular car. I am building it for comfort, usability and just plain coolness :)
If you are in fact doing a full restore to original you'll have to figure out somewhere else to place your speakers rather than in the lower panels unless you have an extra set but the truth is, anyone could always remove the speakers and simply but a backing in the panel and re-upholster that small panel which would be no big deal. But I'll post the pics anyway because IMHO I placed them where buick should have in the 1st place. Also I'll post a pic where and how I placed the ones behind the seat. It's very simple yet just as effective and believe me, they really sound great. Ok I'll be back soon with the pics.

BL


EDIT:
Ok here's a pic of the rear speaker setup.

http://onlineshoppingoutletmall.com/BuickLover/BackSpeakers.jpg



Yes, I would appreciate the pictures. I am concluding a long restoration project and one of the last items will be a new sounds system. I had considered putting 6x9s behind the rear seat, but I read here that's a bad way to go. I'm also considering putting speaker in the plastic corner piece above the rear quarter trim. I've also consider just mounting an enclosed speaker in that corner. Pioneer makes a couple of options. I definitely want a sub.

I've recently completed a complete front suspension overhaul with new Energy Suspension Poly control arm and sway bar bushings, new Moog, ball joints, tie rod ends, springs and control arm shafts. I powdered coated the control arms and added the new Eldebrock shocks.

I've removed the rear control arms and have boxed them in and powder coated them as well. They will get the new poly bushings as well. New Eldebrock shock and Moog springs for the rear as well. The rearend has been rebuilt with a 3.73 posi-traction differential.

[Buicken]

Thanks, What did you mount the 6*9s on ? I like the speakers in the quarter trim.

[BuickLover]

I made 2 simple Z brackets (shaped more like and L with another hanger on the top) using 1/16 x 1" steel stock, drilled holes in both ends and mounted that way. The wood was 1/2" plywood and I used the foam/rubber armeflex pip insulation to wrap around the back of the speaker panels to help dampen the sound and make more of it transfer to the backside. I used contact cement to join the ends together, this also helps with vibration. All in all this worked out to be an excellent mounting for little cost and the sound transfers just right without hurting your ears too easily :)

BL



Thanks, What did you mount the 6*9s on ? I like the speakers in the quarter trim.

[gashog]

Any reason you didn't plumb your cooler lines from the radiator to your cooler then to the engine?

[BuickLover]

sorry for the late reply.
I don't run a cooler because it's important for the transmission fluid to warm up quickly. The radiator cooler is way enough cooling for any normal transmission.

Thanks,
BL