kitfox 582 overheating

I was taxi'ng out on the runway this evening testing a new tail wheel leaf spring I just installed. The temp outside was about 92 and hot. My 582 was overheating and runing on my taxi test at about 205 degrees.

On recent flights I was running I thought a little "hot" at about 150 - 160 on take offs and it would settle back to red line at 140 on straight cruise.

I am looking for ideas to improve cooling. I have a radiator under the cockpit. I've been told several thing to lower the operating tremp from buildind a air intake surrounding the raditaor, taking the thermostat out, lessoning the coolant in the radiator and adding more water to lowering the radiator a 1/2 - 1" so it it isn't fluish with the bottom of the plane. Any ideas?

Call me at 317-506-2854, Thanks ... Keith

I have a gray head. Engine is about 18 yrs old but only has 134 hours. I got the plane at 119 hours and had it torn down completely. It seems like a solid runner. I will try your suggestions. Thanks

HI lowering the radiator an inch or so will help under no circumstances remove the thermostat doing so is asking for cold seizure of your engine and that is not a good deal under any conditions. Leave the thermostat in the engine use a 50/50 mix the antifreeze and distilled water.

Hi there,

Are you operating on Grove gear or standard? My temps ran higher the minute the Grove went on as it blocked about 12 mm from the back of the radiator which affected the outcoming airflow and therefoe made the temp run higher. Anyway, I also had similar ongoing problems for a while (even before the Grove) and the following is the order of action I took, and the level of success it brought...

• Coolant from 50:50 to 30 (coolant) 70 (water) reduced the temps a fair bit. I wouldn't advise you left it like that for more than the Summer as the coolant (if it's a good one) has anti-corrosion properties too. Makse sure the ratio you use will cover the temp ranges that are prevalent too.
• Dropping the radiator position helps a bit but not as much as I was originally told it would (by a non-Kitfox owner).
• As mentioned above, the Grove gear blocked the outlet air from the rad so this might be a cause if you have it.
• I'm afraid the only thing that saolved it for me was to order the oversized radiator from Kitfox. It fits in the place of the standard one and the whole engine runs a lot cooler. I haven't seen more than 75 degrees C since I installed it, even in a long climb on a hot day and I am running 50:50 water/coolant again.
• As for the scoop, I am not of the understanding that it will improve cooling that much (but they do reduce drag from what I am told).

It might sound silly but before I did the rad change I did find that a particular method of flying it after the climb made a difference. If I went straight to cruise power after a hard climb the temp didn't drop much below 85 degrees C. However, if I climbed beyond my intended height and then spend a minute or two descending at 4500 rpm to the height I wanted (allowing the coolant temp to drop a bit) I found that when I went to cruise power it then ran a bit cooler than going straight to cruise after the climb. I hope that makes sense!!

Good luck.