Hot engine compartment

[robnorrington]

I had to drive into town yesterday and the traffic was insane. For about 2 hrs I crawled along and was stop/start. Whilst my rad didn't overheat, it did get to over 200 and my secondary electric fan kicked in to save the day. But when I eventually stopped my engine bay was so hot. It usually has a lot of heat but this so much hotter. It melted the tips of my spark plug lead holder and also scorched my new lower steering column bearing. It also felt like my fuel was evaporating and I had quite a bit of pinking when I tried to put my foot down.
I am presuming that the heat is coming off the manifold??

My set up is -
68 Charger 440
New re cored 4 row 22" radiator
High volume water pump
160 high flow thermostat
Standard fixed fan with shroud
Additional 16" electric push fan

So my question is, would any of these solve this problem
A electric puller fan (or twin fans) instead of my fixed fan, to give me more airflow
Wrapping my manifolds somehow but not sure if I would need to wrap the exhausts as I'm sure I am just moving the heat
Ceramic coating but this looks expensive
or any other suggestions

[RallyeMike]

Yes, stock manifolds run 450-500 degrees when at idle and the car is not moving, depending on where you measure the temperature. They can get even hotter under load.
More radiator capacity or fan cooling won't change this much, so wrapping or coating the manifolds is probably the only option. As far as protecting the plug wires, you can add slip-on heat protecting covers added protection. I use them on my cars with headers and they are very effective.

[robnorrington]

Yes, stock manifolds run 450-500 degrees when at idle and the car is not moving, depending on where you measure the temperature. They can get even hotter under load.
More radiator capacity or fan cooling won't change this much, so wrapping or coating the manifolds is probably the only option. As far as protecting the plug wires, you can add slip-on heat protecting covers added protection. I use them on my cars with headers and they are very effective.

Thanks RallyeMike

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ive had my stock 440 HP manifolds Jet-Hot coated inside & out about 15+ years ago and had helped underhood temps tremendously.....look good too

Also, hard to tell, but do you have the factory plug wire heat shields installed?

[robnorrington]

Ive had my stock 440 HP manifolds Jet-Hot coated inside & out about 15+ years ago and had helped underhood temps tremendously.....look good too

Also, hard to tell, but do you have the factory plug wire heat shields installed?

They look nice and smooth....
I don't have any plug heat shields on....I didn't know they came factory fitted. Maybe I will get some.

[hemi68charger]

I had issues when I first bought my Daytona... The heat was so high it melted the white hose loops that support the windshield washer hoses on the passenger side. This is when I had the 440 in it. Like Chris eluded to, I had my exhaust manifolds cermanic coated by a local firm. I also drained my coolant and put nothing more than distilled water and a product called "Water Wetter". I never boiled over again, the temps in the engine compartment return to normal and it has been the same ever since (over 5+ years now). When I put the 426 Hemi in it, same thing... normal and never really gets hot and I'm down here in Houston...

[robnorrington]

I had issues when I first bought my Daytona... The heat was so high it melted the white hose loops that support the windshield washer hoses on the passenger side. This is when I had the 440 in it. Like Chris eluded to, I had my exhaust manifolds cermanic coated by a local firm. I also drained my coolant and put nothing more than distilled water and a product called "Water Wetter". I never boiled over again, the temps in the engine compartment return to normal and it has been the same ever since (over 5+ years now). When I put the 426 Hemi in it, same thing... normal and never really gets hot and I'm down here in Houston...

Never heard of 'water wetter' but looked it up and will give it a try. I'm going to heat wrap my manifold and see how much that helps before spending out on ceramic coating.

[hemi68charger]

I had issues when I first bought my Daytona... The heat was so high it melted the white hose loops that support the windshield washer hoses on the passenger side. This is when I had the 440 in it. Like Chris eluded to, I had my exhaust manifolds cermanic coated by a local firm. I also drained my coolant and put nothing more than distilled water and a product called "Water Wetter". I never boiled over again, the temps in the engine compartment return to normal and it has been the same ever since (over 5+ years now). When I put the 426 Hemi in it, same thing... normal and never really gets hot and I'm down here in Houston...

Never heard of 'water wetter' but looked it up and will give it a try. I'm going to heat wrap my manifold and see how much that helps before spending out on ceramic coating.

I would try the Water Wetter with nothing but distilled water from the store....... Then wrap if that doesn't work so you don't have to wrap your manifolds...

T