ditty22

Im having a problem with my 99 overheating to like 230 plus oil temp and it will also happen on the freeway when im just driving it will get up to 225 plus wtf. Last year i could hot lap teh car at the track and it would only reach 220ish but this spring its making me mad as hell. thanks ditti

lost

Crawl under the front of the car and check for trash, leaves, plastic sacks or small dead animals blocking the radiator. When I first got mine in 2002 there were a bunch of leaves jammed into the upper section of the radiator, blocking about 4" of the radiator. If thats not the problem check your thermostat, next would be to check the waterpump.Our waterpumps have tattletale drains, which mean they leak when the pump is bad.

0Randy@DRM

Ditty22,
I agree with Lost, you may have some trash up in your radiator. 220 oil temps aren't that bad.

Thanks
Randy

Evil-Twin

First of all, looking up from the air dam would reveal debris stuck in the Air conditioner condenser Not the radiator....
The Condenser and the radiator are in tandem, much debris gets caught in the obvious places at the top of the air dam duct and stuck to the condenser...
Much of this debris get sucked through the condenser fins and winds up
blocking the actual radiator. The way to clean this is to remove the upper radiator shroud which holds the condenser and radiator.
Many people remove the debris that is stuck to the AC condenser because, that's what so many ill informed people suggest, and point to it as if it was the radiator, just as in the information given here in the above thread.
The real culprit is found behind the Condenser, the actual radiator and this needs to be addressed. Cleaning the condenser will help the AC unit work more efficiently and also help to pass cool air to the radiator found behind it... but with a clogged radiator, all the cold air in the world will not help with heat exchange. So for those "Experts" out there, When referring to looking up the air dam and cleaning the "RADIATOR", your information is wrong, and mis leading as to the root cause of high coolant and oil temps...
The correct fix is to clean both the condenser and the radiator,hidden from view and found two inches behind the condenser, the true radiator... not the one all the wannabes refer too...
Every year I clean out my radiator, the one behind the condenser and get a cup of grass, sand, bug guts, leaves and paper that made it's way through the condenser fins.
This is how it should be done.

2000BSME

That is not called "overheating" by any means. You could say "my car is running hot", but really, 230 oil temp is within the range of normal.

byte_me

I agree with the above statement...230 is not too hot for the oil...My 97 A4 coolant temps were on the rise sometimes in the high 230's like 238'ish on the highway with no debris in the shroud to be found...I put in a 180 degree T-Stat and now I stay below 200 degrees (196) normal driving and get an occasional 205/210 in stopped traffic but it goes right back down when the car moves...

If you have no H20 leaks on the pump, and no dead birds stuck in the radiator shroud...change the T-Stat...it made a world of difference in my case.

fdxpilot

Evil-Twin is back to his usual Sarcastic self.

Evil-Twin

I feel so bad Now

ronman99vette

Glad I read his post before I made an ill informed suggestion for people to check thier "radiator" for debris during the next oil change. I think I found half a phone book and a medium size oak tree stuck in the top of my condensor. Thanks for the clarification.
R

c5rulz

Thanks for the info ET. Last time I changed oil I thought I was cleaning the debris out of the radiator. We are not worthy of your engineering genius.

C5-BRUCE

I read this thread and the suggestions are all valid, but one thing is missing. You have a '99. Have you done a drain/purge/refill with DexCool yet? How many miles on the car if you haven't. Older cars tend to run hotter, but yours is within the acceptible range. If it concerns you, consider changing out the thermostat to a 178 degree unit. Also, turning on your A/C can lower engine temperature as it trips a second engine fan. Counter intuitive, I know, but that's a fact.

~Bruce

Special K

A Big Mouth will keep most debris out of the radiator.

http://www.c4orcecorvette.com/

golfman2008

The first thing I would check is your oil level , see if you have a small leak. If your car is leaking oil or burning it , that could cause over heating problems. If that is Ok , I would check the thermostat to see that its not sticking. But , if you would like to solve all your debris situation and improve your high temps all in one let me know, I have the answer " guaranteed "

vetterdstr

I would check to see that you have pressure in the cooling system as well... a bad radiator cap (tank cap) will allow pressure to leak and that will raise coolant temps as well.

VR

golfman2008

Cool avatar , love that PHP language !

vetterdstr

Thanks man!!

VR

hotpipe

The water temp in my '96 LT-4 will run up to 260 degrees if I let it keep running. If I keep the rpms above 3000, the temps will stay in the 230 degree range, but below that and it heats up quickly. I have checked to make sure both fans run (they do) and that my coolant level is OK. There are no water leaks that I am aware of.
I plan on removing the shroud and cleaning both the radiator and condenser fins.
What, exactly, is involved in removing the shroud? Is this the housing for the air cleaner?
Thank you in advance

golfman2008

I would first do a visual before cleaning the fins , you have to be carefull when you clean them. They are very soft and will bend really easy. Plus in my opinion 260 degrees is very hot , there is a loss of performance . One of the biggest problems with the C4 and C5 is they get very little air blowing into the radiator compartment.

2KREDVert

Have you done a drain/purge/refill with DexCool yet? How many miles on the car if you haven't. Older cars tend to run hotter, but yours is within the acceptible range. ~Bruce[/QUOTE]

Everybody I have spoken to says to get rid of the DexCool and go back to the green stuff as soon as possible. My machinist showed me a cylinder head that was totally blocked by the crystals formed by Dex Cool. I have had master mechanics, auto machinists and most recently a radiator guy all tell me that Dex Cool is major trouble. I am going to the latest Prestone which is ethelene glycol but also mixes with all other types of anti-freeze.

The Big Guy

Wrong ! Stick with DEX - COOL. Someone has given you TOTALLY erronous information regarding the Coolant. Replace with Dex - Cool and distilled water. Not drinking water or spring water, but distilled. Believe me I know the difference and the ensueing definite problems encountered. Good Luck !