New vette owner, over heating problems!
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,993
Likes: 1,136
From: League City Tx
Make sure if you are using an IR temp gun that you are not shooting on a shiny or reflective surface, it will affect how the gun reads the temp. FYI...
I ended up adding an aftermarket mechanical gauge and hid it under my console, because I didn't trust the factory gauge, and I wanted something a little more exact in the display.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,229
Likes: 656
From: Thunder Bay
The factory gauge was never very accurate, and the problem is only worse with the senders that are on the market nowadays. First you need to verify what temperature your engine is actually running at. I did it on my car by temporarily installing a mechanical gauge that I had calibrated in a pot of boiling water on the stove (when my wife wasn't home). Once I had confirmed that the factory gauge was off, I installed an adjustable temperature gauge resistor from Willcox. Then it is a simple matter of adjusting the factory gauge to read correctly. Until you have done that you shouldn't be making modifications to your cooling system.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 11,934
Likes: 4,497
From: Virginia
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 30
Likes: 1
From: Merritt Island FL
i literally just came in from driving it. Gauge stayed at 180 then after about 30 Min of running and some stop and go traffic it back up to 210-220*. I pulled over and hit it with the IR gun and gooseneck was at 178-181* i shot a few different places on the engine and nothing was over 195*. I’m almost positive it’s the gauge or senser now. Temp today was 92* with zero wind.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,039
Likes: 62
From: Kona Hawaii
I finally fixed my hot engine problem today! Vette was getting hot in slow traffic and sitting at stop lights,especially with the new Classic Auto AC I just installed a month back..Turned out to be the clutch fan.Installed a Hayden 2799 clutch fan ,it pulls lots of air at idle and the AC works way better too! .Temp stays at 180 pretty much at all times .....Hope u find your problem...
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,765
Likes: 254
From: Catlett VA
Keep in mind the location of your temperature sending unit. It is on the cylinder head at the absolute hottest place on the engine. Do you want to know only that localized temperature or the overall temperature of the pooled coolant after it goes through the block and both heads and returns to the radiator? I switched the sending unit to the thermostat housing (like you have for your fan relay) and now get the combined average temp of the coolant. If this temp gets high, it indicates more accurately that your cooling system is not keeping up with the heat generated by the engine. With your four row radiator you probably have adequate cooling that is being mis-represented by your temperature gauge. You can connect the sending unit for your fan relay to one of the other ports on the intake manifold.
