has anyone tried the Mid America Motorworks replacement cooling fan systems? my C4 runs pretty warm, and if they work, I'll get them. I just got my first Corvette and love it. I want to keep it going.

 

What are you calling pretty warm because I have a feeling your temps are probably normal. Its you first Corvette and I am sure this is where your first lesson is going to be learned. They run WARM, very warm.

Please fill out your profile because we have no idea what year car you have.

 

digital goes between 240 and 250. seems pretty hot to me, but I'm new at this.

 

Before spending money to change anything, you may want to check out your system to see whating going on with it.

First off, they are designed to run hotter than normal cars in order to burn fuel with maximum efficiency. Next thing is they are bottom feeders.(they suck air almost right off the ground like a vacuum cleaner)
This causes much debris such as leaves, styro cups, etc., to collect up in the front of the radiator.

Put your car up on ramps and shine a flash light up there. Who knows, you might even find a cat in there. Once you have cleaned all the junk out, your car should run cooler than before. Next, check your coolant to see if in good condition and at the proper level. You didn't say what year it is but for at least the last 12 years they have used Dexcool (the pink stuff) and I would keep using that. If it is rusty or dark looking you need to drain, flush, and fill with new coolant.

Another thing about Vettes (at least late C4s and all C5s) is that the cooling fan comes on at most any temperature if the A/C is running but if the A/C is not on, the fan does not come on until the engine temp reaches about 220 degrees.
I had a 96 LT1/auto coupe and it would run at about 192 in the hot summer if I was cruising on the highway using the A/C. However if I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic it would get up to about 208-210. If I turned off the A/C the temp would quickly climb to about 218-220 since the fan would cut off until then.
Welcome to the world of Vettes. I hope this info is helpful to you.

 

Oh, I forgot to tell you that many people will not respond to posters who have not completed their profile. People want to know what type/year car you have and what city you live in. For security reasons I wouldn't put exact DOB or exact address.

 

thanks for the information. It's a 94. coolant is green and clean. It gets to the 235 - 240 mark without the a/c on, and 250 with it. I'll get underneath and check for debris.

 

the car is running much hotter than normal.

Our 94, in 90 degree ambient air temperature, while cruising at 35 mph or more, per digital, stays below 200 (generally closer to 194).

Are you sure the fans are both coming on?

Start the car and watch the temperature without the A/C on. At 228 primary (driver side) fan should come on. If the fan does not bring down the temperature, then At 238, the secondary (passenger side) should come on.

Then turn off the car and let it cool down. Then restart the car and regardless of the temperature, turn on the A/C. The primary (driver side) should come on right away. The secondary (passenger side) should cycle on/off even if coolant temp is below 238, based on A/C pressure.

Agree with check for debris in front of the A/C condensor by laying underneath (don't need ramps unless the car has been lowered.

Also, on the passenger side of the radiator, is a opening where the A/C lines pass into the A/C condensor.

look in between the A/C condensor and the Radiator and you may find lots of debris. You should be able to use a shop vac to suck out as much as possible, but be very very very careful to not even touch the radiator or A/C condensor fins, or they will fold over.

Check the radiator cap (on the surge tank near the windshield). Should be an AC/Delco RC27 (15 lb psi).

Check/replace the thermostat (but protect the opti-spark distributor below).

If you do not find lots of debris blocking the radiator, I would say it is the problem. HOWEVER, the thermostat is of a special design with no gasket but a rubber o-ring around the thermostat.

Further, it has a second lower plate which opens/closes the bypass 'circuit' in the water pump. I had a thermostat which had the lower plate seperate from the normal plunger and effectively not open the bypass circuit, causing the engine to run 15-20 dgrees hotter than now. Recommend buying the A/C Delco standard replacement (remember thermostats cannot control how hot, just how cool).

Last thought. DO NOT use DEXCOOL. Our year car was designed for good ol' green etheylene glycol anti-freeze. Mixxing DEXCOOL will risk a chemical reaction between the two, causing a gelling and additional corrosion. However findiing green anti-freeze is getting harder. Look for Texaco brand at your local parts houses.

 

You don't have to get underneath. Passenger side top of the shroud there is an opening where you can look into the area between the back of the condenser and the front of the radiator. Make yourself a 'wand' that adapts to your shop vac and you can suck the worst of the crud out of the area. If you want to try a hose to wash it out you stand a chance of messing up the optispark and that gets very expensive. Guess you also know about the necessity of using the bleeder screws to get any trapped air out of the engine. Lastly, check fan operation using the digital gauge, the main fan should come on at 228*F (didgital gauge) and aux fan on at 236*F.

 

...........just put the year of your car in your proifile or enter it at the beginning of any post you start that asks for technical assistance so that everyone can address you particular issue as it pertains directly to your year.....city, state, and all that other stuff is really not relevant...

 

Thanks, guys. Cleaned radiator and replaced thermostat (was broken) and it runs 195 now. I'll watch this forum in the future.

 

Should I open a can of worms and ask him if he went with a 160 degree stat? I better not...lol.

 

omg, no

Finally a cooling thread that was short, to the point, and everyone came out happy.