No wonder it gets hot!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Gig Harbor WA
No wonder it gets hot!
Well gents, I finally did it. Pulled the radiator to clean the gunk and try to get my temperatures at or below 200° F.
To my surprise there were just a few leaves and feathers between the radiator and the A/C condenser. I vacuumed them out, back-flushed the radiator fins and then was double-checking the hole before gently dropping the radiator back in.
Let's see, I'd better make sure both fans are ok while I've got it apart. Hmm, the rear fan turns okay and looks good. Lessee, here. Where's the front fan? I'm sure it's supposed to have two fans. Everybody on Corvetteforum is always talking about two fans. Darn, can't find it. Better check the service manual.
Hmmm, Figure 6 shows #5 - Fan, auxiliary cooling and #6 - Fan, engine cooling. It should be right here in front of the condenser. WTF! Alright, which one of you guys made off with my auxiliary cooling fan?
Something tells me this is going to be a two-day project. . .
Any suggestions on what I do now? I could call up the local Corvette wrecking yard and see if they have a fan, or I could visit the auto parts store and buy a herkin' aftermarket fan. Installation of a non-stock fan would be a real pain in the back though.
To my surprise there were just a few leaves and feathers between the radiator and the A/C condenser. I vacuumed them out, back-flushed the radiator fins and then was double-checking the hole before gently dropping the radiator back in.
Let's see, I'd better make sure both fans are ok while I've got it apart. Hmm, the rear fan turns okay and looks good. Lessee, here. Where's the front fan? I'm sure it's supposed to have two fans. Everybody on Corvetteforum is always talking about two fans. Darn, can't find it. Better check the service manual.
Hmmm, Figure 6 shows #5 - Fan, auxiliary cooling and #6 - Fan, engine cooling. It should be right here in front of the condenser. WTF! Alright, which one of you guys made off with my auxiliary cooling fan?
Something tells me this is going to be a two-day project. . .
Any suggestions on what I do now? I could call up the local Corvette wrecking yard and see if they have a fan, or I could visit the auto parts store and buy a herkin' aftermarket fan. Installation of a non-stock fan would be a real pain in the back though.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 1,261
Likes: 6
From: Middletown New Jersey
My 87 doesn't have a front fan either. I think they were standard on the z51/z52 suspensions but optional on the others for the 85-89's. I believe the RPO code was something like B2P. I know some of the corvette part supplies i.e. MidAmerica vette sells kits that you can upgrade to.
As far as lowering your temps, I have a 160 degree tstat and my fan is programmed to come on at 205 degrees. The only time the fan comes on on mine is when I'm stuck in traffic or a light. I also have a manual fan swith installed on my dash so that I can turn on the fan when I want. I did this to cool it down at the track.
As far as lowering your temps, I have a 160 degree tstat and my fan is programmed to come on at 205 degrees. The only time the fan comes on on mine is when I'm stuck in traffic or a light. I also have a manual fan swith installed on my dash so that I can turn on the fan when I want. I did this to cool it down at the track.
Last edited by GlennS87; Jun 30, 2005 at 04:06 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,699
Likes: 2
From: The Black Hole LA
I didn't pay attention to your year but the earlier C4s didn't all have two fans, it was an option, and most that I've seen didn't have it. later they went to the two fan setup where both are on the same side.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 90,675
Likes: 304
From: SE NY
Cruise-In II Veteran
Indeed the Booster Fan was an option on your '89.
I cannot see the upper left side of your radiator to see if there is an Aux Fan Relay located there nor the block below #1 & #3 spark plugs to search for the Aux fan Switch. Both of these items along with associated wiring are required to power the Booster Fan which is controlled ONLY by the Aux Fan Switch & Relay.
I cannot see the upper left side of your radiator to see if there is an Aux Fan Relay located there nor the block below #1 & #3 spark plugs to search for the Aux fan Switch. Both of these items along with associated wiring are required to power the Booster Fan which is controlled ONLY by the Aux Fan Switch & Relay.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,352
Likes: 230
From: Northeast FL
Originally Posted by hz900
I didn't pay attention to your year but the earlier C4s didn't all have two fans, it was an option, and most that I've seen didn't have it. later they went to the two fan setup where both are on the same side.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Gig Harbor WA
Aha! So I guess it never had one, most likely. I apologize for not including the year of my car in the text, but most of you probably figured it out from my sig pic. It is an '89 convertible.
I posted the RPO sheet here. I didn't see any aux fan option box on it.
The car is all back together except for burping and topping off the cooling system. I've got a 185° thermostat in it which works properly and the fan does come on at the factory set 230° and off again at about 215° if I remember correctly.
I just had a couple of incidents of 245° temps and determined that the inside of the radiator resembled a neglected septic tank. It's been four years since I flushed it last. So, it's all nice and clean now with water wetter added, so I'm hoping things will be back to normal.
Thanks for the information about the fan being optional.
Rich
I posted the RPO sheet here. I didn't see any aux fan option box on it.
The car is all back together except for burping and topping off the cooling system. I've got a 185° thermostat in it which works properly and the fan does come on at the factory set 230° and off again at about 215° if I remember correctly.
I just had a couple of incidents of 245° temps and determined that the inside of the radiator resembled a neglected septic tank. It's been four years since I flushed it last. So, it's all nice and clean now with water wetter added, so I'm hoping things will be back to normal.
Thanks for the information about the fan being optional.
Rich
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 13,961
Likes: 707
From: WI
On my car you can't see the booster fan from the top, you have to look under the nose looking upward toward the radiator. That's under the front plate. My booster fan was DOA so I removed it. Cruise temp. dropped about 10 degrees from less obstruction to the radiator. The main fan cools the car well. Perhaps the booster fan would help in auto cross events or.. ? You could have your code changed to have the fan come on at a cooler temp. Maybe 210 degrees on and 190 off would be good. In very hot weather mine runs at the 195 degree thermostat temp. In stop and go traffic then the temp. will climb and the fan will run. I'd like to change mine to 210 degrees. Turning the A/C on turns the fan on, on my car.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Gig Harbor WA
Andrew...........
Until I removed the radiator, I hadn't looked for an auxiliary fan. If you look at the picture, you'll see that with the upper radiator shroud removed, an aux fan would be visible from the top.
I'd kind of like to see lower temps on my digital display as well, but you have to keep in mind the fickle nature of mass-produced temp gauges and the placement of the C4 heat sensor.
When my temp gauge indicates 210 degrees, and the thermostat is open (visible churning through the radiator cap hole) I have measured the radiator water temperature with a lab thermometer at 170°.
Things are not always what they seem.
Rich
Until I removed the radiator, I hadn't looked for an auxiliary fan. If you look at the picture, you'll see that with the upper radiator shroud removed, an aux fan would be visible from the top.
I'd kind of like to see lower temps on my digital display as well, but you have to keep in mind the fickle nature of mass-produced temp gauges and the placement of the C4 heat sensor.
When my temp gauge indicates 210 degrees, and the thermostat is open (visible churning through the radiator cap hole) I have measured the radiator water temperature with a lab thermometer at 170°.
Things are not always what they seem.
Rich
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
From: Worcester MA
I wonder if the main fan circuit could support an additonal fan in parrallel??? I had the aux fan on my '89. The fan crapped out and I wanted more CFM's. I ended up installing the main fan from some small Japanese car (a Nissan Senra I think). Anyway, it worked great and moved way more air... 
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Gig Harbor WA
I'd like to see an airflow sensor which would turn the fan on whenever you slow down past a certain point. That might even out the highs and lows without having to resort to manual operation.
Not to change the subject, but an oil cooler with a fan would complement this sort of arrangement. My oil temps run around 230° F. This might be okay for synthetic oils but I'm of the old school, I guess. Temps of 180° - 190° would be a lot more comfortable for me.
Rich
Not to change the subject, but an oil cooler with a fan would complement this sort of arrangement. My oil temps run around 230° F. This might be okay for synthetic oils but I'm of the old school, I guess. Temps of 180° - 190° would be a lot more comfortable for me.
Rich
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,032
Likes: 4
cleaning my radiator and flushing the system (and a new stock tstat - i.e. 195*), keeps my temps between 190 and 195 when crusing... though they get up to 212 when Idling, which I don't like but I'm pretty sure that's normal.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Gig Harbor WA
Originally Posted by mikey whipreck
cleaning my radiator and flushing the system (and a new stock tstat - i.e. 195*), keeps my temps between 190 and 195 when crusing... though they get up to 212 when Idling, which I don't like but I'm pretty sure that's normal.
and that doesn't give much reserve cooling when the outside air temp starts to go up over 90°. I remember sitting in a parade for a hour or so right in the middle of our NW summertime. Whew!I suppose stringing a wire through the firewall to manually switch on the fan wouldn't be that much trouble. Another thought I had for "emergency" cooling would be a windshield washer pump hooked to a gallon-size reservoir. You could have it spray water in front of the radiator for a quick cool-down.
One of these days pretty soon, someone's going to come up with a Bluetooth™ controller that can be installed under the hood. It could be used to control things like fans or send information from sensors. Your PDA or even your cell phone could be the controller or the readout. No more need to find a hole in the firewall to run a wire!
Rich
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 17,298
Likes: 33
From: The Top of Utah
Originally Posted by Cap'n Rich
My oil temps run around 230° F. This might be okay for synthetic oils but I'm of the old school, I guess. Temps of 180° - 190° would be a lot more comfortable for me.
Rich
Rich
Originally Posted by mikey whipreck
keeps my temps between 190 and 195 when crusing... though they get up to 212 when Idling, which I don't like but I'm pretty sure that's normal.
RACE ON!!!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Gig Harbor WA
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
Perfect! In a system where the fan is designed to come on at 225*, a temp of 212*, isn't even worth a second thought.
For a list of special character codes like ™ © ® £ ³ ½, go here.
Regards (and thanks for the "don't worry"),
Rich