Heats up quick.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Heats up quick.
Hi all 
,I have a 89' auto vette w/ 94k and it heats up kinda quick IMO. Before I go to work I start the car up and let it idle till the temp gauge reads 100-110f before I go,well work is about 3 miles tops from home and on a 85 degree day it'll hit atleast 175f+ 3/4's of the way to work..... The gauge on my Firebird 2.8L auto hardly moves in such a short trip but this vette heats up quick and then the fan finally kicks on after or around 225f or so (2.8 has 195 thermo,which I read is same for this vette,both stock)... Would a good flush take care of this or is this normal???? Oil temps dont rise quick either,just the coolant temp goes up quick.
The car runs just fine,did a serious tune up and it helped a bit but I'm still very worried something is wrong. Plenty of power and I'm very happy with the car I just dont wanna be sitting in traffic and catch fire under the hood or something crazy like that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
,I have a 89' auto vette w/ 94k and it heats up kinda quick IMO. Before I go to work I start the car up and let it idle till the temp gauge reads 100-110f before I go,well work is about 3 miles tops from home and on a 85 degree day it'll hit atleast 175f+ 3/4's of the way to work..... The gauge on my Firebird 2.8L auto hardly moves in such a short trip but this vette heats up quick and then the fan finally kicks on after or around 225f or so (2.8 has 195 thermo,which I read is same for this vette,both stock)... Would a good flush take care of this or is this normal???? Oil temps dont rise quick either,just the coolant temp goes up quick. The car runs just fine,did a serious tune up and it helped a bit but I'm still very worried something is wrong. Plenty of power and I'm very happy with the car I just dont wanna be sitting in traffic and catch fire under the hood or something crazy like that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,940
Likes: 5
From: Chesapeake VA
How long is the drive to work, in time, not miles?
I live about 3 miles from the higway and I use the highway every time I go to work. If I get caught by a couple of stoplights, I will definitely see 170+.
Also, as I understand it, C4's do NOT self cool below about 35MPH (air temperature dependant), thus if you are putting along at 25-30MPH with stoplights thrown in, the car will not hold any temperature until it hits 225 degrees and the cooling fan kicks on.
As for things you can do to make sure your cooling system is in good order:
- Flush the coolant if you don't know when it was last replaced
- Change the thermostat if you don't know how old it is
- Clean the front of the radiator as lots of road debris collects there
HTH
I live about 3 miles from the higway and I use the highway every time I go to work. If I get caught by a couple of stoplights, I will definitely see 170+.
Also, as I understand it, C4's do NOT self cool below about 35MPH (air temperature dependant), thus if you are putting along at 25-30MPH with stoplights thrown in, the car will not hold any temperature until it hits 225 degrees and the cooling fan kicks on.
As for things you can do to make sure your cooling system is in good order:
- Flush the coolant if you don't know when it was last replaced
- Change the thermostat if you don't know how old it is
- Clean the front of the radiator as lots of road debris collects there
HTH
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,213
Likes: 2
From: Cincinnati oh
True Dat, per the Owner manual it does not get out of range (hot) till 250. The fans coming on at 225 and cooling down to 200 is normal. I put in a 160 degree thermo and a performance chip. It kicks the fans on at 160. My car will run no hotter than 215 on a hot humid cincinnati day in traffic.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
Hi all ,I have a 89' auto vette w/ 94k and it heats up kinda quick IMO. Before I go to work I start the car up and let it idle till the temp gauge reads 100-110f before I go,well work is about 3 miles tops from home and on a 85 degree day it'll hit atleast 175f+ 3/4's of the way to work..... The gauge on my Firebird 2.8L auto hardly moves in such a short trip but this vette heats up quick and then the fan finally kicks on after or around 225f or so (2.8 has 195 thermo,which I read is same for this vette,both stock)... Would a good flush take care of this or is this normal???? Oil temps dont rise quick either,just the coolant temp goes up quick.
The car runs just fine,did a serious tune up and it helped a bit but I'm still very worried something is wrong. Plenty of power and I'm very happy with the car I just dont wanna be sitting in traffic and catch fire under the hood or something crazy like that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
,I have a 89' auto vette w/ 94k and it heats up kinda quick IMO. Before I go to work I start the car up and let it idle till the temp gauge reads 100-110f before I go,well work is about 3 miles tops from home and on a 85 degree day it'll hit atleast 175f+ 3/4's of the way to work..... The gauge on my Firebird 2.8L auto hardly moves in such a short trip but this vette heats up quick and then the fan finally kicks on after or around 225f or so (2.8 has 195 thermo,which I read is same for this vette,both stock)... Would a good flush take care of this or is this normal???? Oil temps dont rise quick either,just the coolant temp goes up quick. The car runs just fine,did a serious tune up and it helped a bit but I'm still very worried something is wrong. Plenty of power and I'm very happy with the car I just dont wanna be sitting in traffic and catch fire under the hood or something crazy like that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Start it up 10 minutes before you leave next time. Turn the heat on max, and watch the gauge. See what happens...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,130
Likes: 2
From: seattle WA
Best advice, check for debris between the radiator and condensor...you'll be surprised at what you find. While the temps you site are normal, I'll bet it will take longer if you just clean the area mentioned.
