Hello: I have two quick questions as I continue my search for a C4.

1) Can a C4 be driven onto a U-Haul trailer without any damage? The rental guy has no clue and is only interested in what kind of truck will be used to pull the trailer. (Silverado Z71 4 x 4)

2) At what temperature should the fans kick on? I looked at a 96 LT1 with 115k miles that almost pinned the needle to overheat, then about a minute later it cooled to about 200 degrees. Outside temp here was about 40 degrees.

Thanks!!

 

Yes to number 1. You just have to be careful loading and unloading.I brought my 95 home on a uhaul trailer. I even pulled it my my 07 Classic Z71.

As for number 2, I have no clue, I don't drive in the city.

 

Sounds like it was either:
1: low on coolant - have it pressure tested for leaks
2: failing thermostat
3: mostly or all water in cooling system (see#1) and was frozen overnight- once the engine melted the ice, water circulated and cooled the engine rapidly. Check the freeze plugs (if it has them). Could lead to, or have, blown head gaskets or worse if its been like this for awhile. This could be a case of owner neglect.
4: best case scenario, faulty coolant gauge temp sensor

Good luck, have it very thoroughly checked by a pro if you want to pursue this one!

 

The later versions of the U-Haul car trailers should easily handle a C4. Make sure that the left fender can be removed so you can open the driver's door. Check the trailer very carefully for the condition of the tires. I have seen U-Haul trailers that needed to be taken to the scrap heap.

Don't rely on the tie-downs that come with the trailer. Either ask for new ones or bring your own. Lowes and Home Depot will have decent tie-downs with snap hooks.

When you look at coolant temps, look at the digital display; the analog gauge may not be correct and because it's non-linear, the temp reading at the high end is hard to determine.

The secondary fans should kick on at around 238 degrees and run until the temps drop some 35-40 degrees. It could be that there is debris in front of the radiator and A/C condenser that reduces air flow. It could als be time for a complete cooling system flush and fill.

 

What he said.
Fans behaved properly and handled the situation correctly.
If you feel that the temp rose rapidly in a " cool" environment, begin checking for debris blocking the flow from underneath, as these are mouth breathers.
Check the simple first!
Then move on to the more complex.
Good luck!
And let us know what you observe at each step.
If the A/C is on, both fans should be on all of the time , preventing such a rapid rise.
Check that out first.

Marty
1FUNZR1

 

I towed my C4 from Chicago to Toronto a few years ago on a U-Haul. You'll have 2 issues. 1) The ramps that come with U-Haul are to steep for the C4. Bring a ratchet set with you to take off the lower black plastic air foils under the front bumper. Bring two 2"x10"x8' to take some of the steepness out of the U-Haul ramps. 2) the steel lip at the front of the trailer is to high and will hit the bottom front of the C4. Take 4 pieces of 2"x10"x12" and be prepared the run the front wheels up on these (I forget whether I used one piece on each side or two). One or two pieces will raise the front enough to clear the steel lip at the front. The tie downs over the front wheels provided by U-Haul are pretty good. I towed with a Tahoe with no problems even with a fully loaded SUV and four extra wheels and tires. Search "Importing LT4 to Canada to find my write up and some pics of the C4 on the U-Haul.

 

I towed my '85 twice with U-Haul for out of state moves.

I removed the front lower black air dams also. I also looked for some slope to park the trailer so that the ramps wouldn't be quite as much angle.

It worked for me about 1700 miles each way (IL to AZ then back to IL) with no damage to the car.

Good luck.

 

The primary coolant fan kicks on at 228* and the secondary at 230*.

 

U-Haul car haulers are built very well from my experience. I just towed my C4 from the St. Louis area to the Minneapolis area this summer and back with no problems at all. Like mentioned above make sure the hauler you get is in not just ok shape, but great shape (ie. tires are in great shape and properly inflated, the tie down straps on the one I had worked fantastic, as they were in great shape; that is what holds the car in place along with the saftety chains, but you don't want to rely on the chains!). I think the one I had had two axles and weighed roughly 2,xxx lbs.; and with the car on it you will have roughly 5,xxx lbs. of tongue weight; make sure your tow vehicle can handle that and your tow vehicle is in good shape as well, ofcourse. Also like mentioned, no one showed me this when I rented my trailer but like mentioned above, there is a steel tire covers and the one above the driver side tires on the trailer that should fold down by unhooking it at two locations allowing you to "exit the car a little easier" after driving it up on the trailer. Also, I highly recommend someone with you when pulliing the car up on the trailer and bringing it down for obvious reasons unless you have alot more experience loading your prized possession than I do!

Also make sure your trailer lights work and you have the proper connectors for the trailer/tow vehicle. The one I had said "50mph limit"; I may have exceeded that once or twice on my trip.

 

If the air dam hits , jack up the tounge while its attached to the truck ...gives a straighter shot on the ramps .

 

yes! forgot to mention that!

I did not need to do that since I had the proper angle with my driveway and when I unloaded the car at the final destination!

 

at least that is how my 89 behaves

 

My 93 drove straight on without any jacking, ramping or backing the trailer to a curb.

 

No, no, no. We have an "alarmist" on our hands here.



YES!
AND...when the fans come on @~228 or so, the ANALOG gauge will be darn near the red. Terrible design and very misleading. The ANALOG gauge is only meant to show an "estimation" of the situation (not just the temp, either, it's all of them) so they are fairly worthless. You gotta consult the DIGITAL display for the true, accurate readings. This is true for oil pressure, coolant temp, and volts.

 

IIRC the 1996 mentioned in the OP should have both fans on low when earlier years would simply turn on one fan. Then both fans should switch to high when earlier years would turn on the second fan.

 

I have a 1996 CE with 81K. In December I replaced the radiator, thermostat, and coolant and replaced a damaged insulator cushion. The entire coolant system was backflushed. All parts used are factory correct AC Delco.

I removed the primary and secondary cooling fans and cleaned and inspected them as well as the connections.

The previous owner had also rigged the air deflector due to the lower lip of the radiator support on being busted off. To ensure absolutely factory correct air flow to the radiator, I rebuilt the front air deflector, replaced the lower radiator support and installed all the correct brackets. and completely cleaned out all the debris.

When idling in traffic, or in my driveway, the temp gage on the dash will get almost to the hatched area (228-230 F) and then the cooling fans kick in until the temp drops to 213 F. Then they shut off. The temp starts rising again until 228-230, then the fans kick in. While sitting in traffic I literally watched the system cycle like this via the gages repeatedly and consistently. I could almost set my watch by it.

The analog gage is an estimate, use the digital gage for exact temp. But the analog followed the digital perfectly.

Typically when driving 55-65 mph the temp will be in the 200-210 range depending on speed. It will occasionally get up to 210-215 or down to 190-200 depending on the speed.

So 2) sounds normal to me.

 

Better check your FSM again.
On the '96 both fans run at the same time, either low or high.
Page 6-639



Correct



It will run like that for as long as your sitting still.

 

My lowered corvertte fit. The uhaul place wouldn't rent trailer for corvette so I said it was for my impala


I used the curb method to load the car.

No drama on the drive from Colorado to the swamp





As for the C4 coolant system. As RollaMo-LT4 posted its designed to run at higher temperatures than previous generation vettes. I'm sure most modern cars are designed the same way, however, most use idiot lights or gauges marked C and H on them so the operatiors are unaware of actual temps.



Mike