jharris88

I have a 88 that runs, I think, too hot. In traffic 220 to 230 F What would be the best way to lower this. Fan kit etc. BTW thanks to all of your help and answers you have provided me on other post.

Husker Vette

Alot of people have posted threads that talk about taking out the radiator and cleaning up the dead air space between it and the Ait Conditioner condenser......

I will have to be doing that to mine here soon.....

Other options - Lower temperature thermostat, and chip to turn your fan on sooner.....

Just my two cents worth.....

olephart

Several paths to take:

1. Assure efficiency - Flush, clean external trash, straighten fins.

2. Increase capacity - Bigger radiator, more airflow from fans, reduce load with tranny cooler.

3. Tweaks - Turn fans on earlier (with or without lower temp thermostat), reduce % of anti-freeze to minimum, use plain water and water wetter.

It's all in the archives, good luck.

LeadFoot

Why not buy a coolant temperature sensor that tells the ecm to turn the primary fan on at 200 degrees, corvette central sells one for $29.

2dogs

What about oil coolers. My Blazer has one (stock) but the Vette doesn't...? I was surprised.

Dave

Ezgoin721

Another thing to consider is the accuracy of your gauge. I fought a cooling problem wondering why my car ran 240 in town, only to find out that my gauge reads 20 dgrees hot. Have a mechanic with a scope plug into your car and find out for sure what the temp is first.

SLEV89

i've made mention afew times about discovering a pile of garbage layering the coolant radiator (2nd of the two rads).

but i also discovered that my Main Coolant Fan was intermittent. upon disassembly i discovered that my brushes were worn down almost completely. there was no spring pressure left to assertain contact to the commutator.
new motor, all is well



paul

Vic'89

Jharris88

First of all your Vette is running at the proper factory settings. Our cars run at 220-230 degs from the factory. This is for emission reasons.

Now, I agree that we should lower the temps. I have a 160 deg thermostat and a manual fan switch. I can turn both my fans on with the switch. People also have aftermarket "proms" to turn the fans on at a specfic temp.

Vic

88JDO

I agree with all the above mentioned suggestions. My next purchase will be a BeCool radiator. Also thinking about bypassing the radiator cooler for 700r4 and using a transcooler and also a derale trans pan. A vented hood wouldn't hurt, either, but who wants to cut up the hood?

jackdaroofer

I consistently run 175 to 180 at 1900RPM cruising, oil temps are around 196.

I have an 88 also!

When I "get on it" temps will rise to around 185 water and 205 oil

This appears to be about ten degrees below what others seem to run

Here's what I have done

180 degree thermo
195 fan switch which only comes on when long idles or stuck in traffic
Amzoil tranny fluid complete 13 quart change
Amzoil trannyfluid in power steering
Amzoil RACING GOLD oil in crankcase. 20W=50
Amzoil says this oil should run about ten degrees cooler. It's pricey but...
PF35 big filter! Along with oil cooler, this gets the filter down into cooler air.

Temps even in worst conditions never get over 210 water and 220 oil

89 Bob L

Several suggestions:

Flush the system
Clean in front of the radiator
Change the thermostat to a lower temp.
Clean the radiator with full strength Simple Green to remove road grime and dirt
Remove the radiator and clean -(See Tech
Post for removal)
Change the fans on/off temp.

wake

That's the best idea... I did this on my old TPI IROC and the temp ran rock steady after that... It's probably also the cheapest idea... Don't just change out the thermostat because you'll still run high, only now you'll have a higher temp swing between the thermo's 160F and the stock fan on setting of ~230F..

I did burn out one fan around 120K miles and had to replace it... Not a big deal though, ~$35 and about an hours worth of work and I was fine again...

The later cars also have the temp swing... I use my HPP+ for the fan setting only... My temp again is rock steady at 185F in stop and go traffic... And maybe only gets about 5-7 deg warmer during hill climbs in 110F heat when I drive out in the desert...

65Z01

If you want to lower the coolant temp from stock select the thermostat range (160 or 180) and a matching HyperTech fan switch.

The simplest, but more expensive, method of bringing the main fan On at lower temp is to install an aftermarket chip programmed for the thermostat selected.

The fan switch is located in the left side of the block below #1 & #3 spark plugs. If you have the dual fan option, this fan switch is for the aux fan only. Go to our Tech Tips C4 section for my inexpensive method of controlling both fans from the aux fan switch.

EdO87

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the engineers at GM designed these engines to run at temperatures up to 228F, before fan(s) kick on, for all C4s. That's for 12 years. I would think if they thought those temperatures would be a problem they would have rectified it long before last C4 rolled off the assembly line. I am beginning to think these low temperature fan switches, etc. started as marketing scams by the Ecklers, Corvette Centrals, and now people think that their corvettes should be running cooler. Is there any evidence that these temperatures are too high?

jackdaroofer

Hi

There are definitely two schools of thought on this subject.

Some, like I, believe in the "heat kills" theory. While not a scientist or an engineer, I have three 305 V8's on the road with a collective 500,000+ miles on them with nothing more than a few waterpumps, an alternator or two and, one timing chain that have needed replacements.

These engines all run around 160 degrees.

Not scientific, but good enough for me

Jack

Yello95

Ed087,
I am definately from your "school of thought".
I fully agree with you. Mine at worst gets up to 228 then the fans kick in and temp goes down.Corvettes are bottom feeders and run warmer at low speeds...big deal, thats how they are designed. The system is running just how it is supposed to run and nothing gets hurt... again, its designed to do this. Everyone is running scared by untrue temperature gossip stories about how you should run cooler...my vette runs perfectly well at factory set specs...At highway speeds, I run 194-197 which is perfectly acceptible, also...why the big panic about lowering temp.a little...(Just my opinion and the same opinion from all the corvette experts I have spoken with that daily repair only corvettes)These guys that I talk with are corvette"gurus" and they know what they are talking about...They are not just "guessing" or speculating... [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]



[This message has been edited by Yello95 (edited 07-28-2001).]

turbota

For the 20 bucks I spent and a half an hour of time to put in a lower temp t-stat and a manual fan switch, I think its worth it. When I want the temps to be lower, just flick the switch If I forget to flick of find that lowering the temps is bad I do nothing and the stock setup works. Just because someone designed something one way doesn't mean there is a better way. Most all other cars on the road run cooler than our cooling system.

Togo

Mid America has that temp switch for $18.00, i just ordered one last night! (www.madirect.com part number 609-106