[Z06] Water Temp Ad Nauseum
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 469
Likes: 1
From: Heath Texas
Water Temp Ad Nauseum
On the open road, Z runs at 195F steady. At traffic stops and slow go during the 21st straight day of over 100F Texas heat, the temp jumps into the 230 to 240 range (with AC running). Get back on the open road, it drops back to 195, thank you very much.
I will be doing the following as gleaned from the Search function:
1. Clean debris
2. Change fluid, add water wetter
3. Check caps
4. Check fan function
5. Clean the space between radiators
6. Inspect overflow tanks
7. Missing anything???
In searching all the threads, there appears to be some disagreement on what's NORMAL. I went through about 30 threads, and opinions were diverse. I'm thinking 230 or 240 is not normal.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I will be doing the following as gleaned from the Search function:
1. Clean debris
2. Change fluid, add water wetter
3. Check caps
4. Check fan function
5. Clean the space between radiators
6. Inspect overflow tanks
7. Missing anything???
In searching all the threads, there appears to be some disagreement on what's NORMAL. I went through about 30 threads, and opinions were diverse. I'm thinking 230 or 240 is not normal.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,237
Likes: 9
From: Springhill FL
230ish is normal on the stock tune. The fans will only stay on long enough to drop it a tad below that before turning off and right back up it goes. A good tune will solve this. Both my vettes were tuned right and NEVER saw over 200F, even in the middle of the florida summer in bumper to bumper traffic or at the track. My 98 C5 was even supercharged with a huge front mount intercooler blocking the radiator. Same with my Heads and bolt ons C5Z. No radiator upgrades, no thermostats...
Last edited by MawneeC5; Jul 26, 2011 at 09:44 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,366
Likes: 249
From: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Cleaning the radiators is probably all you need to do. Do that first and you probably won't need to do anything else. I was having cooling problems recently because I hadn't clean my cores in a while. Last week New Jersey was one of the hottest places in the country and I saw 109 on my temp readout. On the highway the car ran well under 200 and I saw 210 max in traffic.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 445
Likes: 0
From: Mesa AZ
Im going to guess that your condenser and radiator are very dirty. 230-240 is not normal for my car and I live in AZ where we see temps of or over 115 consistently in the summers. You definitely have a cooling issue, if its not the debris in the condenser/radiator i'd look at a problem with cooling efficiency be it the radiator itself is not flowing/cooling the water properly, a sticky thermostat, or the water pump is not pumping enough water.
The first fan comes on at 219F
the second fan comes on at 239F
In my experience if your car is parked and you had not been recently driving the car hard, it should not need the second fan to kick in to keep the car/motor cool IF your cooling system is running at the proper efficiency.
I switched to a 160 degree thermostat (even though my fans are still stuck on stock temps) because when I hit the roadway it will stay in the 175-190 range and creep to 200 at stops and I havnt seen it hit 220 at all this summer. where as the stock doesnt even open till 189 which gives you less wiggle room before that first fan kicks in. When its 110+ outside you can use all the cooling help you can get.
The first fan comes on at 219F
the second fan comes on at 239F
In my experience if your car is parked and you had not been recently driving the car hard, it should not need the second fan to kick in to keep the car/motor cool IF your cooling system is running at the proper efficiency.
I switched to a 160 degree thermostat (even though my fans are still stuck on stock temps) because when I hit the roadway it will stay in the 175-190 range and creep to 200 at stops and I havnt seen it hit 220 at all this summer. where as the stock doesnt even open till 189 which gives you less wiggle room before that first fan kicks in. When its 110+ outside you can use all the cooling help you can get.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 469
Likes: 1
From: Heath Texas
Ah, recently had to replace the AC compressor unit (clutch ate itself). The mechanic did due diligence in installing new seals to the water pump (as that had to be removed to get to the AC).
Clean first, and then work my way down the list. I haven't cleaned between, just on the intake side. Twas pretty bad.
Clean first, and then work my way down the list. I haven't cleaned between, just on the intake side. Twas pretty bad.
