If your engine is running hot in traffic, would cracking the hood to relieve the heat and promote air flow be a working proposition?

 

I imagine it might help some.....move some air.

If I find myself stuck and heating up, I turn on my interior heater and crank up the heat and the fan. It may be a bit uncomfortable for a bit but this gets cooler water from the heater core and hoses into the engine and if you think of the heater core as a small radiator (which it is), the fan running air through it helps cool the engine.

Gets the needle down every time.

 

I would work to resolve the actual cooling issue at hand instead of doing things like popping the hood or running the heat. Realistically you're just band-aiding the problem. The factory cooling system is quite adequate for pretty much anything.

Dope

 

I agree with Dope. If your fans come on, your thermostat is not stuck and you flushed the system, it may be time to change the radiator.

 

Fix your cooling system.

 

A lot of suggestions and no one has asked how hot your engine is running. What is it? It may be within the normal parameters. A C5 is a bottom breather so it's likely not getting much cool air unless one or both fans have kicked on. Once moving, the incoming air should cool everything back to normal.

Us ol' timers liked to see sbc temperatures in the 160-180 degrees range. New motors are engineered to run hotter w/o any negligible effects to performance (or fuel economy).

I keep the oil temperature displayed on the DIC in my car. I've taken windy mountain roads to 7,000ft on a two lane highway on a busy traffic weekend. The oil temperature got to 252+ degrees. I never looked at the coolant temperature. Once moving in free air, everything went right back down to 210-220 degrees within a couple of minutes. It's scary but nothing to be concerned about unless the temperatures don't return to normal.

 

Buying a brand new corvette after spending 65,000 dollars and have the dealer tell you that when you are in traffic in the summer on a 90+ F day and the car heats up.. just turn on the heater, and open the hood... These cars come from the factory with a perfectly functioning HVAC system.. if it doesn't run as new, then something is wrong...The system is easy to diag.. especially with all the support you can find here.. either via search or through the wealth of knowledgeable people who are willing to help.
Bill aka ET

 

In addition, I had read somewhere that you remove about 6 inches of the rubber seal that's right under the cowl (wipers) from the driver's side. You can cut it off, or fold it inside. This helps in letting out the hot air. I've done this one - folded about 6 inches rubber seal into the engine. Also use the power hood seal (gives you 5 hp, as advertised) under the front of the hood to keep it sealed well from the front.

Also you can cut out into the fins on the side to help the air rush out of the engine bay...helping in recirculating air in the engine bay. Just some things, some guys think work.

 

I got a 2002 coupe and during this summer when it was 102 degrees in traffic my car peeked at 212 with AC on. Get up to speed and it comes down to 194. Without the AC on the car will get up to 226 before the fans kick on and it comes down to 215. This cycles up and down until I get back up to speed. Check the air dam for plastic bags or leaves blocking airflow.

 

Bill is correct. The OP needs to do a search and they'll find tons of info on this. I know there was just a thread last night, about this same issue.

If the OP has a specific question, there is a lot of talent and experience to properly advise here.

For the moment his question was will opening the hood in traffic help. Sure it might vent off some heat, but will have NO effect on the cooling of the engine.

If I may be so bold, I believe Jumper11 is trying to say, inspect the air intake area under the nose for debris, however remember that is not your radiator that is the AC condenser. You must either go under the vehicle to inspect the face of the radiator, it mounts about 1.5 inches behind the condenser, or remove the radiator/condenser cap and inspect from above. To clean the radiator face of debris, you'll need to remove the cap. This is photo documented in that thread I mentioned earlier.

 

C'mon down to north Texas for the 110F weather. Even with the AC on, the water temps can still reach 228F sitting in traffic.

-Alex

 

This is absolutely untrue.. just some more urban legend...After spending 80 hours in the wind tunnel, I know that all C5's have a negative down force at the cowl.. Ive posted this many times.. also a little insider information, you can rent Gm's Wind tunnel for 2000 dollars an hour.. You can NOT get hot air out at the cowl because the negative pressure at the base of the cowl will keep any air from exiting from this point... if you notice .. anyone who knows anything about this car and its design, eg. C5R Corvette racing team..... Take note to where the hood vent is located... its in the same place that an MCM hood is place...FYI The original MCM designer and owner has his roots based with the body panels and hoods for the Corvette C4 factory race team.. I hate it when someone gives bad information on here and qualifies it with an " I heard somewhere".. I wish these people would be responsible for their very poor advice and have to pay any member to replace that hood seal...You know , the one they said to cut.
Cutting the hood seal is such a waste of time, money, effort and destroys a perfectly fuctioning hood seal. Cutting off that seal will guarantee. on a rainy day , rain will be forced into the engine bay at a place where force in rain water can cause knock sensor failure. That hood seal is there for a reason and its NOT to exit hot air... The C5/C6 R Factory hoods are heat extractinjg hoods, the placement of the exit is critical...and its not at the cowl.
Bill aka ET

 

Perhaps true, but 228F is still well within the normal temperature range. Nothing to be concerned about.

Dope

 

Although these pictures are of a C4 radiator, the example still applies. The two systems have the same configuration, both are mounted at angles and both radiators sit behind the condensers.

This is after a dozen years of service, about 100k miles:



This is a close up of how the fins clog up:



This is what a stock new AC-Delco radiator looks like:



Over time, dust, dirt, grit, will collect in between the aluminum fins of the radiator. Adding moisture to this mix of material and allow it to dry then repeat over and over, for years eventually the dried deposits builds up and clogs up the radiator fins not allowing air to flow over the fins thus reducing the effectiveness of the radiator.

With some preventative maintenance as I've described in other post same subject, will reduce this material build up before it happens to solidify, and keeps your radiator running as efficient as possible from external contaminants. For internal cleaning you would perform regular flushes and replenish with fresh fluid.

You can test whether or not the thermostat is opening by removing the surge tank cap on a cold system, start the engine with AC off and as the temp comes up on the coolant, the coolant inside the surge tank will begin to circulate when the thermostat opens. If the coolant doesn't circulate, the thermostat is most likely stuck closed.

 

Just to clear things up, my car does not "over" heat, it is within the limit set by the factory......I just might get a little nervous sometimes when it does go to max that I do the "heater trick".

Mine ain't broke and I would fix it if it were. thanks .....Greg

 

With a modern Vette, the cooling system should be just fine to keep the car's temp in control.

 

Mine runs 167* to 172* in 94* weather. Just about where I want it to.

 

For starters:
1. Check or change the hoses...make sure coolant is flowing.
2. Change your radiator cap.
3. Do a full system flush and replace with a 50/50% mix of DexCool and distilled water.
4. Pull the radiator and pressure clean it.
5. Make sure the A/C condensor is clean.
6. Make sure your water pump is working up to specs.
7. Check your tstat....make sure it is not sticking....put it in a pot of known temp. water.
8. Check your fans....make sure they both come on.
You'll be surprised when completed how cool your Vette will run.

 

Isn't that a bit too cool for this engine to operate at?

-Alex

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Camjamsdad
Mine runs 167* to 172* in 94* weather. Just about where I want it to.

Isn't that a bit too cool for this engine to operate at?

-Alex

Alex you are absolutely correct... This is not your grandfathers 1960 Buick... it seems many people equate this car to a iron blocked dinosaur, that weights 2 tons... The design of this LSX engine, was to make a 300 lb aluminum engine that can now produce 430 hp. Because of the material and design to extract every ounce of HP , lubrication is critical to an engine that can easily see 200,000 miles.. Running too cold is much worse than running too hot.. The reason is,engine design requires oil temps to be in the 200+ range... one of the reasons we added cold starts to the OLM algorithms. We know how cold engine oil can cause thermal breakdown due to shear. By running a cold engine oil, daily, you will only ensure premature engine failure, over time. The top end, will lose the lubricity so critical, and the oil will break down much faster.. running cold all the time is a lose lose situation.. anyone thinking "cold" with a modern engine design is only fooling himself. This is not the 60's,,,
Bill aka ET