mompantero

Just bought a "new" C5 (1998) and am just getting accustomed to driving it (and waiting for it to blow up !). Seriously, used cars that I don't know much about make me nervous although the Chevy dealer (not the one that sold me the car) says it's a good runner!! Was wondering what is the "normal operating coolant temp of these cars. I generally run around 200 to 210 during normal driving. On a hot day (90 F) at a red light I can get as high as 230 but it never seems to go over 230, AC on or off doesn't seem to make a difference. I had the water pump and thermostat replaced by the Chevy dealer (at no small fee by the way) and they changed the coolant at that time. Should I be concerned or is this temperature normal for the car? What are the signs of over-heating that I need to be alert to (i.e. what's considered too hot)?

coia96vette

Normal for the LS1 engine. Fans don't come on until 227 on low and 236 on high. When I first got my '04 I was surprised also.

am3gross

That's what mine runs also.. it should be possible to put a lower thermostat and a tune to run cooler thou..

JR-01

You may want to clean out the fins on the radiator and condenser. They probably haven't been cleaned in 19 years. If you do, I bet you can get it to run around 195 on the highway.

neutron82

you can have the fan on/off temps adjusted and make the car run considerably cooler, no lower temp thermostat needed

knewblewkorvette

I'd say that is just a tad higher than normal but definitely not too high. Like others said, you might want to clean the radiator.

acuevo

Plus one for cleaning the radiator... mine had a bunch of leaves and stuff in it when I bought it. Mine generally runs between 195 and 210 as long as the car is moving. In traffic it has gotten as high as 225 230ish. As others have said, I'd definitely get it programmed so the fan comes on sooner. I'll be doing that eventually as well.

mompantero

Thanks for the advice. I did flush out the radiator and condenser fins and got a bunch of dirt out, that helped some. Will look into re-programming the fans but it sounds like the car is acting normally which makes me more comfortable about driving it.