OVERHEATING after CAM Swap
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
OVERHEATING after CAM Swap
Today I did a CAM swap in my 2003 ZO6. Everything went rather smoothly and the problem I am having (even after doing a the burp procedure I found online), the car just overheats. FANs are running, but the car just shoots up in the temp department once it hits about 210, it screams up over 250. I am thinking it is a thermostat issue, but would like to see what others have experienced. Thanks in advance.
Micah
Micah
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Thermostats are inexpensive and if all other things have been ruled out,,, it looks like that may be the issue. Pull it out and do the boiling water test and see if it fully opens when it should. That will prove it 100%
Did you recheck the cooling air intake and make sure the space between the condenser and radiator are clean??
BC
Did you recheck the cooling air intake and make sure the space between the condenser and radiator are clean??
BC
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Thermostats are inexpensive and if all other things have been ruled out,,, it looks like that may be the issue. Pull it out and do the boiling water test and see if it fully opens when it should. That will prove it 100%
Did you recheck the cooling air intake and make sure the space between the condenser and radiator are clean??
BC
Did you recheck the cooling air intake and make sure the space between the condenser and radiator are clean??
BC
The car has been drive. Multiple times, the belt is on. But I know what you are saying.
We must have tried burping it about six times. Going to attempt things again this morning. Will update everyone later.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,245
Likes: 25
From: Blue Ridge Georgia
From my files:
Last, did you burp the cooling system after you flushed the radiator? Here's the procedure to burp baby:
Start w/ a cold engine
Remove rad. cap
Idle for 1 minute
Install cap
Cycle RPM from idle to 3000 until coolant reaches 210F
Shut off engine
Remove cap
Start engine
Idle for 1 minute
Install cap
Cycle RPM from idle to 3000 until coolant reaches 210F
Shut off engine
Remove cap
Top off
I have repeated the process a couple of times on at least 1 car to get enough trapped air out of the system.
Air pockets in the cooling system will drive you crasy with strange heating symptoms. Don't ask how I know that.........
Last, did you burp the cooling system after you flushed the radiator? Here's the procedure to burp baby:
Start w/ a cold engine
Remove rad. cap
Idle for 1 minute
Install cap
Cycle RPM from idle to 3000 until coolant reaches 210F
Shut off engine
Remove cap
Start engine
Idle for 1 minute
Install cap
Cycle RPM from idle to 3000 until coolant reaches 210F
Shut off engine
Remove cap
Top off
I have repeated the process a couple of times on at least 1 car to get enough trapped air out of the system.
Air pockets in the cooling system will drive you crasy with strange heating symptoms. Don't ask how I know that.........
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,649
Likes: 50
From: Goldsboro NC
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Okay, here is an UPDATE and it is a positive one.
Buddy had a 160 thermostat he bought but did not install, so I installed it. Took the old one and put in boiling water and when the water hit 185 degrees it open, so went back and did the burp test. I did not follow the directions that Paul so graviously provided. My buddy has a NICE incline going into his garage, so after we hit cycled it once, I back it onto the incline and the car burped up nice with the change in the stance and heat cycled it again. After that I moved the car so that the passenger nose was higher than the driver (about 1.5-2 foot difference) and oh boy it was like burping my baby boy after feeding him milk. It burped up nicely and the tempt dropped!
Now I need to tweak my tune to get the car to drive smoothly with the new CAM.
Thanks guys for all the help and tips!
Buddy had a 160 thermostat he bought but did not install, so I installed it. Took the old one and put in boiling water and when the water hit 185 degrees it open, so went back and did the burp test. I did not follow the directions that Paul so graviously provided. My buddy has a NICE incline going into his garage, so after we hit cycled it once, I back it onto the incline and the car burped up nice with the change in the stance and heat cycled it again. After that I moved the car so that the passenger nose was higher than the driver (about 1.5-2 foot difference) and oh boy it was like burping my baby boy after feeding him milk. It burped up nicely and the tempt dropped!
Now I need to tweak my tune to get the car to drive smoothly with the new CAM.
Thanks guys for all the help and tips!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,245
Likes: 25
From: Blue Ridge Georgia
I thought it was just a bunch of bull. But I had already decided to do the burp method after the cam install. It really burps, I couldn't believe it. That's why I keep the steps on hand. Glad it worked for you. How's the cam sound?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
The CAM sounds amazing! Nice little lope. I plan on posting videos and pictures once I get the tune worked out.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,649
Likes: 50
From: Goldsboro NC
Yes, my buddy's drive is pretty steep, so the final stage of my burping today, we decided to drive the car up his drive at a pretty good angle and the passenger nose was toward the front of his drive pointing up, this allowed the cap of the coolant resovior to be at the highest point and when I started the car and got circulation the air got to moving. I allowed the car to cool first to about 195 to slowly remove the cap first. When the car is very warm, you will be greeted with coolant if you remove the cap.
The CAM sounds amazing! Nice little lope. I plan on posting videos and pictures once I get the tune worked out.
The CAM sounds amazing! Nice little lope. I plan on posting videos and pictures once I get the tune worked out.
. What cam did you go with? I did a 233/239.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07