Hey Guys,
I have hit a wall and I am kind of stumped... I took the car out the other day to a cars and coffee meet and on the way back My car went into reduced power mode saying it was over heating. I pulled into a parking lot as soon as it happened and shut the car down.. Let it sit for about 2hrs then started it and drove the the rest of the way home (about a half mile). looked it up online and talked to some friends which are mechanics and they said due to the year and miles (car has about 80k on it) it probably needs the water pump replaced. So I put a water pump on the car along with a new thermostat. didn't see the point in replacing the sensor because I know its working fine since it is reading the temp properly. I started the car turned the heat on... let it run until the fans came on wated a few seconds and shut it off... let it cool... topped off coolant level and then repeated. did this 4 times and it seems that I got the air pockets out of the car but it is still overheating... letting it run it goes up to 205 and sits there for a good while... then creeps up to 217. then pretty quickly runs up to 235-240 which at that point I shut the vehicle off...
The only other option I can think of is to now replace the radiator... any input on this would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!

 

My radiator popped its plastic top, via a crack, and it improved cooling performance when replaced, as expected. Car was clean when I bought it, but you never really know how it was cared for, and it has some miles.
but I would first attempt to find the reason the first solution failed.

Except for the expense and trouble, I don't see a downside to replacing the radiator. But you would regret that action if you found it was a stuck thermo, or a collapsed hose. A lot of guys report debris screwing things up, and a cleaning solved the issue. Since you didn't mention boiling or steam, I would check the reporting sensors. THe computer sees a distress that you didn't see, or perhaps just didn't report.

 

The last time I started it and let it run... there was some steam coming from the resivour as it got warmer... when I shut it down (I know this sounds stupid) but it either boiled a little bit or air pockets were coming out and a little spilled out of the resivour... I assume it was boiling since the car got up to 240..

 

Yeah , that's boiling. Wish I could help, but low skill levels prevent me, I always got along well with guys from Baltimore.

I didn't have a corvette shop around, so went to a respected caddy repair. Told the guy I had a hot vette outside. He resisted rolling his eyes, but then got my little joke when he walked outside and saw the car steaming on top of a puddle of coolant. $230 plus labor, and then later, a new hose and more fluid. I think they clamped off the top hose to work the repair, and it failed later on with a large straight gash across half the entire hose. Luckily for me, a car guy saw it fail , pulled over and offered me a ride home. I now have a hecho in mexico top hose from pepboys on the car. Odd they stock that hose in house, but worked well for me.

 

You may change to a 160 degree stat while your at it....

Make sure your A/C Condenser and Radiator are CLEAN!!!!!
Make sure your A/C Condenser and Radiator are CLEAN!!!!!

 

All good suggestions......BUT before doing any of these take a look here

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...condenser.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ing-issue.html

 

I'm almost positively sure that there is like a garbage bag or something covering your radiator, or in the worst case you need to replace your radiator. Its not a really hard job to do. Took me about 1 hour or so and I was just cruising. Just do the work right and look at what your doing. Remember parts usually only come out one way and go back in the same way. There's nothing out there that's truly really difficult. I mean yeah some things take a little longer than other but with the correct tools and a good eye at whats going on just about any one can do the job.

 

Welcome and don’t forget when your out and about driving and you pass another Vette to wave. 👋

 

I have had several cooling problems:

Radiator fan motors quit several times--Only applicable not moving or slow speed, doesn't sound like your problem

Radiator needed a good cleaning--not plastic bag or such, just dirt

Water pump and radiator still good at 189k miles.

 

Never go replacing components and hope that was the problem, insure both fans are coming on, does it overheat at highway speeds? Always try to diagnose before throwing money at it.

 

Also, double check to make sure the reservoir is not cracked somewhere, a small crack, especially on the underside where the hoses connect, can get fragile and hairline crack enough to cause some overheating and not be very noticiable.

 

Any time you drain or otherwise open the cooling system you must perform the Factory Service Manual air purge procedure. Otherwise there will be air in the heads and overheating.