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Old Mar 7, 2018 | 12:45 PM
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Default Max water temp

Was in long traffic jam last night. Temp gauge looked around 230f. Could not press the dic key for exact reading. When i got going again after 2 hours it dropped to 194. At what temp does it get dangerous for the engine?
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Old Mar 7, 2018 | 03:03 PM
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You are fine.. In stop & go traffic the low fan setting doesn't eveb come on until
about 225*.. If temp goes up over 230* ish, the fans kick into high speed...
Nothing to worry about
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Old Mar 7, 2018 | 05:05 PM
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You're fine. The fans don't turn on to max setting until 235 degrees. Thermostat is 190 degrees, so 194 is normal for when the car is moving.
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Old Mar 7, 2018 | 09:17 PM
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Pull the radiator and clean the outer fins and keep them blown out, this is a known common problem
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Old Mar 8, 2018 | 04:04 AM
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You could also turn on the AC when in traffic and fan will come on. That's what I do when temperature gets around 210. It immediately goes down.
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Old Mar 8, 2018 | 09:18 AM
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The condensor is blazing hot when ac is on. Thats not a good idea.
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Old Mar 8, 2018 | 08:26 PM
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Originally Posted by johnfin
The condensor is blazing hot when ac is on. Thats not a good idea.

Correct,...you are actually better turning on the heat and that will extract heat from the engine Bay to your cabin. Of course you get hot but you can roll down windows. If you are truly worried about overheating this is the best option in a pinch if radiator is leaking or whatever before you can stop safely. But I agree 235 is nothing to worry about. I would not worry unless it gets over 260ish.

Last edited by C5Z06CE; Mar 8, 2018 at 08:27 PM.
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Old Mar 9, 2018 | 01:54 AM
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Originally Posted by johnfin
The condensor is blazing hot when ac is on. Thats not a good idea.
I only let the AC on for a few minutes while the temperature comes down. Thanks for the clarification.
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Old Mar 12, 2018 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by johnfin
The condensor is blazing hot when ac is on. Thats not a good idea.
It's a fact, engine runs cooler with A/C on in stop and go traffic.
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Old Mar 12, 2018 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by UM Rebel
It's a fact, engine runs cooler with A/C on in stop and go traffic.
Yep, the fans turn on at lower temperatures with A/C on.
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Old Mar 12, 2018 | 06:34 PM
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Cleaning the rad is good, but you don't need to actually pull the rad to clean it unless it's in terrible shape.

Get under the car and blast it through the radiator, towards the front, with compressed air. That does the trick for me. Even in 100+ weather, stop and go, with a supercharger, no problems.
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Old Mar 12, 2018 | 07:39 PM
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Originally Posted by gimp
Cleaning the rad is good, but you don't need to actually pull the rad to clean it unless it's in terrible shape.

Get under the car and blast it through the radiator, towards the front, with compressed air. That does the trick for me. Even in 100+ weather, stop and go, with a supercharger, no problems.
You wont blast that out, I pulled and cleaned on it for FOUR hours.


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Old Mar 12, 2018 | 08:54 PM
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Well, it looks like you have a hell of a lot more crap in yours than I did in mine.
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Old Mar 13, 2018 | 08:25 AM
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Originally Posted by FASTFATBOY
You wont blast that out, I pulled and cleaned on it for FOUR hours.


Found at Home Depot, a steel brush, about one and a half inches in wide and on a long flexible handle. It cleaned real well and now I do it around once a year.
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Old Mar 13, 2018 | 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by runner140*
Found at Home Depot, a steel brush, about one and a half inches in wide and on a long flexible handle. It cleaned real well and now I do it around once a year.
That will get the surface trash off, it won't get out what's embedded into the fins.

It took me two hours cleaning with water, brushes and compressed air so that I could see through the radiator holding it up to the sun.

These cars have VERY powerful fans, amazing what they can suck into the fins.

Last edited by FASTFATBOY; Mar 13, 2018 at 09:38 AM.
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Old Mar 13, 2018 | 09:43 AM
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I have 2 air tools that work great at cleaning the radiator and condenser without having to remove them from the car... one is called an air comb and the other is a radiator genie
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Old Mar 13, 2018 | 05:57 PM
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Another vote for the air comb
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Old Mar 13, 2018 | 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by neutron82
I have 2 air tools that work great at cleaning the radiator and condenser without having to remove them from the car... one is called an air comb and the other is a radiator genie
Another vote for the radiator genie. You can use either air or water.
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