Cooling problem in my c5
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Cooling problem in my c5
Hi Everyone, im new to the forum and just picked up my first c5 a couple weeks ago... Its a 97 and I got it for cheap because of high miles (170k) but it runs flawlessly. I never drive in the rain but I do live in NE so temps do get cold... that being said I took it out the other day and the temp started to creep up to the line above 220, (I believe that is 235?) What makes this even weirder is it was about 35 degrees F out... Maybe its normal since it is a city commute but it seemed weird to me. I looked underneath and saw that the air dams were missing, some people swear that this helps and others don't, I am just looking on some advise on what to do because I have a feeling the temp will creep much higher come july and august heat. I plan on doing a coolant flush and possibly lowering the temp in which the fans switch on. Is there anything else I should look at? There doesn't seem to be and debris in-between the rad and the cooler, I am just trying to do some preventative maintenance before the warmer months and any feedback would be great! Thanks!
Racer
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 424
Likes: 194
From: Colorado Springs
It have a 97, I’m in Colorado and when I upgraded to a SC took the radiator really cleaned it (a lot of crap came out) and put in a separate trans cooler but I run 175 to 185 hot or cold does not matter. They suck in a lot of bugs rocks and road trash!
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2019
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From: Somewhere, Florida
St. Jude Donor '20-'21-'22-'23-'24
The front air dam 100% does assist with cooling. Put at least the center one back in place. You can also clean between the radiator and AC condenser to remove the crud that is likely built up.
FYI though normal fan temp turn on is, I believe, 226 degrees. 235 is not an issue - if it were, it wouldn't be one line past the center of the gauge.
You can also get the exact temperature from the Driver Information Center. No need to guess what the lines are.
FYI though normal fan temp turn on is, I believe, 226 degrees. 235 is not an issue - if it were, it wouldn't be one line past the center of the gauge.
You can also get the exact temperature from the Driver Information Center. No need to guess what the lines are.
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Drifting
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 1,562
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From: Morristown, TN
Unless you took the radiator shroud and front cover and ac condenser out there is no way you were able to look at the radiator enough to say it isnt clogged. Take it out and power wash it and be amazed friend. The car is 24 years old. The radiator is dirty and clogged lol.
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jan 2022
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Awesome, I really appreciate all the feedback... thats gonna be the first thing on the list for this weekend, ill pull the rad, powerwash it and clean it, flush and burp it, and then throw the air dams on... thank you guys! I've heard of people saying to go with a 160 tstat but others say that it doesnt really do anything... any opinions on that? I figured since im in there I may as well throw a new tstat in but not sure if I should go with 160 or the factory 180
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Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 12
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also, looking in I saw that the guy before me filled the coolant with green instead of Dex-Cool (bonehead) so I'm definitley going to do a flush, anything else I should do since it had green in it instead of Dex-Cool??
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 4,308
Likes: 3,455
From: Somewhere, Florida
St. Jude Donor '20-'21-'22-'23-'24
To me, a 160 degree thermostat is a waste of energy once you think about how they work.
The temperature of the thermostat is when it is fully open - AKA passing all the coolant through the radiator. If it opens at 160 degrees, all that's doing is sending colder coolant through your radiator sooner than the stock temperature (which I think is 187, if I remember right). Above the thermostat's specified temperature, it's 100% open, so the radiator is doing the cooling.
The temperature of the thermostat is when it is fully open - AKA passing all the coolant through the radiator. If it opens at 160 degrees, all that's doing is sending colder coolant through your radiator sooner than the stock temperature (which I think is 187, if I remember right). Above the thermostat's specified temperature, it's 100% open, so the radiator is doing the cooling.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 1,562
Likes: 324
From: Morristown, TN
180 is fine for a car 90% of the time. Occasional spirited driving and daily driving a 180 is spot on. No need to over work the system persay to start to cool an engine down. Things need to be at temp for a reason. Hell Id say unless boosted or lots of N2O use then a standard t stat is fine all the time
Pro
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 682
Likes: 276
From: Cincinnati Ohio
Welcome to the forum Gary. Running above the thermostat setting on a winter 35 degree day sounds unusual; unless you are rush hour bumper to bumper stop and go traffic. First I will ask the obvious, do you have a full coolant system and does it hold pressure? Once that’s known, you can move on to diagnose and fix.
My opinion on the next steps are to get it into a known condition: Fresh coolant fill and new air dams. We did have a member last year posting about high coolant temps on a car without air dams.
My opinion on the next steps are to get it into a known condition: Fresh coolant fill and new air dams. We did have a member last year posting about high coolant temps on a car without air dams.
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jan 2022
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Yes sir, as far as I know pressure is good, there are no leaks im positive about that. I am definitely going to do a coolant flush as well as oil change just because the car is new to me. I will also be putting the air dams on once they come in. What was weird to me was that later on that night, I drove the car to home depot after work, and then back home, probably about a 20 mile commute and since it was later the roads were pretty open, the temp stayed right inbetween 190-200 while it was about 25-30 degrees out. Really weird so I'm gonna do those few things and try to do process of elimination... thanks guys!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2010
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Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
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Awesome, I really appreciate all the feedback... thats gonna be the first thing on the list for this weekend, ill pull the rad, powerwash it and clean it, flush and burp it, and then throw the air dams on... thank you guys! I've heard of people saying to go with a 160 tstat but others say that it doesnt really do anything... any opinions on that? I figured since im in there I may as well throw a new tstat in but not sure if I should go with 160 or the factory 180
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
To me, a 160 degree thermostat is a waste of energy once you think about how they work.
The temperature of the thermostat is when it is fully open - AKA passing all the coolant through the radiator. If it opens at 160 degrees, all that's doing is sending colder coolant through your radiator sooner than the stock temperature (which I think is 187, if I remember right). Above the thermostat's specified temperature, it's 100% open, so the radiator is doing the cooling.
The temperature of the thermostat is when it is fully open - AKA passing all the coolant through the radiator. If it opens at 160 degrees, all that's doing is sending colder coolant through your radiator sooner than the stock temperature (which I think is 187, if I remember right). Above the thermostat's specified temperature, it's 100% open, so the radiator is doing the cooling.
My car has a stock rated thermostat and It will typically run in the mid to high 190's on the highway. If 193*F was the rated fully open temperature of the thermostat then it'd run below 193*F on the highway.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 2,189
Likes: 82
Hi Everyone, im new to the forum and just picked up my first c5 a couple weeks ago... Its a 97 and I got it for cheap because of high miles (170k) but it runs flawlessly. I never drive in the rain but I do live in NE so temps do get cold... that being said I took it out the other day and the temp started to creep up to the line above 220, (I believe that is 235?) What makes this even weirder is it was about 35 degrees F out... Maybe its normal since it is a city commute but it seemed weird to me. I looked underneath and saw that the air dams were missing, some people swear that this helps and others don't, I am just looking on some advise on what to do because I have a feeling the temp will creep much higher come july and august heat. I plan on doing a coolant flush and possibly lowering the temp in which the fans switch on. Is there anything else I should look at? There doesn't seem to be and debris in-between the rad and the cooler, I am just trying to do some preventative maintenance before the warmer months and any feedback would be great! Thanks!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,399
Likes: 1,339
From: Havre de Grace Maryland
Before pulling radiator, you may want to first try cleaning the radiator while still in the car. I bought Radiator Genie and was able to clean the radiators from underneath. The tube is narrow enough to go between the two. After cleaning, suggest making or purchasing (West Coast Corvette item 17188140 Search result: 1 result for "17188140") a lower radiator screen to keep larger stuff from being sucked in.
