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85° at night in the garage and there's only about a 15° split between input coolant and output coolant while the fans are on high. The program to be on high at about 175° and I have a 160° thermostat. In spite of this on 95° days I find the temperature climbs up to 190 when sitting still at a traffic light. I'm losing ground here and if it sits long enough the temperature will even go over 200. That demonstrates that the cooling system is not capable of keeping up. No need to lecture me that the car was designed to run 214 to 234. That's not my goal here. Somebody already replaced the radiator on this car in the past. Seems to have the stock fans. What are you guys think about upgraded fans and what have you done on your car to keep the temps down?
That demonstrates that the cooling system is not capable of keeping up. No need to lecture me that the car was designed to run 214 to 234. That's not my goal here.
Sovled
Spend your $ and get you some bigger cooling fans
I like the GM Engineering lecture
My car seems normal 220
It helps to know the make and model of what you are trouble shooting
Maybe include it in your profile if it is personal
Last edited by drtyTshrt; Jul 31, 2025 at 02:08 AM.
When I upgraded my radiator to a DeWitt's, I also added their double fan kit. My car sits at 185 normal op temp (regardless of ambient) and in stop and go will climb up to 195 but not much more. I can hear the fans when they kick on high, I also have a 160 thermostat.
If you have the stock radiator, or stock size, there is only so much heat it can exchange with the cooling air.
So, if you want more heat extraction then you need more radiator capacity not bigger fan capacity.
i've done quite a few upgrades with my 97 for better cooling. all the usual mods,bigger radiator,cool air,sealing gaps,front plate mod,cleaning gunk out, air flow is everything. my next move is more powerful coolant fans. would like to hear about the Spal fan replacement into stock coolant fan mounting. it can be done I think. I currently use a so-cal remote control coolant fan control. control it from the drivers seat. I can run anywhere from 195 to 210 anytime but it's a manual operation. I would like automatic operation. anytime I get above 210 I push the on button and it goes back down to where I want it to be. that shows air flow is everything. I'm talking about stop and go traffic. open road is 192 to 197.
I found that the DeWitts radiator and their fans work the best. I have a different aluminum radiator in now as I had to order another DeWitts because of a leak that couldn't be fixed, so I put my backup in until the new one could arrive. It runs I'd say about 5-10 degrees warmer. I had it out a few weeks ago and it ran between 195 to 201 with the AC on. The DeWitts never went above 195 and usually in the 180's that I've observed.
Dewitts 3200cfm total. stock 1600cfm total. my factory should is flat unlike others. being flat is much easier to install aftermarket higher flow fans. been looking into this for a long time.
was designed to burn off contaminates and moisture at those temps. those will start to burn off at about 190. I wanna be at 195-210 all the time. I can do that with the so-cal remote coolant fan fob. just would like it to be automatic. readjusting coolant fans to come on sooner is out of the question being 97. it'll cost about 350-400 to do it and a couple days down time. so manual it is.
I just installed the Dewitts fan a couple days ago. They fit with the stock radiator perfect.
Installation took about an hour. No need to drain the coolant. You do need to disconnect the upper radiator hose for clearance, as well as the 2 small hoses on the top right side.
It can be done from the top with a little jockeying it around. Getting the stock fans out is harder than putting the new ones in.
I've only driven it twice since the install, but it runs about 10-15 degrees cooler. Between 190-200 on the highway with the a/c on. And around 210 today in traffic with a/c off and round 220 with a/c on with ambient temp at 97 degrees. The fans are on the stock setting and the thermostat is stock.
I just installed the Dewitts fan a couple days ago. They fit with the stock radiator perfect.
Installation took about an hour. No need to drain the coolant. You do need to disconnect the upper radiator hose for clearance, as well as the 2 small hoses on the top right side.
It can be done from the top with a little jockeying it around. Getting the stock fans out is harder than putting the new ones in.
I've only driven it twice since the install, but it runs about 10-15 degrees cooler. Between 190-200 on the highway with the a/c on. And around 210 today in traffic with a/c off and round 220 with a/c on with ambient temp at 97 degrees. The fans are on the stock setting and the thermostat is stock.
No offense, but this sounds like what the Coolit fan controller will do too. Keeps the car about 10 degrees cooler running the stock fan all the time.
Honestly, I've just come to terms with this car running hot. I don't see much sense in keeping water temps a bit cooler when the oil temp is still hitting 240 in the worst conditions. Totally normal. These cars have been running hot for 20+ years and 100's of thousands of miles with no real problems.
I just installed the Dewitts fan a couple days ago. They fit with the stock radiator perfect.
Installation took about an hour. No need to drain the coolant. You do need to disconnect the upper radiator hose for clearance, as well as the 2 small hoses on the top right side.
It can be done from the top with a little jockeying it around. Getting the stock fans out is harder than putting the new ones in.
I've only driven it twice since the install, but it runs about 10-15 degrees cooler. Between 190-200 on the highway with the a/c on. And around 210 today in traffic with a/c off and round 220 with a/c on with ambient temp at 97 degrees. The fans are on the stock setting and the thermostat is stock.
You do realize that the fans do not operate after the 35mph mark, right? So highway speeds, the engine wouldn't know if you ran a DeWitts fan, a Spal fan, a GM fan, or no fan. At idle and around town, yes, some fans are better than others.....
I ran a small test a few years ago. Stock fan with GM motors. Stock fan with aftermarket motors. And Spall fans (part of Dewitts setup.). Compared air flow speed. After market motors ten percent lower air flow and Spall fans 10 percent more flow than stock. Was not a very accurate test however. Just the ten percent made enough difference to generally keep the car at 195. It is very difficult to keep the car above 35 mph in Southern California traffic.
You do realize that the fans do not operate after the 35mph mark, right? So highway speeds, the engine wouldn't know if you ran a DeWitts fan, a Spal fan, a GM fan, or no fan. At idle and around town, yes, some fans are better than others.....
Yes. I don't have a cooling issue at speed. It stays pretty steady around 190-195.
My issue is in traffic at a stand still.
There are times here in Baton Rouge, trying to get around with all the traffic and bridges, you can be stuck in traffic for upwards of 30 minutes, in 95+ degree heat. My temps would rise to above 240 until I started moving.
Since I installed the fans I haven't seen anything above 225. I do have the cool it fan control also but haven't used it since installing the new fans.
My car was spending 6-7 months in Florida each year. I have to say that both states have about the same temps and humidity. If anything, Florida may be a bit warmer and humidity is terrible. That all said, I've never seen 240° temps, and Florida red lights are MIGHTY long. I have actually gotten out of my car at a red light, gone to the trunk, gotten a soda pop out, opened it, and poured it into my YETI stainless cup, and gotten back inside the car with time to have several sips before the green light lit up!! I'm not kidding, either!!! I have a 160° Tstat, and DeWitts radiator, and a 25% UD ASP balancer. Just sayin'......
My car was spending 6-7 months in Florida each year. I have to say that both states have about the same temps and humidity. If anything, Florida may be a bit warmer and humidity is terrible. That all said, I've never seen 240° temps, and Florida red lights are MIGHTY long. I have actually gotten out of my car at a red light, gone to the trunk, gotten a soda pop out, opened it, and poured it into my YETI stainless cup, and gotten back inside the car with time to have several sips before the green light lit up!! I'm not kidding, either!!! I have a 160° Tstat, and DeWitts radiator, and a 25% UD ASP balancer. Just sayin'......
Do u have Dewitt's fans, and what are your operating temps?
Bigger cooling fans efficacy?
