Ok guys, so I'm very new here. Please be patient with me. My car has sat for a good 8 months to a year with minimal driving. I own my own company and just don't have a lot of spare time. Dew to the fact that the steering colomn has made it impossible to go out and start most of the time I haven't had a chance to mess with it. So now I have it started and it's getting really hot. 260 yesterday no sighns of colant on the dipstick and no appearent leaking on the ground but it's always reading low. Coolant even when I top it off. Idk what to do at this point.

 

Change out your stat first!

 

Lots of choices. If you used the wrong coolant, it will "gum" up and cause it to over heat.

Is the fan coming on?

Cap bad?

Three ideas to start with.

 

Question, not statement, if the stat is bad, wouldn't the temp be even higher?

 

Not sure!

 

Not enough info to say.. he could be cutting it off when it gets to 260

I agree on swapping out the thermostat first..

 

Back side of the radiator on the passenger side about 7" down, you will find a connector for the radiator fan.

The connector will be clipped to the radiator just above the silver box.



Unplug the the top connector from the lower connector, clean both the top and bottom connectors and take a good look at them to make sure that the connectors are not melted.



If the connectors are not melted, use spray electrical contact cleaner to clean both connectors, put some dielectric grease on the prongs, and reconnect the connectors.

Now start the car, turn the AC on to a lowest temp setting, and check to make sure that that the radiator fan is spinning!!!! Hence the radiator fan will not kick on until the motor gets up to 199, or unless the AC is on instead.


If the fan is running with the AC on, then the problem is not the fan not running. If the fan is not running with the AC on, then you have a problem with either the PWM, the fan itself, or the wiring of the two.

The fan is easy to weed out, and with the motor not running, reach in and see if you can spin the fan by hand. If the fan will not turn by hand, then consider it cooked ,and you will need to replace it.
Note, there are ways of saving the fan, but if you have to ask, then may be over your head.

On the PWM (silver box on the back of the radiator that controls the fan), gets a little more complex, but there is a connector to the PWM at the bottom that you need to pull to make sure that the connector down there is not burn instead. Here two, when pulled and checked, clean the connectors and use some dielectric grease on the connectors when you plug the connector back in.


Also, there is a fuse for the fan in the engine fuse box, so when all else fails, check to make sure that the fuse is not blown.


Now if the fan is running with the AC on, then the problem is either the water pump turbine inside the water pump loose on the shaft and not turning with the pulley, the T stat for the water pump not opening, or you have a head gasket that is leaking and pressurizing the cooling system instead.

So to weed out the head gasket as the problem, just take a look at the engine oil for white type milk looking parts on the dip stick in the oil, or off color fluid in the coolant tank (oil should be oil color and radiator fluid should be clear orange tinted, with neither looking like they have coffee creamer in them).

So back to the water pump and T stat, and depending on the mileage, may just be time to replace both of them. If the water pump is going to be change, then a good time to flush the system with distilled water as well.

The water pump looks like this, and the T stat is housed in the left side hose nozzle housing section of it.




P.S, since you are getting a 260* reading and the coolant is boiling out of the reserve tank, then this tells you that the motor temp gauge is working fine, and not the problem.

 

Sorry guys been out messing with it. Fans working fine. I finally just put my mouth up to resavor plugged the overspill with my finger and blew for swole. I have a leak in my radiator just below the fan it looks like. It's getting dark now. Should I replace with maybe a zr1 radiator I plan on charging it eventually.

 

Is there any freeze plugs on these books or any thing that can freez and pop. It's not leaking around block but on radiator. My only concern is it looks like there wasn't mych coolant in the system. Also is anyone familiar with the stock hight of these cars I believe mine was lowered and that's probably how the radiator has been compromised if I had to guess. It seems lower than my old c5 and other c6s

 

ZR1 has weird fittings. A Z07 (not Z06) radiator is the same, but will work with your hoses.

Look at this option!

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