Engine Temp's

[Artic93]

I did a search and really came up with no diffinative answer to where our cars should run temp wise. My 93 hit 225 degrees in traffic , outside temp was high 80's and humid, and I took it home to cool off . I see where the "red line" for temp on the guage is about a 1/8 inch from the end and mine seemed too close for comfort! The car has 14K miles and has no debis on the front...where should this engine run with spirited driving and in traffic?

jason

[QB93Z]

When you say no debris on the front do you mean that you have removed the radiator shroud and the radiator and inspected the fins for blocked air flow? The answer to most cooling problems is to get good air flow through the radiator. Many owners have reported that their radiator fins were blocked with sand and grit that you probably can't see until you pull the radiator, and that a screen will not catch.

Good Luck!

[Aurora40]

I'm pretty sure the stock fans don't come on until around 225. Does your temp start to drop once the fans come on?

[Artic93]

It fluctuated between 225 and down to 216 with the car moving down short stretches...and no I have not removed the radiator yet, hoping this is SOP for the ZR1 having the temp up to the high 220's and not damaging the engine.

[SharkPilot]

My '91 would start getting warm in heavy traffic. When I removed the radiator the fins were all plugged up with dirt. There wasn't a lot of leaves or other debris just a lot of dirt. I tried flushing the fins with water and blowing them out with are and that didn't make much of a difference. There was still a lot of dirt visible in the fins. I settled for a new radiator to be certain and safe.
Yesterday I was in 95 degree heat and the temp ran at about 40% on the gauge and was very steady, only going up about one needle's breadth when I got off the freeway and into stop and go traffic.
The new radiator was only about $200.00 and was well worth the piece of mind and a happy LT5.
Now if I could just figure out a rough idle...

[Hammer]

New stock radiator. $148 shipped. Worked great for me.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/90-91...4864QQtcZphoto

Recently put a new radiator in car #473. $100 plus shipping of $14. www.corvetterecycling.com

[Aurora40]

Originally Posted by Artic93

It fluctuated between 225 and down to 216 with the car moving down short stretches...and no I have not removed the radiator yet, hoping this is SOP for the ZR1 having the temp up to the high 220's and not damaging the engine.

That sounds like normal fan on/off temps, but I'm not certain what they are stock. I would think high 220's is within the acceptable range.

One thing I like about Marc Haibeck's chips is he alters the fan points. It comes on around 215F, so usually if you come to a stop, the fans kick on pretty soon after. My car with the stock cooling system has no problem maintaining this temperature range.

The important thing is, if your fans come on, does your temp drop? If so, then the car is able to keep the cooling within whatever range it considers ok. If the fans can't keep the temp under control, then that's a problem.

[Artic93]

sounds like I need to do some testing to see if the fans are coming on as they should...thanks for the info!!

jason

[cuisinartvette]

Originally Posted by Aurora40

I'm pretty sure the stock fans don't come on until around 225. Does your temp start to drop once the fans come on?

These can heat up a bit in traffic....Pull the radiator and hold it up to a strong light, Ill bet youre surprised at what you find in there. A high pressure water hose coming from behind followed by comressed air (if you have it) will work wonders.

If yo havent already done so send your chip to Haibeck and have him lower the temps where the fans come on.

[8upZR1]

I would recommend cleaning the radiator first. If you have to spend money, buy the chip first. You may be very surprised at how effective the stock cooling system can be with a clean radiator and a good chip. My ZR1 would always overheat when I got it. I cleaned the radiator and the car would run just under the hot mark with a GM chip. With a haibec chip the temp never even reaches the middle of the gauge. I was most impressed.

One thing that did not seem to make any difference on my car was a lowewr temp thermostat. I think I have a 190 or 180 in it now and I never noticed a difference from the stock piece. Goodluck with the cooling.