Simple solution I guess is to not have the a/c on will sitting in 95+ Degree F. summers. But would be nice, if I could like everyone else .

The car is in mint condition. 1OK original miles on race engine and body. Never heats up when A/C is off in any whether condition. Gets good water flow and has air dam. I was told that maybe increasing size of radiator might solve the overheating problem with a/c on.

Also was told that customizing some air ducts in the hood and underneath of chassis will help as well. There is basically no room to work in this engine. Not sure if an oversized radiator will fit. Really don’t want to pull it off to find out. Can’t get what it’s worth so want to daily drive it WITH A/C in Hot Florida.

Does anyone have any experience installing an oversized radiator and where I could buy one?

oh ya forgot to mentioned car has been lowered 3" NO ground effects.

Thanks
Waystar

 

You didnt mention anything of the fans.... are they turning on?

Is it just when your sitting it overheats?

 

My 95 LT1 already has a larger radiator, fans programmed to come on earlier, a 160 degree thermostat, and a Meziere HD EWP(the EWP waiting to be installed). It still gets too hot when the AC is turned on in traffic. I'm thinking my second fan is not turning on when it is supposed to. I will be checking it this week. If not maybe an airflow issue. Check to see if your fans are turning on. How hot is it getting?

 

Yes fans come on at appropriate times. I do have a transmission oil cooler in front of the radiator as well. Snake like coil with lots of breathing room for the radiator, probably not the problem but maybe worth mentioning.

Waystar

 

I also have my B&M stacked plate transcooler in front of my AC condensor. hmm.. I still don't think that is my problem though. I plan on waiting until it gets hot again and checking the second fan. Usually my temps are in the 170's traveling at 70mph and about 180-190's when in traffic with no AC. Last weekend though it hit 240 with the AC on and at a dead stop in traffic in hot azz weather. What are your temps under various operating conditions?

 

Mine are exactly the same. When it hit 240 in traffic with A/C on I turned A/C off and temp came down to acceptable levels.

Maybe just a issue I will need to live with. Be really interesting to see if your mods help or not?

Thanks for the confirmation. At least I know I am not alone on this one. As you know if you try to figure this stuff out on your own it can be solved. Only problem is that takes alot of time. Which I dont have much of these days..maybe when I retire. The other option is to pay someone and that just asking for trouble...soooo

 

Try getting a manual fanswitch and draining your radiator out, filling it up with distilled water and running it then. I have a friend that runs at 180 all the time even at idle just from doing that.

 

My car runs at 170 all the time on the street with my becool if I keep the fans on, stop and go or any kind of driving condictions. They didnt fill the block in your "race" engine did they?

 

what are the specs on your becool radiator and where can I get more info on it?

also not sure what you mean by 'fill in the block' please elaborate?

 

http://www.becool.com Only good to 350 HP, per site info..

http://www.griffinrad.com

Are you running 160 degree thermostat?? Programed for fans to come on sooner??

 

First thing to do would be change out your coolant (all of it) and refill with a mixture more like 20% coolant / 80% water (I would suggest 0 coolant but you won't have any corrosion protection). Water is more thermally conductive so it should help pull more heat out of the engine. Are you sure your fans operate at low and high speed. On my 95 I had a wiring problem and only low speed worked. Took a while to figure that one out, since it sounded like they were working right.
If nothing else works you could try an electric water pump as well (since it will flow more at low rpms it may help considerably with stop and go traffic). A larger radiator should help as well but isn't the easiest or cheapest route.

 

You might want to inspect the condition of your radiator and condenser fins. I had a a/c issue that pointed to high condenser temps. The Camaro also took longer to lower the water temps during city stop and go traffic. Well after inspecting both the radiator and condenser, they both had lots of dirt and sand in them. I reverse blew both with compressed air and was really surprised as to the amount that came out. Now my a/c works within the performance chart parameters and the water temp now goes down a bit faster.

 

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. All of you gave me a lot to think about.

Probably will do the radiator flush, inspection etc. first. Check out the thermostat to make sure its 160, Then double check the fans to make sure they are coming on.
not sure how to program the fans (don’t like to hard wire anything. probably check out comp software like LT1 edit from carputing or do I need to get the PCM reprogrammed?) Guess my last resort will be the electric water pump and oversized rad.

How do I check condenser temps?

Again thanks for all your help

 

I found my problem. Well almost. My passanger side fan is not coming on with the AC on. This is causing my temps to slowly creep up when sitting in traffic. I'm going to check the connections, fuses, etc. in the morning.

 

I diagnosed the high condenser temps from the pressure readings taken from my A/C manifold gauges. I believe the only temps a scanner can read would be evap temps because I don't think that the condenser has a temp sensor.