Drill 4 small holes 3/16 in the thermostat. That will eliminate any pockets of air that could be trapped. Make sure your car has the lower air dam installed. Install a lower temp fan switch to turn on the fans earlier.Part number sw555 form autozone will turn on the fan just over 200degrees and its only 20 bucks.If its a 195 thermostat get it out of there. Good luck.

 

The airdam is a 3" tall and about 3.5-4 foot wide piece of plastic directly below the radiator going across the bottom of the car. It blocks air from going under the car and instead forces it up through the radiator. It's a vital necessity for these cars since they don't have much of a grille.


The radiator cap is designed to keep the cooling system pressurized. Coolant under pressure can run hotter without boiling than coolant under no pressure. If the cap isn't holding pressure, then the coolant will boil very easily and since boiling coolant doesn't cool the engine, it can cause overheating.


Also I prefer to use 2 holes 1/8" in diameter in the thermostat flange.

 

I agree with Grt.J about the holes ,and you could even go 1/16",maybe rottonJ meant 3/32" ,because four holes at 3/16" is almost 3/4" total and that may be a little to much. Some of the better thermostats already have a purge hole in them ,if you have one of these drill another hole the same size directly(180*) across from it ,that should take care of ant traped air. Grt. J explained about the air dam and the cap ,make sure you get the right pressure cap as too much pressure isn't good either. Look for a 15#only ,most are multiy pressure 14-16# which will work ,but you are better off with a straight !5#'er.

 

The 220 degree stat is your problem. Id go with the SLP 180 switch for your aplication.

 

nah its a 185 stat

 

yeah i look at it and its in a real crappy state, so ima replace it today or tomorrow....

 

if you have tried everything else... it might be that your water ways in the engine are clogged Mine were about 85% clogged. We unclogged them during a cam swap, and have never over heated after that.

 

Just get an adjustable fan controller from jegs. Hook up two wires and set it for whatever temp you want to. No more overheating, easy as that.