This is my first time usingthis forum. I just got a 1997 camaro z28. When I got it it needed a radiator. It wasn't a bad leak so I drove it from point A to B stopping every once in a while to put water in it before it got to hot. Anyway it ran about 190 the whole way back. I put a new radiator and thermostat in it before driving. Now my car is running just about 210 and almost at the third mark on the temp gauge. It goes up to almost the third mark and the fans cut on and it goes back down to 210. It does that the entire time I am driving the car. Does anyone know what this could be?

 

Did you bleed the air out of the system?

 

When i bleed the coolant does the car need to be running or off?

 

Running.

Is the front air dam still on the car?

 

Read the last bullet under "Refill".

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#radflush

With a stock thermostat, the coolant is supposed to run at the 210*F midpoint of the temperature gauge.

 

In slow city driving, with a stock cooling system, the temp will probably be right in the middle of the gauge, and may be slightly past it. When you stop in traffic, say for a traffic light, it is normal for the the temp to creep up close to the third hash mark, then go down when the fans come on. During highway driving, the temp will probably be to the left of the middle hash mark.

 

I tried bleeding the coolant system. I thought it might have been my fans not cutting on so hot wired the fan to maually cut on. I replaced the thermostat and radiator cap. Now what it is doing is running halfway between the 210 and third mark on my guage. But when I stop at a stop light or sign it goes down to 210 and stays there. The guy who had it before me put stop leak in it because the radiator was cracked. I was wondering if maybe it is clogged up in there if that is even a possibility. Please someone help I am currently trying to sell it for 2500 dollars just because i dont know what it is but I really don't want to

 

and it does not have the front air dam on the car. wasn't there when I bought it.

 

The missing air dam is why it heats up when you are driving and then cools down when you stop. Did you use the LT1 thermostat or a regular thermostat. The LT1 thermostat is different.

 

Yes, the front air dam needs to be replaced.