i just found out my engine was bored 60 over and i am having cooling issues and blew the head gasket should i get a bigger radiator? or would a stoker do the job? if i do need an upgrade where is a good place to get an affordable one?

 

I guess the question would be how hot it was running?

 

I asked the same thing with my mods below and said I should be ok and that a 160 thermostat would help as well as the tune for that stat and can change the point the fans turn on with the tune. My suggestion is take ac condenser and radiator out and clean all the rocks and debri from the fins( mine had alot making it soak heat) and do a good flush adjust the tune and add the thermostat and if needed can add a switch that will allow a manual override to turn the fan on in situations were you know it will build heat( like heavy stop and go traffic very low speed.

 

I would say no. There are plenty of high HP cars running around with .060" blocks running stock radiators (which are pretty good, btw).

 

ok cause it got hot enough to blow the head gaskets but i cant get the fans to come on on high speed either still trying to figure that out

 

To have a better chance of getting help, you need to add a "Signature" with basic info about your car - year, model, engine, trans and any major mods. There are subtle differences from year to year that can change the answer to your questions. Some years operate one fan/two fans, other years operate both fans low/both fans high, for example. Different mods could change the answer to whether you need a larger radiator. An auto trans car has different radiator loads than a manual trans car.

Have you scanned it? There could be a code for the high speed relay, the coolant temp sensor in the water pump housing, etc.

And you need to answer the questions.... how hot did it get in numbers? Did the gauge indicate in the red?

 

Are you sure the fans were on? Is the air dam still in place? My 414" engine is .060" and it runs about 5-10 degrees cooler than my 350 did. That may have to do with the different cylinder heads (TFS on my 350, AFR on my 414), i'm not really sure. I run a 100% stock-type cooling setup, stock radiator, stock fans, 160 stat and an electric water pump.

 

The only direct fit aftermarket radiators for these cars are not affordable.

 

ok i have a 97 z28 5.7l lt1 auto trans no mods (yet lol) the fans do come on on low speed at about 200 degrees and the car seems to run fine at an idle or city traffic but if i get on the highway for say 15-20 miles at 75mph or so when i get off and stop it will overheat (gauge gets into the red and it boils out the overflow) i have scanned it for codes there are none in the system

 

Im running a 385 stroker with a procharger on...making decent power...afr heads...etc etc etc.

160 degree therm..... And she does not even make it to the half way mark....

Stock rad...keeping up just fine.


Larry (Popo8) Co-owner
LTXtech.com

 

It sounds like an airflow issue. At speeds over 30 or 35 the fans won't come on. There is an airdam under the front which directs the incoming air up and into the radiator. It is a flimsy piece of plastic and they do get beaten up over time and can be bent or missing. If the airdam is still in place, then remove the radiator cover and take a look to see if anything is physically blocking the airflow. On my '91 Z28, it had built up a bunch of leaves and dirt between the a/c condenser and the radiator, which hampered the flow.

 

Verify that your fans are going to high speed. I rewired my fan relays so both fans are on high speed with the low speed command and they are programmed on @ 192F and off @ 178F. Even on a 100F day it never gets above 192F with a stock radiator.

 

air dam is in place it dose not get hot while driving its when i stop at a light or what not and my fans never come on on high speed only on low even with the ac i only get low speed not sure why

 

I bought a Becool radiator from a friend long time ago. Never noticed any difference in temps. I wish I would of spent the money elsewhere.

 

Check your fan relays to make sure they're getting power and the correct signals. I believe the high speed relay is #3 but I don't recall for certain.