im sure this subject has been discussed before but i am a little worried so i thought id ask again. My car seems to run hot. is it normal for it to reach the point where the fans kick on(225-230 degrees)everytime im driving around in the city. On the highway,driving above 30mph its fine and runs about 200. Soon as i hit a stop sign or light the temp goes up. Not overheating just running hot. I never had a car that ran like this so i was curious. Is this normal?

 

Does it do it all the time? .....only when the AC is on (or off)? ....hot weather AND cold weather? ......under what ambient temperatures if not all the time?

 

it does it all the time,no matter what temp it is outside. it cools off when i turn the a/c on cause the fans kick on to help with cooling.

 

My 96 TA does the same thing, but only in the last 3-4 months. I've had the car for 3 years and have never experienced it getting this hot before. The only difference between yours and mine, is if I'm at a constant speed it runs at about 180 or less depending on how fast I'm going, but once I slow down (stop light, traffic, etc...) it heats up pretty fast to 225-230 (never hits the red) until the fans kick on, and/or thermo opens, and then it does a needle moving routine (up-down, up-down, etc)

A little history about mine: replaced the radiator two years ago (and all hoses), replaced the WP in Feb07 and AGAIN two weeks ago, new thermostats each time (180's). I could go to 160's but that's not going to solve the "real" problem, if it actually is a problem.

I'm at a loss too, I've replaced many things over the years and now it runs too hot "I" think. I (we) need help before something blows.

 

i also replaced the waterpump about a year ago and a new thermostat too. Mine does the same thing as yours.

 

I ran the stk 180 t stat for years but i also had a JET fan switch which turns on both fans @200 and cuts the temp back to 185.I eventually went to a 160(don,t drive vehicle in winter) and this year i had my pcm tuned for the 160 so i don,t need the fan switch anymore and am selling it for 50.00,and i am inc. an adapter(this makes installing easier).Let me know if your interested.

 

I've also contemplated installing a 160 stat, but it seems to me that doing this just puts a bandaid on the real problem because for the first ~2.5 years of owning this car I've had virtually no problems and for the last 3-4 months it's been running hot and I would like to know why. Thanks for the fan switch offer but if anything I'm going to install the 160 stat and hopefully be done with it. El Paso winters are pretty easy, not much heat needed.

I just took a 10 minute trip to the gym (stop and go traffic) and when I was parking the temp was about 230.

FWIW this is what I've replaced in the ~3 years (cooling system wise): Water Pump (twice..THIS YEAR), Radiator, Cap, Thermostat (twice), all hoses, flushed fluids twice and bleed the system like mad man to make sure there's no air. I will check to see if my fans are working when they should, I need to check the gauge and sensor output, but that's all I can think of. My last resort is to change the stat and like you, tune the PCM for the fans to turn on sooner. Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

 

A 160 T-stat will help keep your car cooler on the highway, but in the city, you'll still heat up just the same as with the stock 180. To really get the benefit, you should get your PCM programmed to turn the fans on earlier for the 160 T-stat. The 160 T-stat alone will not solve your problem.

My car will still heat up in the city, but the re-programming keeps the temp under 210 (what the gauge shows) at all time. I do remember before the re-programming, that my car would get hot rather quickly. I've heard that was normal from other folks with LT1s.

Maybe check to see if all your fans are functional.

If so, get the 160 and have someone program your PCM to kick in sooner.

 

I've learned that these cars run hot as hell in the summer time. Years ago I would go back and fourth to the dealer trying to figure out why the car ran hotter than I liked it to. Best thing I ever did was install a manual fan switch. 14 bucks.

 

i know that when i feel my car is running too hot for my taste,i just kick on the a/c or the vents for outside air and the fans come on and cool it down. But the drawback is that i have an audio system that draws tons of power so when the a/c or vents are on it drains alot of power.

 

I have this problem with a car I am working on. I am going to stick a 160 stat in it and get the car tuned for it. I'll let you know how it works for me.
Steve

 

It is mostly normal for the LT1.

Even only installling a 160° thermostat, your engine will stay cooler when you are cruising. Then, when you stop in traffic, the engine will be at a lower temp and take a longer time to reach the temps you see now. When you get moving again it will cool down to where it was before you stopped. As already stated, this does not keep you from seeing the same temps you see now when stopped in traffic for a long time. Altering the fan ON temps along with the 160° thermostat is your best bet to keep it cooler overall.