Trying to keep this short.

95 Formula. Fans quit working and car overheated. I installed manual fan switch since I couldn't figure out why fan was not coming on (believe it may be the pcm) Car has 160 thermo as well, I do not remember the the temp gauge going much father than 1/2 in the past. All of the sudden in stop/go traffic i'm seeing 3/4 hash sometimes just over. Coolant does not gurgle/overflow into reserve so I'm assuming the radiator cap is ok. Water-pump is new, no leaks, thermo is new, air dam in place.. Since it is so hot down here in ATL right now I make sure and cut the fan on before I even start the car to keep it from warming up. This helps to keep the temperature lower for a longer period of time but inevitably when I hit stop and go traffic she starts creeping and often times pegs the 3/4 range.

I know my heater core is plugged up a little bit. Coolant has recently been flushed. If the heater core is clogged will the car overheat? If not, what ideas do you gentleman have? I have read that the car does not kick fans on until pretty high temps but i've never seen my gauge read that high before, I always remember at the warmest she would run at the half has mark. I figure engine temps should drop when fan comes on back to the 210ish area. I also would think that since I turn my fans on before the car even leaves the driveway she wouldn't ever make it so dangerously close to the red line?

Anxious to hear you all's thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

That sounds normal. If the fans are programmed stock the fans should come on at (if I remember correctly) 225* and 235*. That is past 3/4 mark. I wouldn't worry as long as the fans come on and the car temperature lowers while driving. No overheating either, of course.


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Yea man its 115 in las vegas now n my temp doesn't even get to 3/4 it stays in the middle now

 

If you interpolate between the 210* mark and the 260* mark, the 3/4 mark would be 235*. Interestingly, the location of the red zone varies from year to year and from Firebird to Camaro:

Courtesy of Shoebox:

http://shbox.com/1/temp_gauges1.jpg

 

So what gives? Even if it's not overheating I still find it dangerously close. What can I do to keep temps down?

 

I would get rid of the manual fan switch and have the pcm reprogrammed to turn the fan on at temps that compliment the 160stat. When the pcm is in control it will actually shut them off at higher speeds so they do not restrict the airflow.

The pcm is often blamed for things but reality is that it is very reliable and it is almost never the actual problem.

 

my car is doing about the same thing...found it has a leaking headgasket. Car idles fine and does not overheat...after driving it 10-15 min it starts to run hotter and to the point it starts to gurlge antifreeze out of the overflow. First red flag was when i pulled all the spark plugs and noticed one was a different color then the rest. I did a coolant pressure tester confirmed that cylinder was getting antifreeze in it.

 

Damn, I hope its not. I really don't want to have to pull the whole top end apart... I've never seen any oil or coolant mix, I also have never seen telltale white smoke from the exhaust..

 

No oil or coolant mixing in my car either. I'd would pull the plugs and hook up the coolant pressure tester and see if u get coolant in any cylinders.