Does an air-dam have that big of an effect on cooling the car down at 35mph? Sometimes while keeping a constant speed (35mph) it will start to heat up. The shop couldn't find anything else wrong with it bisides my busted air dam.

 

It's possible the broken air dam is the problem. 35 mph is about the speed the fan shuts off at I hear. Therefore, you have no airflow from the fan and you're not going quite fast enough for your speed and broken air dam to provide the airflow. This is often the case when someone has sufficient cooling at low speeds but not at higher speeds.

 

The airdam is a critical part of the cooling system, without it there is little directed air flow to the radiator. Yes, the fan will turn off over 35 . On dual fan models(tuned port)the secondary fan will run regardless of speed assuming the engine is hot enough to require it. I just did some major work and used my friends garage. I noticed mine was loose so I took it off and drove home without it. Could not believe how hot it got so fast.

 

Below 35mph the air dam doesn't help too much, the fan works below 35mph.

But yes, you do need an air dam.

 

I've had no air dam on my car for 2 years now, and it's never been past 195*. My car seems to be an exception to the air dam rule though.

With TA's it seems even more necessary for an air dam because there's no air coming in through the front nose like a Camaro's.

 

Where do you live though. Here in MD it can get over 100* in the summer.

 

explain how please. you sure its gone? i HAVE HAD MINE OFF, it got hot quick. miracle car or what

 

Back in the day, I ran mine without an air dam. I did lots of changes to the cooling system and got it so it would run fairly cool. Then third-gen became more and more improved and I found lots of posts on the air dam problem. I got one from the local dealer for around 25 bucks and they damn thing was running too cool in the winter--had to switch to a hotter thermostat. I can drive around town all day with the A/C on in 100 degree weather without a problem now. So, yes it makes a difference and yes you can go without if the rest of the cooling system is excellent.

 

My air dam came off hen i bought my car I am now told that was a big mistake although my car is odd it heats up on the intrestate and cools down in traffic go fig I am told that my ir dam is part of my problem though

 

when I first bought my 84 Trans Am the 305 overheated all the time b/c the dealer romoved what was left of the front ground effect and never replaced the air dam. I bought a new fact ground then the air dam and it made a huge diff but still was running a little to hot to be normal so I swapped out the smooth solid Trans Am grills and replaced them with the Firebird grills and they work so great that I'll never put the Trans Am ones on ever again. I have a 383 stroker in the car now and she runs at 180 and tops out at 210 then cools back down. firebird grills are another option for cooloing down an 82-84 3rd gen Firebird/Trans Am

 

I don't appear to have an air dam on mine, however it's a 305 and it really doesn't get all that hot here (25 degree C max)
I don't have a problem with heat.

My coolant never passes 105 C mark...

Fan is wired to be on with the ignition (hokey setup, gotta fix that)

When I put a 350 in it I'll be looking to get one..

 

Air dam a must [ had new motor installed and slappy broke my air dam and didn't tell me .] I picked up the car in a hurry [ running late for work] Jumped on hwy, temp went thought the roof real fast . Checked under saw broken dam, had it replaced free of charge ,never prob again.1 year later fan motor went ,had my fan replaced&wired direct so it runs all the time. The car never gets near 200degrs, will short life of fan motor but beats keeping an eye on temp in traffic.[i think]

 

By the way most guys hate bra's [mostly on a women] My car has one [some guys say cuts air flow ] never a prob .

 

Lol yeah it's gone cause I removed it. I have no real secret, regular flushes, brand new rad, water pump, thermostat. The only time I've had my 305 overheat was when I got my car back from the shop for an injector purge (I do everything else myself, can't trust other people with my car) and the idiots set my timing to like 6* retarded .

I live in Vancouver BC, Canada where it was 100* on several occasions this summer.

 

Me too (woot another vancouverite), but it's not california, or arizona, or even oregon..

When we had that 25 degree weather, it was 33 in seattle...

 

Amen, brother! Unless it's a transmission problem or machine work, I almost always do it myself for JUST THAT VERY REASON!! The one (and only!) time my RS saw a Chevy dealer, I got the car back with a blown fuse that rendered door locks inoperable, and two disconnected sensor wires that turned the SES light on as soon as I got out of the parking lot!

 

I wish I could do more of my own work. To keep an eye on what's happening to my car in the shop I only go to shops that allow me to watch while the work is being done. The link below is a site where you can rate and post opinions about shops you've used, good or bad.

http://www.mechanicyak.com/index.cfm