on my RS I have noticed that it has always had a bit of a cooling issue, never really took it into consideration until it started to damage my engine. I wanted to know if the stock fan/radiator is sufficient for this engine! it seems way to small and the plastic radiator just doesn't seem to be the kind of equipment you'd find on a V8 or any size. has anyone else experienced this problem? It gets particularly bad when idling too long in traffic. Pushed near 220 in dead winter last year and have had similar experiences where I needed to shut down the engine in traffic to keep it cool. There is no problem with the relay to my knowledge...the fan comes on but I don't know if it stays on long enough, I have no idea how long "long enough" should be. My 350s fan kicks almost immediately and stays on after the engine is off until the engine temp drops below 140 and then shuts off. The radiator has been cleaned and doesn't leak. Water pump is good too! I am at a total loss because this excess engine heat is starting to wear down my piston rings

 

well i'll tell you that the stock fan is enough for this engine because my L03 hasn't even gotten close to 220 since the summer. my fan is no longer computer controlled, it's manually controlled by a switch on my dash that i installed there during the summer. my only guess, and i'm not that smart with these cars yet, is your fan isn't staying on.

 

no leaks? get a pressure test kit and make sure its holding pressure. At the same time, replace your radiator cap, shouldn't be more than $6. You might also want to replace your t-stat, that could be sticking. make sure your hoses are all good, for the $30 bucks it cost to replace them all, it might be worth it.

as for the radiator, i replaced mine in my L03 with a Aluminum radiator from Advanced Auto Parts, i believe it was around $110 dollars. Only thing i didn't like, the side tanks are plastic, however with a life-time warrenty...

what about your air-dam? it shouldn't matter if its only heating up while sitting in traffic, but its good to have it anyways.

and yes, check your fan to make sure its staying on.

-fly

 

Do you have a front air deflector? It could help out a big differenct by forcing air into your radiator. It might also be a good idea to replace soon if its still plastic. Mine got a crack in it from the heat and pressure. Switched to aluminum and everything works fine.

 

if you have to turn the car off in traffic then something is very wrong...
even is the outside temp is cold i still run a tad under 220..
and when the outside temp is hot i run about 220 and heat up some before the fan turns on, but no where near overheating..

so 220 is a common temp for these cars to run..


but if it overheats in traffic most likely your not flowing the coolant good enough (i.e. waterpump).. or the thermostat could be bad or a clog somewhere in the system like in the rad or heater core..

make sure your running a decent coolant mixture, and building good pressure in the system with no leaks...

 

Cluster guauges are not very accurate! A test of mine that told me alot - I took a candy thermometer (kitchen type for making candy) and opened the radiator cap on a cold engine, stuck the thermometer on the radiator at the top of the opening where the coolant comes in from engine, and started her up. I watched the thermometer until the fan came on, and read the temp. Found out my fan switch was working, but was faulty and made fan come on at a much higher temp than it should. My guage still read normal at this temp as well, so I know my guage is off.

I also took this thermometer inside, with my thermostat, and boiled the thermostat, while reading the thermometer. My thermo was fine, opening at 180 like it should.

So I replaced the fan switch (got a Hypertech 200/185). I also replaced the sending unti for the guage, but guage still reads wrong, so I know my guage is off. But a retest with candy thermometer shows fan coming on at exactly 200 like it should.

Lesson - never trust accuracy of guages.

 

Have you tried your a/c turn on trick? When you turn it in the fan should kick on. If that doesn't work, just install a toggle switch and do it by hand!

 

the stock radiator should be enough for a stock car. my car has every mod in the book (including a 330hp 350) EXCEPT for a new radiator OR fan. and mine NEVER comes close to overheating.

make sure you have the air deflector and the baffle or whatever it is called. when i got my car, the deflector was cut short, and the baffle was cracked. it ran a little hot, so i replaced them both. it was amazing how much it helped.

also, is there a lot of crap between your evaporator (i think its the evaporator..the "radiator" for the A/C) and your radiator? when i took mine out, there was an inch of leaves and crap filling up the space between that and the radiator.

check what the other guys said...t-stat, etc. and MAKE SURE your fan is working right. check your fan switch. that will make or break a cooling system.

-brian

 

I had about the same problem with my car in the summer with. the car getting around 220 with the fan running like hell. that was in stop and go traffic with the A/C on. turn the A/C off annd it would cool down. I tried everything to fix the problem ( belts, hoses T-stat) then i took my car to a friend and he checked to see it the fan was running fast enuff ( in lamans terms moving enuff air pass the radiator). It turned out that the fan motor was bad . i replaced the fan motor and have not had a problem with it.

The way he tested it was by straight wiring power to iit and see how long it takes the fan to reach full speed.

Also one thing to check is the plug for the fan relay they have a problem with getting hot and melting the plastic connector and not making good contact.

another thing to think about is upgrading to the newer style setup with dual fans