If it does, mine never turns on.

It's become an issue for me lately since I tend to get stuck in trademark Seattle area traffic, and the water temperature will climb from 160 to 220-230, and the only things holding the temperature down is the coolant and engine oil.

Could a fuse have gone bad? What could be wrong? Is there anything else I can do to remedy this problem?

My car is in my sig.

Thanks!

Jason

 

I don't know about you but in traffic I sit around the 220* mark. On the highway I get a little lower till the car runs about 210* or 215*. Its not unusual as the fans aren't even set to turn on until about 225* (109* C) I think the thermostat is 190* stock.

If I'm wrong on any of this please correct me. I'm just going by what my temp gauge tells me.

 

That's why I'm concerned, here's how things have been working with me:

As long as the water temperature stays below 180 degrees, I get peak power and best throttle response. But when it goes one iota above that, I lose a drastic amount of power until the engine block itself cools down for a while.

I did notice something on my dad's 82 Vette (350 CFI). His fan is always on, and it feels really powerful in terms of acceleration and throttle response. Is this because the air pressure is higher in the engine bay because of the fan? If that's the case, is there a way I can configure my fans so that they're always on? I just saw that I have two engine fans when I looked at it this morning.

Jason

 

Stock fan turn on temps are approx 225 for the primary, 243 for the aux. At 225 or so the primary fan(driver side) should kick on and very quickly cool it down to the thermostat operating temp. Thats a perfectly acceptable area for engine operation. They delay fan operation for a very good reason. With a stock 195 stat any lower fan turn on would constantly cycle the fans chewing up the alternator, fan relays and the fan motors. They allow some breathing room so that while sitting in traffic the fans don't constantly cycle. You should not see any difference in performance between the 195 stat temp and 225 or so. The fan relays are a problem with these cars. Turn on the A/C and the primary should run. if it does not replace the primary fan relay. In fact if they are original replace them BOTH. They are a constant souce of problems with intermittent cooling problems with TG's. Running the fans all the time is a waste of time and makes everything fail sooner. If everything is working correctly and the cooling system is in good shape the engine will run well within it's safe range.

 

I have LB9 V8 in my 89....

and someone wired the fan ground to the block so it's always on (which cost me a jump yesterday cause I turned it on for the radio or something)

and I've driven to seattle and been in that traffic a few times and never had heat problems...

It never gets hot....

 

Danno, what should I do then when the temperature reaches 220? It always feels like I lose almost half my power the minute it goes past 180-190: my throttle response goes to **** after this point. Should I look into replacing my stock air cleaner box?

 

Don't think that will do it. You can try a 180 stat, many guys prefer it to the stock 195. Since the average temp will be lower it may give you that difference you are looking for. There is a perception or feel you get when the engine is cooler, many guys talk about it here. You can get 160, 170 and 180 degree stats for the TG's. You can also get a lower temp aux fan switch. The primary fan is driven by the ECM, the prom can be edited to turn on the primary at a lower temp. Most guy's use a lower temp fan sw. JET makes one that turns on the aux at about 200, off at 185 or thereabouts. What happens is that when the aux fan kicks on before the primary the ECM defaults and turns on both fans cooling it down quick. If you go that route use a 180 stat. The negative side of doing that is that the fans will cycle more often. It places more stress on the alt, the fan motors and the relays. Unless something else is going on that 25 degree swing should not really make much difference in performance. Check the base timing when it's at temp. Oil plays a role also. You will notice a big change in pressure when it fully comes up to temp. That change also makes the feel of the engine different. This is one of those cases where you would need numbers before and after.

 

Danno, thanks for the great info. I did some thinking, and I think I'll just leave things as they are. You are very right with the temperature having an effect on oil pressure, as the lower the water pressure is, the higher the oil pressure, and vice versa, but based on the FAQ I read, that's another question for another forum here.

Thanks!

Jason

 

And just so that other noobs like me know, yes, I do think that having a 160 stat is going to royally screw you when you go to emissions!

I can vouch for Danno; the guy really knows what he's talking about. Thanks again!