i am having a problem with my 87 Trans Am overheating. i have replaced everything in the cooling system, including a new radiator, thermostat, waterpump, and upper and lower hoses. the fan is working, and i even tried putting a switch on it to run it the minute i start the car. all it did was prevent it from heating up as quickly. nothing seems to cure the problem. it was not a big issue in the cooler months, but now that the north carolina summer is starting to set in, its becoming very problematic. a friend suggested that it may be the catalytic converter, however, i dont see how. if anyone can elaborate on this, i would be interested. the air dam is missing from the front of the car, but that has never been a problem in the last 5 years i have had the vehicle. if anyone has any thoughts, id be happy to hear them. thanks in advance for any help.

-menace

 

Is the catalytic convertor the original? If so, it could create excess back pressure as in stuffing something into your exhaust pipe. IMO that could create a problem with heat, but not really sure. Have you changed anything in or with the motor? Timing been moved for any reason? As for the convertor, you could pull it off and use a test pipe in its place to see if the problem goes away before buying a new one. Good luck.

 

Check to make sure the radiator cap is holding presssure. I think yours should be 15lbs. If its bad and holds less pressure. the boiling point will lower. Have you changed anti freeze since its warmed up? or over the winter? to much anti freeze will aslo affect cooling. more than a 50/50 ratio will not desipate heat correctly.

 

the catalytic converter is the original, however, i had a problem with it about 2 years ago. apparently it was "clogged" so to speak, and being a traditional red neck, i 'fixed' it by ramming some exhaust pipe thru it to clear it out. i know that this wasnt the best way to do it, but being a full time student, i didnt have the funds available at the time to replace it. the engine is the original, completely stock, LG4 4BBL. it was given a full tune up about a year ago, and the timing was adjusted by my mechanic, but no major changes have been made to the engine, and it has run fine since then, up until the last month or so.

the radiator cap is holding pressure, it is brand new and the second one that i have had on the new radiator, as that was one of my first thoughts. i replaced the new one that i got with the radiator just in case, but it didnt seem to help the issue. the mix is about 50/50, changed about a month ago.

i dont know how possible it is that there could be a clogged water jacket in the block or heads as i am not aware of how the coolant flows thru them, but i do know that the coolant is circulating. it is visible when the radiator cap is off.

this is really starting to drive me nuts and im about ready to scrap this as a project car and buy a honda or something that i wont have to worry about reliability, as i commute to school daily.

thanks for the replies thus far.

-menace

 

bump

 

did you try taking the thermostat out for the summer? Plus I don't know how you ever cooled that off without the air dam. When my 5.7L camaro is running on the road it runs at about 160. Whn I am in traffic it goes to 210-220. It was running hot on me yesterday when it hit 94 and I was intraffic, But today I used the a/c all day and it was fine in traffic.

On that catalytic thing, mine is empty dude. Too much HP for that.I'm 30 over/ bored and stroked. 3 1/2 in pipes. It can choke you engine and cause it to overheat. I liked the ******* fix, mine is just empty. Runs like a champ too.

 

Quote: dont know how possible it is that there could be a clogged water jacket in the block or heads as i am not aware of how the coolant flows thru them, but i do know that the coolant is circulating. it is visible when the radiator cap off.


If you can see the coolant flow with cap off your radiator then you either removed or your thermostat is stuck open. That sometimes can cause a car to run hot if the water jackets in the block are thin( AKA. if the block has been board out one to many times)What happens is the hot water does not stay in the radiator long enough to cool down.You will not see this much but it does happen..


One thing I would like to know does the car get hotter when you are driving and then when you stop does it cool down a little? If you say yes then it is for sure your air damp.



As far as the catalytic convertor goes if it was cloged up your car would have no go power AT ALL!!!

 

I would put the air dam on until you can figure out your problem.

 

dncbadboy4u: the thermostat is in, its brand new, when i say that i can see the coolant flow, that is once the car reaches operating temperature.

im going to go to the local pull a part and see if i can find the air-dam for it and see if that makes a difference.

thanks for all the info guys,

menace

 

Ok... But most of the time if you have the cap off it take a long while for the themostat to open ,(for the water to flow). One more thing, if the air damp wont fix you could have a semi-blown head gasket.If you get a small crack in the head gasket on the exhaust side it can force heated air into the water jacket. (I have never seen this) but, a friend of mine has!! just another idea. Hope you the best of luck on your repairs

 

had that problem with my 87 -
-took off the cat no differance and did the things you did
I found out that they(the shop ) put in a tinny 2 core rad so I went to ace and bought a pice of tin. I bent up a scoop and attached it to the air dam it scooped up enough air on 95 + degrees days to keep the motor cool. Have you tried water wetter by red line? use it in the race car it is great. also for your cooling system run 90percent distiled water and 10 percent antifreeze to lube the pump and keep the parts from rusting. donot use this solution for anytime but summer as serious damage could accure if the water freezes--also only use distiled water in the cooling system tap or filtered has metal and minerals + otther stuff in it.

GB

rick

 

You can't rule out parts just because they are new . You can get bad parts. I agree with a previous post that they may have sold you the wrong radiator like one for a V6 or it could be poorly made and clogged. Is your new cap vented? I don't know what this means but I bought a new one today and the book on the counter recommended a 16 lb vented cap which is not what was on my car( I had a 15lb pressurized)

 

Go to a wrecking yard and get an air damn for 5 bucks. That air damn is designed for these cars to run cool, it isn' t like you got a big open grill in front of the radiator. I live in Vegas man trust me, Get an air damn before you waist your money on water wetter, etc. If you think about it any speed over 0 mph will be much cooler with the air damn.

My 02

Good luck.

 

AIR DAMN NOW (arnold voice)

Seriously, we should make a sticky that talks about AIR DAMN (pun) and how important it is.

Get a lower thermo, 170 works like a charm and flush the system.