hey guys

i have an 86 trans am with a mild 355 engine and 700r4 trans, i have an aluminum hi-flow waterpump, a new 2 row all aluminum radiator, low temp thermostat, the works, and my car still runs hot, about 200 moving and when i get into traffic it reaches 230-240. Doesnt make sense to me ... any ideas? thanks!

 

I have an 89 trans am with a mild built 355 that runs around the same temp. I got a brand new radiator, the 160 termastat, an aluminum water pump and dual fans but it still runs a little hot don't know what else to do either????

 

bleed out the air in the lines? Have an air dam? Radiator cap working?

 

i have a new airdam that i installed a while back, helped a bit, the radiator cap is original, i believe, so that might be something to check, how do you bleed the system? i changed out a stock for stock radiator when i bought the car 5ish years ago, with the stock setup i never had any problems, except it was slow as hell. month ago swapped in an all aluminum 2 row radiator from jegs hoping it would help cool things a bit but no help thusfar...

 

Sure it's the real temp, and not just the guage? These factory guages are not the most accurate, especially after 15 years or longer. A local mechanic should read the temp for you with infared gun for little or no charge.

 

I don't really see any big red flags in your operating temp. When your car was stock it was designed to operate at 195°. The fans were calibrated to kick on at 234°. Remember these are ranges whereas you are going to fluctuate by +- a few degrees as you drive under different conditions. You have no grille so in traffic you have little air flow. Sounds like you have made performance mods. HP = heat. All things considered it sounds right on the money.