I have an 87 TA 5.0 v8 4bl. The car is constantly running at 220 ish. Only takes about twenty minutes to get there. Car feels like its running really hot. Some ppl suggest that 220 isnt really that hot, so if that is the case then something is wrong with the gauge maybe because the car is definately running hot. Gauge never goes past 220. What temp should the car be running at? Plus the fan turns on randomly at no specific temp because like at said it always gets up to 220 and stays there (gauge). When I open up the hood sometimes the "220" feels wrong because sometimes its hotter than other times. Sometimes fan is on when gauge says 220 and sometimes not. I've checked the fan (its stock) and there doesnt seem to be anything wrong. I changed the thermostat and the choke thermostat. I think the car might be off-timing, does that contibute? Car feels like its sucking too much air or something. Sometimes it idles perfect and others its too high and i have to rev it or play with it to lower the idle. Sometimes that works, but mostly I cant get idle to drop. I mess with the idle screw, but its still inconsistent. When I get it idlei'ng nice its below 1 but above the 500 mark so about half way. Im pretty sure thats where it should be idle'ing at. Radiator seems fine. The car was sitting for almost 4 years before I got it back on the road in april. so maybe that could have done this. Anyways Im getting frustrated because I cant figure out why it runs hot. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

 

Alright you asked like 15 questions but I will try to answer them all. First thing 220 is within perfect operating temp range. If you satrt to see 235-260 for a long time then you got problems. At long idle you should see around 220-225 then the fan will kick on. At highway speeds your temp guage should read around the 190-205 temp. range. I am going to guess your fan should kick on around 235 degrees. Timing can affect the way the car idles and how cool the engine temp is. Now make sure you adjust the idle screw when the car is at operating temp, because you are at operating temp longer than you are at any other range. My idle is around the 800 mark which is perfect. (thats around where your idle is at)

 

thank you

 

Yes, 220 is within factory operating temps. If the car was stored for 4 years was the coolant drained? Whether it was or not I would reverse flush it several times until it runs clean. Your fan is stock and if it is original, it is over 20 years old, maybe time to upgrade. Make sure your air dams are in place. I like my `88 383 TPI Iroc running cooler than factory so I replaced the thermostat with a 170 and changed the fan switch to one that comes on at 185 instead of 234 from the factory. It sounds like your cooling system is working the way the factory made it. You can check your temp guage by hooking up another or by using an infrared thermometer.

 

As other members have said the way your car runs can effect your temp so I would start with getting it running right and set your timming, then I would do a flush and fill and add some water wetter or royal purple's purple ice...I used the purple ice myself and my temp went down 15 degrees and I have heard of the same results with water wetter they are both great products IMO.

 

how exactly do you change the fan switch to a differct temp? my fan turns on at 235 which I think is to hot. I want the fan to turn on around 220 which is half on my temp guage.