Hello new the fourms. Just got my 92' z28 a week ago, its my first camaro, actually my first car with muscle. But it dose get a little to hot, hotter then i like it. First for the fan question, at what temp should the fans kick on? And for the Coolant question, when i was checking all the fluids everything looked good till the coolant. After i took the radiator cap off i smelt the fuild it was water. I think this might be a bit of a problem becuz i live in Las Vegas and the summer is REALLY hot. So i ask should i dump the water and get coolant? If so to dump the water how would i go about doing it.

Thanks in advance.

 

Stock fan on temps are 223° and 235°.

Adding antifreeze to a cooling system with straight water will make the car run hotter. In Vegas, I'd go with 1 jug (gallon) of antifreeze and the rest water. That gives you about 25% antifreeze (enough for corrosion protection) while still allowing the water to cool the engine with max efficiency.

 

If this doesnt do the fancy for ya, there are other routes to go to get her cooler, Get a 160 degree thermo and get a chip that has the fans come on earlier.

 

If it has plain water in it I wouldn't doubt if there is some rust buildup also. Go buy some Prestone Super Clean and give the radiator a good flushing out. Then go with the coolant/anti-freeze.

 

The first step is to get and install the biggest radiator you can. My advice is not to get a lower thermostat. These engines are made to run hot. One of the problems with a lower thermostat is that the computer thinks it is not warmed up and will give you fast idle. The other issue is to be sure that the fan is running. I got a 91 3.1 V-6 and the fan was locked up because the plastic housing has warped. The strange thing is that the fan motor was OK. You could not tell the fan was locked up unless you tried to turn the fan by hand. The water pump is usually OK, but should be checked. Anyway, in my opinion from experience is to get a big radiator. This cured my overheating problem.

 

First question, does it got hot under normal driving, i.e. cruising on open road around 50-70mph.

If it does get hot cruising, then firstly, check the 'air dam' is still in place, then check for any obstructions to air flow, under the car, between the radiator and a/c condensor, etc.

If it doesn't get hot cruising, but gets hot idling and slow moving in traffic, etc. Then you need to turn your attention to the fan/s, check the operation, make sure they turn on as the car gets hot. Also wouldn't hurt to check you radiator cap too.
A lower temp thermostat will help overall temps (allowing the coolant into the radiator sooner), but once the thermostat is open, its job is done.

As stated in an earlier post, these cars are programmed to run hot, mainly for emissions, so saying its hotter than you'd like, may actually be the factory set normal operating temp for the car (220* - 230*).
You have two options if everything is working as it should, you can get the computer programmed to turn the fan/s on sooner, or you can wire in a manual switch.

Sara Lou