I have a 91 camaro z28 with a 305 auto. I replaced the thermostat, water pump and radiator. It still runs 220 or a little higher. Both fans work. Any ideas. Thanks for the help

 

is it overheating, or is it running 220? 220 is not overheating in these cars - 220 is about normal op temp.

 

what temp thermostat did you install?

 

I put a 160 stat in it. It runs about 230 maybe i guess 235 in traffic, but cools to 225 maybe 230, I think. When it gets 220 or higher i can feel the upper radiator hose have coolant boiling in it.

 

well if you say everything is working... then you may need to check your timing... btw... 160 is too cool for these cars... you should go no lower than 180 degrees...

 

What is the ideal timing?

 

well that I do not know... you have TBI, correct?

 

according to autozone 6 degrees...

 

I have a 305 carb?

 

well I would say it's a TBI.. .do you have two large injectors on top of the carb under the air cleaner? do you know the difference between the two units...?

 

Yea I know the difference between the the two. I have a carb setup not a tbi setup

 

220 to 240 is NORMAL for these cars !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just a point-of-fact to begin with: 160* is not too cool, and you do not need to do any re-programming of the PROM to safely and successfully run a 160* stat.

That said, however, without lowering the fan temp in the PROM to better coordinate with the new lower-than-195* stat, then when you're sitting in traffic, even with a 160* stat, your engine will still heat up to the 220* range, which it apparently is. So that's nothing to worry about. Then when the fan turns-on, your engine should cool down to the fan-off temp(but not much lower) fairly easily and quickly. Now, that's for sitting in traffic.

But when running free-and-clear on the open road, if your engine temp is running in the 220* range, then you might have a problem somewhere. Because that's when your engine should be running in the temp range of the stat, which would be around 160* now.

You'll be getting a lot more fluctuating of the temps now than you used to because of the wider range between the stat and the fan temp. But from what you've said so far, everything sounds ok. So just keep monitoring your temps until you become confident with the gage and comfortable with the temp range you're seeing.

 

Air Dam......For sure, if he running hot on the highway and moving in traffic.

 

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Do you have an airdam? My car used to overheat and I found out there was no airdam on it. What a difference it made! Now my car barely gets to 220 on the hottest days.

 

Yes I have an air dam. It is on correctly. Just need to see how the car runs for awhile. Hope the temp gauge is just off