Yesterday, was a very nice day 90+ degrees. I drove my 86 T/A about 5 miles or so to the beach, i noticed the engine running at or a tiny bit about 220 degrees. Almost as soon as i saw that, the engine started sputtering, i came to a stop sign, gave it some gas, and it sputtered, then died. This was the first 90 degree day this car has seen.

Its a carbed 350, new t-stat, new water pump, new radiator, and coolant is fine. I'm willing to guess my radiator fan doesn't STAY on, i know, when i turn the car off and keep the key in for power, the fan does work. But this morning i got to school (Yes, im still in high school i graduate in 12 days!) and it was right at or a little under 220 degrees, i popped the hood to see if the fan was running, it was, for a second and stopped turning. what can i do to keep this fan blowing?

 

I'm in need of serious help, its supposed to be hot and humid all week and if i can't drive more than 5 miles im F****d and probably going to have to sell it, which is deffinatly NOT on my to do list.

 

One thing you could try to do is put the fans on a switch so you personally turn them on and off and dont have to wory about them not turning... just dont forget them

 

you might need a new sensor. Did you change that when you replace the water pump etc... or it might be loose.

 

im wondering, im thinking i need a 4 core radiator so i can get a clutch fan on it, is it possible on a 350 carbed? Need answers fast, its just too hot outside for me to drive hardly anywhere.

 

Have you check your engine timing ? That could also heat up your engine. It happened to me once and I had to replace my distributor. I had a rs camaro with a tbi and kept over heating.

 

If you just need the fan to run, pull the wire off the temp switch on the block, and either cut it, or splice into it, and ground that wire. If you do that, the fan will run as long as the key is on.

 

No, The engine was rebuilt and only has MAYBE 11,000 miles on it, everything was replaced, honed, bored, its all good, and the timing may need to be reset, but im not too sure, but we were going to do that cuz i need to change out the cam. but now i got this problem and its blowing right over me. I just had a buddy reccomend a 160 degree thermostat, i THINK thats what i already have which is why this is such a big issue, but im going to look back at the logs and see what thermostat is in this. if its a 190, im buying a 160 today! And now i know its not the fan that's the problem. its strong and good!

 

Is the motor carbed or fuel injected? People tend to run into problems when using a 160 t-stat on fuel injected motors. It doesnt get warm enough to go into cloosed loop mode. If its carbed you dont gotta worry unless its a computer controlled carb.

 

Just cause you put a 160 stat in dosent mean the car will run at 160. The 160 only opens at 160, your motor can run as hot as it wants too. I would check the timing and your carb cause it might be running lean. What size is your new radiator ?

 

Its a carbed 350. And as far as the radiator i have to look up, its pretty big, probably 2.5 inches thick. But i did change the thermostat and it ran a solid 200-205 on the 90 degree day. But i believe we can get it a little cooler. Im gonna flush the whole system out. And the timing and carb, we were planning on doing it soon anyway. getting a smaller carb is first on the to do list for sure. and i also have to get a new cam too and exhaust gaskets. I think we'll be fine with this issue. Everything seems good. I'll keep updated tho. Thanks for the help guys!

 

One thing you might want to keep in mind, I am running an 86 trans am with a carbed 350 and i suffer from vapor locking. On the hot days especially (90-95 degrees), if I get stuck in traffic for long at all, the fuel begins to boil and the engine will shut off due to starvation. The only way to get it back up and running is to use some ether to fire it up so that the mechanical pump can do it's job. The temperature under the hood constantly climbs and before I know it, my fuel temp is 200+ degrees. I have plans to re-route the fuel lines but have not had time yet. You may want to take a look at your fuel lines and see if they are picking up excessive heat anywhere.

FYI, A couple years ago I had to re-run the fuel line from my tank to the motor because the stock location placed it up AGAINST the exhaust manifold I am running. Moving this line helped but I still experience it some.

 

My uncle just threw me that exact idea too. thanks