ponykiller1187

i have a 87 camaro iroc i recently got it running and i have a autometer temp gauage it reads fine but when i get on it, the temp gets to 250 and i shut the car off. when i lift the hood up the overflow tank is boiling tho i dont have a cap for it. heres what might be the problem. i have ls1 fans and there pulling right now and it still over heats. theres no airdam and my antifreeze is nasty rust color can anyof these be a problem. any help would be apperciated

camaronewbie

Nasty antifreeze - yes a problem, do a flush.

No air dam, a big problem - get one! These cars cannot cool themselves at highway speeds without an air dam in place. You fans do absolutely nothing above 35 mph except get in the way of air flow. Note the air dam does not force airflow up in front of the radiator, it's purpose is to create a vacuum behind the radiator, so that air is sucked in from the front (air moves from a hi pressure area to a lo pressure area).

Jono4820

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CamaroLove45

my 92 rs camaro will get up to 230 degrees just ideling the fan is on the radiator cap is cool barely warm yet hoses are hot any ideas on what it could be?

dunkirk

Factory specs on my 89 RS is a 195 Thermostat and factory fan is to come on at 235. I do not have emission issues so I went with a 165 Thermostat

camaronewbie

And these gauges are far from accurate - so no matter what your gauge reads it's doubtful it's reading real temps. Can go as low as a 180 stat, but lower could make car run rich killing mileage and emissions.

ponykiller1187

i just put the air dam in now it doesnt get hot while on the highway but city driving it does. i flushed the nasty orange out and put new fluid in and it was fine but its back to its rustish color look. and it still sometimes overheats i have a auto meter gauge and i took the thermostat completly out hope thats not bad. it gets up to 225 and thats driving around town for like 15mins and it gets so hot under the hood and keep in mind i have a brand new radiator and LS1 fans. tho my car is a 87 and so was the orig v belt motor but i have a motor out of an 88 with the serp setup could that be a problem

camaronewbie

Did you swap to the reverse water pump when you did the serp bracket setup? The serp setups use a reverse flow water pump - if you kept your 1987 water pump, it's pumping backwards with the serp belt setup.

ponykiller1187

idk the water pump came with the new motor out of the 88

camaronewbie

Then it should be the proper water pump.

If the fans are running, and the car doesn't actually boil over, then I'd have a shop shoot the system with an infrared temp sensor and get real temps to see if the guage is reading correctly. Just because it's got the Autometer name on it doesn't guarantee the guage or the sender for it are working properly - even Autometer can make mistakes.

Not having a stat in it won't hurt anything, but you should be able to get it cooler with a stat in there - I wouldn't go lower than a 180 stat. My car will see 220 on a warm day in traffic or at a drive thru - of course that's based on my factory guage. But I never see over that. I run an aftermarket fan controller with my stock radiator and stock single fan with no issues.

Most factory setups will see 230 or 240 on the factory guage without overheating - these cars were designed to run hot for better emissions. But with a better fan setup, you should run a bit lower on the temps.

If the coolant is still yucky looking, I'd reflush again maybe.

Also, do you still have A/C? Check between the condensor and the radiator for leaves/debris/etc. - it collects there bad on these cars and blocks air flow to radiator.

ponykiller1187

the thing that gets me is that it boils over. i did a flush and it was alittle clear but it turned back to a orangish color. and i completly took out the condenseor. and i have the ls1fans which should cool it down i mean on highway its fine but city it gets alil hot and the overflow is bubbling but i dont have a cap on the overflow if that matters