Im new here but i have some questions. I have a 92 firebird tbi stock. i have a new radiator and a manual fan switch on the dash. unless im moving fast my car overheats. what should i do?

 

make sure both fans are working amd check for leaks. I had similar problem with no external leaks. after a few weeks coolant started to disappear from radiator. i had a cylinder leak down test preformed and two cylinders were leaking so I replaced head gasket.

 

I have a single fan. There are no leaks too. Idk what it could be

 

Won't cool unless air can get through the radiator. Check for leaves/junk blocking radiator front or between AC condenser and radiator. Also how fast are the fans turning?

 

There is nothing blocked but i will double check. I have a single fan. Traffic just makes things worse since im always in the NJ/NY area....

 

I've just got the single fan and it works when it's over 100 degrees here. Fan needs to be turning strongly to work well enough too cool properly

 

Is the fan shroud intact, top and bottom? Needed to ensure air is pulled across the whole rad core, and doesn't recirculate around the sides of the fan.

 

Is it actually overheating, or is the temp guage just high?

Overheating = actually boiling over. If it's not boiling over, then it's not overheating. Normal temps would be 220 - 240. If the guage is reading higher, but it's not actually boiling over, then replace the temp guage sender between #1 and #3 spark plug on driver head.

 

It boils over. i was stranded for 6 hours 3 blocks from the entrance to the holland tunnel. what a mess

 

flush your entire system, purchase an aftermarket fan and verify that the fan does work.

 

since it cools ok at higher speeds,does sound like
something wrong with the fan-with the fan running,see
if piece of paper or other light material will suck up to
the front of the radiator or A/C condenser and hold in
place-if it does the fan is working well enough-if not
fan may be wired backwards and trying to blow air
forwards which it will do quite poorly as the blades are
curved the wrong way running in reverse.
If its not the original type fan,could be running
backwards or have the blade on wrong causing it blow
poorly..

 

Ha yeah check the basics! I got bitten by this just today - boiled it badly in about 5km. Wire fell off my temp sender, used by my homebrew fan controller. No fans running, and I didn't notice in time...

 

Check your thermostat to. Idk why no one has mentioned that yet.

 

it doesn't overheat when he's moving. If it were a stuck thermo then it wouldn't matter how the air is introduced be it via a fan or driving over 35 mph

 

If your car still has the A/C condenser in place it could be clogged with bugs/grass and other junk that shouldn't be there. If it is that will create a restriction and prevent the fan from pulling enough air across the radiator. Mine was and was causing high head pressure on the A/C. Get a can of coil cleaner from Home Depot for 5 bucks and it works wonders to clean old radiators/condensers. I did and it made my A/C blow 10 degrees cooler! Also could not be enough fan or a weak motor. I swaped the Ford 2 speed fan in mine over the weekend and it cools way better than the stock one could ever dream of. Also check your air dam to make sure it's still there and in one piece.

 

Since it cools OK while moving, the radiator is flowing air through it good enough to cool. Definitely sounds like a weak fan issue

 

Thanks for the responses. Im gonna try and swap the fan this weekend.

 

You can sometimes find good ones at the JY or you can get new replacement motors at most parts stores if you don't want to replace the whole thing. Have fun!

 

I no what your saying but everytime I have had a t-stat get stuck on me it always starts getting hotter when I idle vs driving.

 

Is the temp sensor on drivers head on the V6 as well?

 

If you mean the sender for the temp gauge it's on the driver side near the front corner. More info on the V6 board

 

in the state where we both live we are extra sensitive to the cooling system in our vehicles. I just put a hayden adjustable fan switch in and I like it.

I'm with you on replacing the thermo, they are cheap enough so why not.

 

Would any of these fans work?

http://www.amazon.com/Derale-16934-H...d=O4UPSC4VOPKJ

http://www.amazon.com/PROCOMP-ELECTR...d=O4UPSC4VOPKJ

http://www.amazon.com/PROCOMP-DUAL-E...d=O4UPSC4VOPKJ

 

I turned the engine on and first checked to see where the air was blowing. There seemed to be a buildup of hot air in front of the radiator. to double check i ran the fan (with the engine off) and put a piece of paper between the fan and the engine. The fan sucked it in towards the radiator. Im kinda new to all this, how do i change the direction of the fan. will that solve the problem?

 

If it is blowing the paper towards the radiator when you put it in between the radiator and fan instead of sucking it into the fan it's def. backwards somewhere along the line. Check the wiring to make sure no one has replaced the connector and got the wiring backwards. On mine the solid black wire is ground and the black with red stripe is positive. If the wiring checks out more than likely someone replaced the fan motor and installed the blades backwards. In that case remove the fan(four 13mm bolts two top and two bottom) and there should be some sort of a clip holding the blades onto the motor shaft. Remove the clip, flip the blades around and put everything back together.

 

I removed the fan to check out the situation. it seems someone had previously wired in the fan. about 10in from the plug to the fan there was electrical tape where the connections were made. i just swapped them, and the fan roared to life. its blowing real nice. I put paper in front of the radiator and it sucked it in. i think it should be good for now. we will see what happens when i take out for a long drive. Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

now tht overheating is not an issue what temp should the engine be at? It stays right around 130 with the fan on.

 

sounds like thermostat is stuck open

 

stock fan switch turns the fan on at about 230. so 230-240 is normal stock running temps. did you mean 230 instead of 130?

 

no i have a manual switch for my fan. and the engine runs at about 130. i dont turn the fan on anymore because it runs so cool.

 

running too cool can be just as bad as overheating. it does sound like you have a tstat thats stuck or may not even have one at all. either way, you should get a good working tstat in there

 

I run a 180 degree stat in mine. Sounds like yours is stuck open or not there. 130 is way to low, in my opinion 200 is ideal. Being a 92 should have the wiring in place to run a fan switch if so get a Autozone SW510 switch for a GNX. They turn on at 210 and off at 185