I have an 84 Camaro that has been giving me some worry as the weather gets warmer. On an 80 degree day, the car creeps up to about 220 in about 20 minutes in city driving. If I'm on the freeway, the car stays relatively cool at about 190, no matter how long I drive it for. The fan, its controller, the radiator, and the thermostat have all been replaced. The coolant was flushed and bled around 2 weeks ago, there aren't any leaks, and the air dam is still there. I'm all out of ideas on what it could possibly be

 

So what temp thermostat did you use ?
What temp. fan switch did you use ?
Those two will make or break your attempt to run in , let's say *180 to *200 range.


Also one of the very first things to do when you buy a Third Gen is have the temp gage tested with an Infrared laser temp. gun pointing it at the thermostat housing and around the temp. sender and comparing that to the gage.
Call around to shops and ask them if they will do it for you. Only takes a minute and really should not cost you anything.

 

I have a 190 degree thermostat, and I have a Dakota Digital fan controller that spins the fan at 160. I also use this controller to get my temperature reading.

 

I would drop the thermostat to 180*.


Even ten degrees will help.


Over all its the thermoset rating that controls the cars temperature.


I run a 180* thermostat with two fans. Both using there own circuit and do not use the stock wiring in any way. They are adjustable ,temperature controlled switches
One fan is a puller set at 160* because its mounted over a very large axillary transmission cooler. I want the cooler at the lower temperature.
The 16" front pusher is set at 200* as back up.
The car runs at 180* almost "all" of the time.

 

I have a 160 degree thermostat laying around, I'm going to put that in and see how the car likes it. In the Texas heat, it should like it pretty well, but in the winter I know it's going to be too low.

I ditched the stock fan wiring too, I wanted more control of the fan, and better temperature accuracy. I have the '95 Ford Taurus fan with the shroud, and man does it draw a lot more air than stock. But somehow, it's not enough to cool the car..

 

That 160* should make a difference.


I've seen guys that have had the polarity reversed and the fan was blowing and not know it because of the amount of air being blown back towards the engine making it seem as if it's pulling.
I'm not saying that's your case, but like I said it can happen.

 

I'm going to hope for a difference. The fan is definitely pulling, and I don't think the polarity can be reversed on this fan.

 

Another thing to look at is your rad. Is it all gunked up? How about engine internals?

 

From what I see in the rad, I don't see any gunk. It's also relatively new, so I didn't expect it to be. As for the engine, I'm not sure of how to check for gunk honestly

 

220 is a normal operating temp for our cars. Nothing to be worried about. You get more air flow over the radiator at highway speeds via the airdam which doesn't do much at speeds less than 40mph.

 

I guess it's just my instincts thinking that 220 is too high lol. If that's normal operating temp, then how much is too high?

 

Another thing I'd like to note; when the car is idling at a stop light, the temperature pretty much stays at one spot. It's not until I start moving is when the temperature starts to noticeably climb.

 

Put the 160* in. It will make the difference. Your instincts are right. You dont want to run 220 for the rest of the cars life. The cooler your engine, oil, and tranny fluid the better. I run a 160 year around in my chevy truck and now my Camaro too. Heat in the winter is not bad and not much of a difference but it does take it a couple more minutes to warm up. The benefits far out weigh any couple of more minutes of warm up time. Take note of your oil pressure after you put in the 160* It will be 10psi greater hovering around 35-45psi at 7-800 rpm idle....which is an improvement for our cars

 

The 160* is in, test drove it yesterday and the temperature managed to get to 217 after about 15 minutes with the AC on.

 

Even though Ron is ******* me on another thread over my homemade grills...lol...I have to agree with him. Take it to a mechanic with a scan gun and let him scan your thermo housing. The weather here in Tennessee was 90F last week and my Camaro running the 160 thermostat never crept over 175F. Its a 30 year old gauge, and should be tested first.....otherwise you could wind up spending unnecessary money and chasing your tail. Do that and report back....there is a good process of elimination, but start there. We need to know if the gauge is telling the truth first.

 

I use the Dakota Digital fan controller to tell me the coolant temperature at the thermo housing, so I'm pretty sure it's accurate. But it doesn't always hurt to check with a gun

 

Hmmm...just read that...but I would still get it scanned just to compare accuracy

 

Will do, I'm supposed to be taking it to a mechanic soon anyways. I'll see what his two cents are

 

If the reading is accurate and it is running near 220 with a 160* thermostat, something is plugged up somewhere it sounds like. Can you check your two hoses leading to your heater core? They are the two going into the firewall. Test them by getting the car up to operating temp and turn on the heat. Turn the heat on, but the fan switch on low. Then feel the hoses. They should both be hot (indicating good flow through the heater core). If one is hot and the other is cool, then the heater core is stopped up and will need to be flushed (or replaced in a worse case scenario). The thermostat is usually one of the first spots to gum up if it was ever contaminated, but since you have a new radiator and thermostat and other stuff, maybe harder to tell. But checking those hoses will at least tell you if its flowing through there properly.

 

I will do so later today. I suspected a heater core problem ever since I found coolant inside of the passenger side of the dash when I was doing an alarm install. Right now, there seems to be no obvious coolant loss

 

Run down the cooling system basics;

Check condition of the radiator:
- fins clear of debris, not bent/mangled
- no visible leaks from seals or hoses
- radiator cap gasket in good shape
- not blocked (leaves/debris)
- with engine at temp check for cold spots on the radiator (usually at the bottom, evidence of blocked passages)
Check condition of the air dam:
- not missing/broken
Check condition of the fan(s):
- if electric, check for proper operation
- if mechanical, fan clutch not worn out
Check Hoses:
- Not kinked/collapsed/leaking/steam leak. Look for evidence of pinhole steam leaks in the form of yellowish green deposits or "snot" at gasket areas and around hose ends.
Check water pump:
- no sign of leakage from weep hole
- no odd noises
Check coolant:
- proper color/mixture
- proper fluid level (has the system been "burped" to remove all air?)
- does system pressurize (engine at temp, thermostat open, radiator cap on and upper and lower hoses not soft)?
Check heater:
- does hot air blow from the vents with engine at temp (heater core not clogged?)

Other things that can effect engine temp are detonation, trans issues (auto trans generate a LOT of heat), mineral deposits in the engine/heater core/radiator that block coolant flow (from running tap water), head gasket issues, and improper timing.