Hello everyone. I haven't been on here in over 12 years. Happy to see this site is still around. I have a 91 Z28, 305 with stock dual electric fans. Should my car have a fan shroud? I ask as my car never had a shroud and the car runs super hot, literally hair thin away from max temp of 260. I've put in a new water pump, lower temp thermostat, lower temp fan switch, even a larger Be Cool radiator and the car still runs too hot.I was thinking about updating the fans to as higher CFM dual electric fans with a shroud from Be Cool.

 

No shroud on the fans.
Did you confirm the actual temperature? I wouldn't rely on a factory gauge. The factory setup is plenty for a stock engine.
At 260 degrees regularly, you'd probably have a plethora of problems.
Also check to see if the air dam under the front end is there still. It's needed to keep it cool.

 

I had antifreeze pretty much at the top of the overflow from all the heat pressure build up, so at that point I knew I was running hot. Yes, the lower airdam is on the car. I've replaces what I could and the only thing left that I can think of is getting a shroud. So your response of "No shroud on the fans" means these cars don't come with a factory shroud? Just want to make sure before I spend money on something that was designed to function without.
Thanks

 

What is the temp REALLY? Not, "I don't like it"; not, "the dash [wavy pointer trim package] says"; but, the ACTUAL REAL MEASUREMENT. Perhaps taken at the water outlet (aka thermostat housing) with your ever-trusty IR thermometer?

Tried a new radiator cap?

No shroud on these cars' electric fans from the factory. Such a thing would restrict the amount of air naturally flowing through at highway speeds. Which is entirely adequate anyway; my truck for example (Avalanche, later model than yours, but still, physics is physics) turns the fans COMPLETELY OFF at any road speed above something like 40 mph. Basically, if your car ACTUALLY "overheats" at any kind of highway-ish speed, you have problems other than the fans, anyway.

 

As mentioned check your radiator cap. If coolant is flowing into your expansion tank way before you reach 260, then your rad cap may have failed.
Since you have a serpentine belt, did you get the right water pump?
Shrouds are helpful when your car is stationary. Once you're moving they become a restriction. Which is why most have trap doors that open when the vehicle is in motion to un-restrict airflow.

 

It sounds like your fans aren't working.

 

Go LS1 fans!
That's my answer for everything lol



The stock fans should work fine though...... did you check for clogs or restrictions in the passages?

 

Update, I installed new electric fans from BeCool over the summer. My car no longer over heats. The mechanical temp gauge stays steady around 195-200. If temps rise over 200 the fans kick in and in seconds temp drops down to 195. The OEM fans I had in the car previously did turn on but maybe they were not pulling enough air. BeCool #75007 - 11" dual fans, 2725CFM. I no longer have to worry about long drives.

 

Lesson to be learned here, one I realized a long time ago. Some vehicles need cooling fans even at highway speeds to stay cool in extreme conditions. I have a clutch fan on my 383 and there are times climbing long, sustained grade on a 100°F day that the clutch fan kicks in and out to maintain engine temps. Even running 75-80 mph the fan has to run to cool the engine properly. The dual fan cars will enable one fan whenever the temperature sensor in the head closes.

 

I just wish I had changed the fans first and I would have saved money on all the other parts I changed. But they always turned on so I always eliminated them from my possible cause/replace item. Note to others, just because your fans turn on, OEM fans may start to pull less air possibly due to age/wear and tear in the fans.