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Thinking of pulling the trigger on getting the 3 core alloyworks kit. My OE 2 core and factory fan setup is not working very well. I'm planning to swap my 305 for a Vortec 350 over winter.
Anyone have any experience with these radiators in 3rd gens? Do they fit worth a ****? Only video I've been able to find is a guy putting a 4 core into a 3rd gen TA and he ended up cutting his lower support. I'd rather not do that.
Never tried their radiator but my factory radiator with upgraded fans is working great for my 350 vortec even in 95F + days. if yours is not working well on a 305 something else is wrong.
It gets up to like 215-220ish, Factory style fan and shroud. Radiator appears new-ish. Heavy on the ISH part. I've seen a few people toss the factory fan setup for a high CFM dual fan w/ better shroud setup. Might be worth doing that instead. Got any recommendations for fan/shroud replacements?
One of the owners before me hot wired the fan to the ignition. So its always on.... I like the corolla upgrade with it having that shroud that covers the entire radiator.
I'll stop derailing this thread now. Thanks for the info Midias!
[QUOTE=242turbo;6509557]Has anyone had any experiences with these AlloyWorks radiator/fan assemblies? I’ve seen these advertised on Facebook and seem to look decent. so yes, I bit the bullet. My 92 rs heritage edition, 305 vin E, tbi. I got the correct sized 3 row, dual fan electric setup. You also need to go to your local autozone and get a new thermostat housing with the extra plugs in it for the sensor needed for the fans and a 160° thermostat. This is a stand alone system, BUT, BUT, you need 2 wiring relays or be good with wiring and use big guage wires for the power as this is a stand alone system powered directly off the battery. If you just rewire these fans onto the factory harness, its triggered by a single wire relay on the drivers side firewall, and it gets soooo hot because the fan pretty much has factory speed(low) and direct battery speed(high) and it tries like hell to pull high speed on the factory wiring. That being said, you see the issues.
I also felt really uncomfortable watching my temp guage go above 220 A LOT, and couldn't figure out why. So here we go.
The kid had a 10lb rad cap. Not a 16, a friggin 10!!! Next, it was probably original, cheap, thin core, plastic tanks on tiny aluminum core, extreme heat, extreme cold, i live in north Dakota. I put on the factory 16. 80° day, blew both tanks off the radiator. Got the alloyworks for my camaro, as ive already got one on my 92 gmc k1500 350.
The transmission lines need an adaptor. Had to order mine. The only real modification was to the upper plastic radiator mount. Cut it to fit, this radiator holds a lot more fluid.
Bolted in, used it for awhile, but have it hooked up to the factory wires, still. My mechanic has both wiring harnesses and is super busy BUT, turn on MAX AC or defroster and the factory relay kicks the fan on plus richens the fuel a tiny bit.
still got hot.
Next, change the engine temp sensor right next to the thermostat housing, check the pigtail. The rubber insulation was peeled back from the pigtail connector itself, 9.99 at oreillys or something. there, now my computer was getting the correct temp reading to balance air/fuel.
Still got hot according to my dash.
since my engine temp sensor was bad, I came to the realization with my 2019 f150 2.7L twin turbo, it can ONLY handle 10% or less ethanol and kept sending catalytic convertor/emissions codes, BECAUSE gas stations are supple.enting their fuel with excess ethanol! A deeper dive i found my f150 wont send a code until 15% ethanol or so, so i was getting some seriously messed up fuel. I now run ethanol free 87, I KNOW, REGULAR UNLEADED!!! Granted, its $0.50 a gallon more, but...Both camaro and my gmc have drastically improved mileage!
so, knowing ethanol fuel was causing it to run cooler than pure gas, I replaced the Idle Air control valve, I couldn't even soak it in throttle body cleaner, it was CAKED!! Due to a faulty engine temp sensor! IAC valve was CAKED, oh and its pigtail was crap too! So, replaced that, 14.99. EGR was gonna be CAKED too, sure enough!!!
Still gets warmer than I want. That 3 way valve on your passenger valve cover? Gotta replace those about every 2 years, cheap *** plastic baking sitting on top of hot metal!!! Whomever designed this should be shot cuz my gmc had the tow package and theres NONE of that crap under the hood!!!
still got warmer than I'd like.
Removed insulation from hood and got a VERY welcome surprise! Also removed weather stripping from hood sealing off the firewall. Allows more air to flow.
The hood has the provision for the Z28 hood louvers, im simply going to cut the upper skin and bend it down to make a heat extractor.
You'll also need a hypertech computer chip to tell the computer 160° IS the correct operating temp and doesnt change or affect mileage unless wide open throttle so, your grocery getter is still good.
Ive gone through 2 160° thermostats already, apparently buying the cheap $10 one's are made in China and "occasionally" work, or my instrument cluster or wiring is the issue, which im pretty sure it is. Ive done both tachometer fix from cajun tach shop and the speedometer fix too, but ive gotta do more work on the speedo computer chip, excessive corrosion on the contacts, so im assuming theres other contact issues elsewhere. I ALSO found that if I leave my girl sit for more than 3 weeks, she killed the battery. So, like my gmc, I started mounting grounds all over, that seriously helped everything!!! Except the heating up issue!
I need my lower chin spoiler yet, as that literally scoops more air into the front vents, I need the bumber cover-over the radiator cover to make sure ALL the air goes through the radiator instead of around it!!! Also, REVERSE BLOW your radiator/condenser!!! Its plugged, its dirty!!! About 8" of my condenser was collapsed, so that killed a third of my cooling capacity!!!
And remember, this is NOT a stoplight car! This is a touring car. It is meant to be moving. Idle hands get you into trouble, well Idle wheels get you heat!!! I'll point out the parts im referring to. Damn heater hose BS! Engine temp sensor AND thermostat housing with extra ports. Transmission line adaptor needed! Find a radiator comb. Straighten the fins out. Custum cut and fit, looks ugly but it doesnt move. Heat exchanger possibilities Broken fan relay. Some cutting is necessary to the top radiator shroud. Its pretty hefty.
ALSO, THIS IS HUGE!!! Since the 305TBi gets hot, the fan doesnt kick on until 235-245 depending on your sources, the oil gets BAKED into everything internal!!! I ran valvoline restore and protect, still am. The first oil change i had to replace oil filters about every 5-800 miles!!! I had nearly 0 psi oil at a stoplight! Now, 600 into my second oil change, im NEVER below 10 psi at a stoplight even in 90° heat!!! And i also adjusted my TV, Throttle Valve cable, I got it 1 click tighter and now it will hold 1st gear easily until about 20mph and then release the throttle so it slams into 2nd, then go and release after 30mph to drop into 3rd, overdrive doesnt kick in until a coaxed 43 or an easy 44mph due to the 3.42 rear end. My gmc has the same transmission, but 3.73 rear end and OD kicks in at 38mph. The reason this is IMPORTANT is because a lugging transmission creates gobs of HEAT, like sh$$ loads of heat, and these radiators have a transmission cooler in the radiator, and you get massive heat soak into the coolant. A high revving, in other words, hardly working transmission runs cooler than a lugging, underperforming transmission. As you saw in the front of radiator picture, im missing the shroud covering front bumper cover to radiator, but the AC condenser is flattened somehow, it is in my gmc as well, weird, but that's also the side where right above the Trans line into the rad, as is a small, continuous circulation hose from that 3 way valve i pointed out that my 350 gmc doesnt have, and im looking for ways to completely remove that entire setup. I ripped out my AC, I bought this car specifically because of the T-tops, cuz im 6'5" and a regular coupe i dont fit! And i can detail the weather stripping of T-tops later!!! What a weekend!!! This weekend, I have the rarest part to install!!! 92 camaro hatch soft pull down switch, 16604245, BECAUSE IN 92 GM SWITCHED THE DAMN PULL DOWN SETUP FROM ALL THE PRIOR YEARS!!! Found 1 in North America and 1 in germany!!! It basically tells the pull down motor if the mechanical latch has been released or closed. Looks like a toilet float arm!!!
[img alt="This is the lever that says latched/unlatched
"]https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thirdgen.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/17535375618848292958431052881935_4518b7053a8492511fc477ada2ff683ae964f190.jpg[/img] This is the lever that says latched/unlatched Tiny little triangular piece left where it broke! Cuz NOBODY has a 92, only 91 and prior so i had to learn all on my own!!! The screwdriver is where the missing arm is.
