please help! 160 stat manual fan. does have A/C but i cant use because of over heating. also has newwer water pump. longer you drive it on interstate the hotter it gets no more than 230-240.but the longer it idles the cooler it gets unless A/C is on,
than after a little while it will see the orange near 260. the air dam is in place and there is no debris between the condenser and radiator. please help i need my A/C!

 

how is the switch hooked up for the manual fan switch. I assume that's what you mean by manual fan. Also try posting on the Cooling Board.

 

one thing is what kind of fan does it have behind the radiator? is it stock? Seems to be a really stupid obvious thing but ive heard of some people putting a pusher behind the radiator in teh stock locationa nd wondering why it always overheats when in motion. Another thing is you might want to check the inside of the radiator to make sure it doesnt have debris clogging the passages. if it does, youll need to reverse flush it, or replace it. One problem is youll often develop leaks afterward becuase teh stuff taht was blocking the coolant was also stopping up the leaks. Taking teh radiator out is cake once you ahve the coolant draned down. Last time i changed teh coolant im my car i also popped the radiator out and reverse flushed it with a high volume pump after i ran through some radiator flush in the car and it really got all the gunk out.

Also make sure the airdam is in good shape and not bent backward or cracked. If it deflects backward, tehn no air will be directed through teh radiator.

 

also, what do you ahve the timing set to? Advancing teh timing out can cause the engine to overheat if the cooling system isnt up to snuff...

 

when i had that problem it ended up being that there was something blocking my air intake for the radiator on the bottom of the car.\

make sure that is clear and that air can get to it under the car

 

is the fan on at idle? how old and what color is the coolant. what is your o2 sensor reading at cruising? does the car lack power and what do your plugs look like. can you pressure check your coolant system. sounds like you are either running too lean, your thermostat is stuck and you arent getting circulation or you have a clog in your system somewhere. could also be low on fluid but i guess you checked that already. sorry for not getting back, but i only check this so often...

 

it could also be something as stupid as an air bubble in the system. also, you might try another t-stat, they go bad, you get faulty ones ect.

 

i think i have solved the problem though.a new radiator cap.my old one only checked at 7psi should be 16psi.after that and a new 160 powerstat so far no problem. flogged the livin s@#t out of it on the interstate last night, made sure she got up to 220 than drove at 70mph and she cooled back to 160 within about 5miles.oh yeah, my timing is 6 degrees BTDC with no detonation ever unless she hits 240!really, thanx guys for your input i really appreciate it this place kicks a$$! :hail:

 

thats funny, nobody even thought about the cap. damn.

 

and iv been fighting the problem for so long that i forgot about the simple things. i do it all the time-always thinking the worst but thats how it goes. thanx again for giving it some thought.

 

Dude, make sure your Air Dam is there and in working order. I had the same problem as you , I got a new one and i havent overheated since