I know that this belongs on the cooling board, however, i need help! I put a new engine in my Z around xmas. The only changes were AFR 190 heads, and a cam jsut a little bit larger than stock...208/222 on 112lca. and compression is about the same (9.3/1). Now in stop and go traffic or if sitting still, my car gets really hot? I have both fans comming on around180deg and stay on until they cool just below that. I have always run a 160 fail safe thermostat and do not know why I am running so hot? Both upper and lower radiator hoses are hot when warmmed up. The car cools down when on the freeway but MAN! I have no idea wut's up? can anyone help?

 

When I jump pins a +b on the aldl, the fan on the drivers side turns on but not the passengers side.

 

Change your antifreeze to water ratio, water cools better than antifreeze, so you'll run cooler. Antifreeze just puts anticorrosive stuff in, and lowers the freezing point. Living in arizona I typically run 70% water. Also check for air flow blockage across the radiator. let the car idle up to heat in your driveway and make sure the second fan is coming on, if not turn on your ac and see if it comes on. If not you've got your issue and you'll have to track that down.

 

Make sure your fans are working properly, you said one doesn't really turn on, that's when you need the fans is in stop and go traffic. Make sure you're timing is correct too.

 

timming is 6deg advanced. when i jump the aldl pins a and b, the drivers side turns on but not the passengers side. How can i check to see if they both are working?

 

Just let the car idle in your drive way, wait for the temp to rise. Then just look under the hood to make sure both fans are working when they're supposed to.

 

how do you hook up the fans to be under command of a switch? at least one, passengers side?

 

okay, now stop and go traffic is the toughest kind of driving there is. your engine is making lots of power to get it accelerating. and the airflow through the radiator is not sufficient enough to cool the engine. my car rarely goes over 180 degrees around my house, but i am always crusing at 60 mph with no stop and go. and then i took it down to chicago one day and the car didn't go below 190-200 degrees, because of the heat and the stop and go driving. and when you get the car onto the freeway, there is plenty of airflow through the radiator to cool the engine off.

cars almost always run hotter in the heavy stop and go traffic. i can go through the thermodynamics for it, but i wont.

 

uh hook up a 2nd temp gauge, i have about 350 miles on my engine and the whole cooling system is brand new, it was running 255-60 until last night, i replaced the stock gauge with another stock gauge and got the same thing, last night i bought a mechanical gauge and hooked it up...now it never goes over 225, still warm but the high temps. out here are over half of that so i cant complain...its supposed to be like 114 tomorrow