I just put a turbo on my LT1 IROC. Before it always ran about 180 with a 160 thermostat. I have a BeCool radiator, water wetter, and I run both LT1 fans as soon as I start the car.

Now I took it for a ride, after about 10min of cruising, the car hit 180-190. The oil pressure dropped from normal (65-80) to 40, then 20 at idle (usually 40)-i have a high pressue/volume pump. Got caught at a light and the temp went to 220-230, with oil dropping to 15. revving the motor to 4000, got the pressure only to 40, then dropped to 30. I didn't lose any oil, and the coolant looks good.

I was running Royal Purple 10w30 w/oversized filter. Car ran fine otherwise. I did put an ebay front mount on it-but airflow seems good at radiator and I'm only running 6-7lbs of boost.

 

Oil pressure will drop if the motor gets too hot.

 

if the temp goes way up when not driving, that would make me suspect that the fan (or relay) might not be functioning correctly. i would double check the wiring. i have another question, i am not at all familiar with turbo kits for third gens, but is the factory fan shroud in plae? because that plays a decent effect.

 

The fans are on a manual switch in the factory LT1 shroud. Those seem fine and are working. I'm going to change the oil tomarrow and take off the intercooler to see if thats stopping too much airflow. If not-not too sure.

 

I know this sounds like a broken record, but check that the air dam is there. IT is what removes the heat from the engine at highway speeds not the fans. The fans will keep the engine cool when the car is not moving and that's all. Also, the turbo will heat the engine oil considerably as it uses it to cool the shaft in the turbo. This flow also reduces oil pressure at low speeds. There must be a liquid-liquid engine oil cooler present. The engine oil cooler will add that heat to the cooling system too making the air dam operation that much more important.

 

hey i was wondering if the original poster ever resolved this problem, and if so how. I have a 92 z28 5.0L. I put on a dynomax performance exhaust, a throttle body air foil, K&N high flow filters, and a stage 2 jet performance chip. I also removed the egr system and blocked off the hole near the front of teh engine block as well as a pipe that seemed to go behind teh engine block that vacum hoses were attached to. I have been having the same problem with overheating and low oil pressure. My cooling sytem seems flawless as i checked every aspect of it such as the coolant, radiator, fans, and air dam, but teh engine heats up faster than usually since my alternator died and was replaced recntly. I have a rear main seal oil leak that i cannot afford to repair, so could this plus heat cause my low oil pressure? plus, my engine seems to be running very rich as well, and is spitting carbon from one side of the exhaust quite a bit...which i think is causing my car to idle very roughly and at such low rpms that i am afraid it might stall. Anyone have any advice on any of my situations and which problems might be causing teh others?

 

It's running rich and rough because it's too hot. I have a turbo and intercooler on my LT1 with LT1 radiator and fans. Mine runs at 170 all day, no additional oil cooler for the turbo or engine. If the coolant can't keep up with the cooling, the oil tries to take over, but that will just overheat (and thin) the oil too. I accidentally wired one of my fans backward at first and I had the same problem.

Your problem is with the coolant, either blocked somewhere or it's not exchanging the heat (bad fan, no airflow)

 

thanks man i will double check teh fans and clean out the "fins" of the radiator...i was actually also planning on cutting real vents onto the hood where the hood louvers with the false vents are as well...hopefully this will help with teh cooling.