New cars have bleeder valves to get the air out during a fill because the radiator cap isn't the highest point in the system. You don't have that problem.

 

remember if you turn your car off after driving it a bit then start it up right away it will read a higher temp. this is normal.

 

These cars have a tendency to run hot but I would make sure that your thermostat is good and if you have a temperature fan switch, that it is working ok. I had an issue where the temperature fan switch pig tail connector was broken off due to the heat from the exhaust manifold and the fan was not coming on when it was suppose to. I notice the temp would drop when I turned on my AC. I found when the AC was turned on it would automatically kick on the fan and drop the temp. Overheating problem was solved.

You may also check and make sure your air dam under the front bumber is in place and not broken or missing.

 

My fan all ways works when the car gets warmed up. What would be a good thermostat to get is a 160 degree too low? Also the air dam is fine i dont have the ac condensor tho previous owner removed it. whats a good temp the car should run at and could the gauge or sensor only work sometimes or read wrong because sometimes its way bellow hundred even if i start it back up when it was 220 or more. its even gotten stuck up because i have a battery cable problem and have to turn the key a lot for it to eventualy start cranking.

 

Unless the coolant is literally boiling over and making a very hot steaming puddle on the ground, it's not overheating. Doesn't matter what car, what state, what country, what language, what temp, what humidity.

Never use lower than a 180 thermostat, car will run too rich with lower temp and you won't have any heat.

 

Sense on the topic of over heating, was wondering if it is normal when i stop the car after driving a distance if my over fill container should be bubbling? Fan works, temp gauge is norm...But I have never seen this in a car before. And I have had a iroc with a tpi and never had this happen. So what do you think?

 

Bubbling is usually overheating - doesn't have to make a puddle on the ground, I was being fececious. But if it's not boiling over out of the resevoir, might be fine. That's why there's a hot and cold line on resevoir - when coolant gets hot, it expands like everything - it nees somewhere to go - when pressure builds enough, radiator cap releases it into the overflow.

Might need a new radiator cap - maybe not holding pressure like it should if fans already running, and temps seems normal.

 

Thank you, I will change it and I was wondering where the thermostat is located on the 2.8? Probably would not hurt to change that to.

 

whats a normal temp for a 350 tpi to run at. its never gotten so hot that it bubbled or anything but the gauge will read pretty high i just worry about it over heating and blowing a head gasket or somethin else because its my only car and i have school and work not that head gaskets are as hard on this car as they are on ones i do at work. Thanks ill prolly just buy a new thermostat it cant hurt and they are only 4 dollars and a gasket is 99 cents for a pack of ten lol.

 

My car only gets hot when sitting in traffic; the radiator and water pump are new and work good. I do have a 160 thermostat and I'm not sure if my fan is pulling enough air.
I bought a Hayden 16 inch fan a couple of years ago to replace the factory one because the fan broke and was hitting the shroud.
I was thinking about constructing a new air dam out of aluminum in a scoop like design and replacing the fan.
What do you guys think?

 

Thermostats set a minimum temperature, they don't affect the maximum. Unless they fail, in which case it doesn't make any difference what value it is, it will boil.

 

I think having the thermo at 160 doesn't allow the coolant to cool off in the radiator long enough as it will stay open all the time. At 195 the coolant will stay in the radiator longer and cool off before it is pumped into the block when the thermo finally opens. The thermo will close and the heated coolant will store in the radiator and cool off (as long as yor fan is running and your radiator is clean) before the thermo opens again.

So as strange as it sounds you may have better cooling if you have a 195 thermo instead of a 160.

 

I think it should run between 195 -220. It seems like that is hot but for a bottom air feeder I think that is pretty normal.

 

Normal op temps for a 350 TPI all factory stuff is 220 - 240. Yes, sounds high I know - but GM designed it that way. The ECM turns on primary fan at 218 degrees, and the fan switch from factoryis set to 238 degrees for the secondary fan.

No steam means your good - steam means pull over NOW! These gauges are far from accurate. If you get into the red (250+, then pull over, and take a peek for over-boiling. If nothing, cruise on, bad gauge reading - if boiling, let her cool, and limp home to find the problem.

 

thanks for the info. it doesnt real run hotter than 220 all the time. The car has a cam and headers and msd coil, box, and soon to be plug wires.

 

Another thing you can do is drive your car until your temp gauge reads 220*, open your hood and use a contact less/infrared thermometer to take the reading of the thermostat housing. That will give you the true temperature of your car and compare it to your gauge. I did this and found out my gauge reads about 20* higher than what the car is really at.

 

Nonsense