I have a 1989 Chevy Camaro RS, with the 305 LO3 TBI v8, and A4 transmission. The only mods to the car are as follows:

* TBI was deleted, Edlebrock 4 barrel 600 CFM carburetor was put in it's place.

* Accel racing distributor/wires

* I'm guessing this is aftermarket... belt driven fan.


The problem I'm having is the car is overheating, and I just don't understand it. It's got an aftermarket belt driven fan that's obviously running as long as the car is on, I just installed a 160* thermostat, new hoses to the radiator, the radiator IS NOT LEAKING.. was pressure checked, and flushed accordingly. A brand new water pump as installed, and was checked for flow.. works just fine.. I don't understand. A cooling system is pretty straight forward, how can it still be over heating?

I like this car, but I'm at wits end already. This problem just won't go away. It'll run fine for about 5-10 miles, and as soon as you start getting comfortable, the temp will rise.. 220, 230, 240.. until I shut it off from getting scared that the head will crack or something.

Any info would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

It'd be splended if someone could help me out here.

 

Nothing really jumps out, but just some random thoughts.

Are you sure there's no air in the system? Not losing coolant?
Does it run hot at low speeds, higher speeds, or both?
Are all the hoses and the radiator hot when the engine is?
Fan turns the correct direction?
Water pump flows the correct direction?

somebody here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3182252AAbz315
mentioned a possibility of a water pump that's intended to run the opposite way and works poorly if reversed.

Since the thermostat opens at 160 and the fan is on always, it should be running very cold. There's some severe loss of efficiency somewhere. I wonder about the radiator but you seem sure that it's good.

I wonder if a lean mixture or timing could contribute, but I'm skeptical of it causing anything this bad.

 

Is the radiator clogged?

After a certain point, I would just look at an Evans Waterless coolant conversion.

If it's got an aftermarket fan, did the guy remember to install the fan shroud? It doesn't matter how much CFM a fan pulls. If it is missing the fan shroud, you could be screwed.

Another thing to look at:

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...e/viewall.html

Ray Bohacz wrote a really good book on high performance cooling systems and recommended this.

I'm installing a flex a light fan and radiator right at this moment, and even I'm having second thoughts about it. I should have just gone to an evens system on the stock radiator. The install is kind of a waste of time. But the radiator does provide a way larger area. But on second thought, I should have just done an evans coolant conversion. The cooling medium can be the bigger payoff, rather than a change in hardware.

 

Hey man thanks for the reply. I learned it was a bad radiator, so I purchased a Spectre aliminum radiator and replaced the stock one. The stock one landed me 37$ at the scrap yard because of the mass of copper haha ;p so it wasn't all bad news. Car runs good now, the combo of the 160* and the radiator have her warming up to about 165-170, unless I'm idiling in traffic for a long period of time it will reach a max of maybe 200-210.

 

You do understand the consequences of running a engine at TOO low a temp?


Also a lower stat does nothing for the engine temp ; all it does is makes the engine take longer to warm up
(which uses more fuel and makes more wear on the engine ) to it's operating temp