Help!

I have done everything i know to do to fix my cooling issue. I have a GM goodwrench 350 crate motor with a SD TPI on top.

The car has a 3 core radiator, 180 t-stat, 70% water/30% antifreeze plus a bottle of water wetter. The deal is that the car will run at the t-stat determined temp as long as it is at idle. When i start driving around in town, the temp will get up to 190-195, and as much as 205-210 on the highway. (90 degree weather)

Have new water pump, new upper and lower radiator hose, coolant looked good and not contaminated when i drained it and replaced it with the above mentioned coolant and water wetter.

What am i missing?

 

Air Damn ?

 

Umm your missing the fact that those temps aren't that hot? They're totally normal temps.

 

That too.. haha

Altho Mine runs 180 No matter what

 

Yeah, I'd say something is definitely wrong...205-210 on the high way is not normal...the temp should go down when you are cruizing not the opposite. I have a 180 t-stat, and it is at about 180-185 on the highway even when it's pretty warm. Only thing I can think of is maybe there is something obstructing the flow of air to engine/radiator. I don't know if you have an air dam like mentioned earlier; make sure that is in good shape. Those 200+ temps aren't going to hurt your car because it's not "overheating", but I think they should be lower.
--Aaron

 

Does the lower hose have a spring in it?

 

No, the hose doesn't have a spring in it. I dont know about an air dam. BTW, this is a monte carlo ss, not a camaro.

I did a test in the driveway after i posted this. I sat with the car running in park. It ran a constant 180. Then i stepped on the gas and ran the RPMs up to 3000. The temp droped a little at first, then slowly climbed to 220. At that point i turned it off.

I know that the car is not overheating, but the way the temp guage(mechanical) reacts is pretty wild. My next step may be to replace the sending unit.

 

The "Air Dam" meaning the plastic piece that hangs down a few inches below the radiator and is about 3 feet wide. It catches air and directs air to flow thru the radiator while driving.
Also check for leaves or other crap that may have managed to sneak there way in between your A/C condenser and radiator blocking flow.

 

radiators on the monte are boxed in. there are no leaves or anything in between the radiator and the condensor as i have had both out in the last few months to install a tranny cooler.

Keep the ideas coming!

 

what kind of water pump are you running, is it a generic replacement, or a HF unit. maybe you dont have enough flow, mayb another bottle of water wetter to raise up the boiling point, a higher pressure cap, and double check the air flow situation. BTW, what kinda cooling fan setup do you have

 

On the car is the following:
stock replacement water pump, 16lb cap, Buick Grand national Electric fan.

Since it cools well at idle, and that most cars cool better on the highway than in town, could i not be getting the coolant circulated fast enough? Does this sound like a high flow pump and t-stat are the fix here?

 

I'd bet a dollar the lower hose is collapsing on you. There is supposed to be a spring in there to prevent that. I know a few manufacturers that insist you dont need one... well, I guess they havent bothered to test that theory, as their rubber is no stiffer than any other radiator hose.

There is also supposed to be an air dam on the car. Its probably as wide as the radiator, and should be around 3-4" in height. Its mounted to the bottom of the radiator core support, right underneath where the radiator sits at on the bottom. If its not there, I'd suggest finding a monte/regal/cutlass/grand prix to go get one off of.

 

Madmax,

What does the air dam do? I am guessing at this but does it creat a low pressure area under the car so that the heat from the engine can escape? If any one can give me details as to what exactly makes this piece so important, that would be great. Since nothing else has worked so far, i will hit the bone yards in my free time try and pick up this piece. thanks.

 

It does both of what you said and what was said above. It does direct some air to the radiator, but also it creates low pressure behind it so that air is pulled through the radiator to fill the low pressure area.

You really need to get a spring in that lower hose. Open the hood, start the car, take it up to 2000-2500rpm in park (or neutral as it may be) and watch for the lower radiator hose to collapse. I bet it does.

 

Madmax,

Tested the lower hose and it stayed nice and round. i reved and held it at about 3000rpms. never did it.

Still looking for ideas people,

thanks for your help so far madmax.

 

Soo The coolant hose didnt collapse...

Did the car overheat Taht Same time ?

What puzzles me is that it is overheating at RPM... not only on the road but in park chillin in the driveway.

While an airdam will help overheating whilst moving... it dosent do anything in park.

The GN fan you mentioned, any chance it just dosent move enough CFM to keep it cool ?