dragonrage

Could be your gauge or the sensor itself being a bit off. You can do a coolant flush, and change your t-stat with a new, stock temperature one. Thermostats can wear out. Also check your fan operation.

ReApEr75

iTrader: (4)

Yea i was a bit low on coolant yesterday so i added some, i was thinking about changing out the t-stat when i do my IM, tb, tune, my fan operation is fine, i checked that when it was at idle and around 215 degree it turned on on both sides. thanks for the help

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Do the 160 t-stat and have the PCM programmed to turn the fans on sooner.

You're probabloy low on coolant becuase you are running hotter than the 215-220 that you think. You are probably damaging your engine little by little every time you drive it now. Its possible that you are running near 240 when you think you're at 215-220.

Stop listening to people who haven't done what over 100,000+ F-Body owners have done to their engines....160 t-stat + fans come on earlier.

Its one of the most common things we do to our cars.

One thing is for sure....it can't hurt at all. Another thing that is for sure, 215-220...ALL THE TIME..is a joke.

And like I said....anyone that thinks 190* is going to cause extra wear on an engine or hurt the efficiency...is a moron.

You lose horsepower as your engine heats up, talk about losing efficiency.

Also.....with your mileage and losing some coolant, you could have a partially blown head gasket. maybe.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

210, normal, for my LS6 engine........don't think so. 185-190 is MY norm. Its better that way.

The only LSx engines that run a little hotter than others...are the Vettes. They are known to run hotter.

Hot = less efficient (except in your world I guess)

Do you see guys at the track getting their engines up to 215* before they take their lane and stage...**** NO...you see them pushing their cars to the line so they can start their engine at the very last second before they have to stage. They run electric water pumps to cool the engines while they wait. They run their heaters on high to get the temps down.

Wake up man and stop telling this guy bad info about "efficiency". I'm NOT telling him to make his engine run at 140 degrees. I'm telling him how he can get his engine to run 15-20 degrees cooler all the time, rather than upwards of 230.

If you really think 190 is bad, you're just not that knowledgable on this subject.

And stop bringing up that GM designed it like this. GM are the last people that want our cars to last long. There are dozens of free mods and mods that are cheap that make our cars run BETTER, why...because your wonderful friends at GM designed so many things like ****!!!!!

dragonrage

I didn't say 190 is bad at all, but it has no advantages over 210. So you like your engine cool for some reason. So other people do too. And that makes it better how? Far more F-body owners are running stock t-stat with no problems than people running 160 stats period.

FirstYrLS1Z

iTrader: (4)

You're worried about too hot/overheating ? Travelling from Cleveland,Ohio to Daytona back in Nov.08 for the 'Turkey Run',just after entering Florida from Georgia on I95,overheating began,(I'm also running a ScanGaugeII)temp went to 259-261 and stayed there.We slowed down to 50mph(on I95) and that seemed to stabilize it at 260.Got to Daytona and headed to the motel in Daytona Beach,in town traffic took it up to 265 occasionally.We figured it had to be a stuck thermostat.I used my laptop and the motels' wifi to look for auto parts stores and this was the morning of Thanksgiving Day.We found one on Nova Rd.,went there but it was not open for the day but a sign on the door directed us to one that was open.All this with an overheating situation.Got to the open store and they had one(Chinese).Went back to the motel and changed it,When I travel I'm prepared.I had all the tools a drain pan and coolant.The new thermostat solved the problem.No effects from the extreme extended overheat condition,5 months now after 260 degrees and engine is fine.

killagt

iTrader: (3)

Where can i buy 160 stat ????

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

260 cannot hurt your aluminum engine, they can handle over 300 with no damage for short periods. Try that with an iron block and your done.

My temp needle buried all the way to the right when I lost my serpintine belt during a hardcore highway run for about 6 miles. My temp got well over 260. I pulled off the road, let it sit for 15 minutes, started it back up and drove it about 4 miles off the road and parked it till the next day when I fixed it. I also, have no problems, and that was about 80,000 miles ago. Aluminum can handle it, no problem.

Also, if your t-stat sticks TOTALLY closed, you will keep getting hotter and hotter till you sieze, in a matter of 5 minutes after it reaches 260 degrees, it won't stabilize at 260 and stay there.
So it was partially open, lucky for you.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

There everywhere.

$19.99 Thunder Racing
http://www.thunderracing.com/catalog...&vid=4&pcid=81

But make sure you first call some local auto parts stores, they might have them in stock for less money. No waiting and if its a dud, you can return it easy. Alot of new t-stats don't work.

Crimsonnaire

iTrader: (1)

...Pending reconciliation should you see it necessary. If not, then please disregard.

Concerning Dexcool, my research has shown me that the car would be better off if it ran conventional green coolant from the start, though it may not be as beneficial to the car owner, since it requires sooner maintenance and money. But I'm also open to knowledgeable reports of the contrary and would be delighted learn more.

If you haven't done so already, be sure to factor in your environmental conditions before changing to a 160° thermostat. For example, if you're Winters are longer and colder and you have to drive just as many miles during this time as the other seasons, then you'd be better with a stock thermostat because you want to minimize moisture buildup from low evaporation to high condensation ratio.

killagt

iTrader: (3)

i found 1 in autozone made my duralast, just wonder its a high quality.

1987firechicken

To the OP since this thread turned into a great big pissing match in here.

215 IS NORMAL for a STOCK car PERIOD. Your fans are fine as well. My 02 WS6 hovers in the 210 area constantly.

HP Tuners says my stock fan settings are as follows:
Fan 1 on temp: 226
Fan 1 off temp: 219
Fan 2 on temp: 234
Fan 2 off temp: 227

Your fans obviously do not kick on together at the same time to cool with stock settings as I have proved with facts not speculation. As far as whatever t-stat you go with just pick one you want, it's your **** do what you want with it. Do you need to go throwing money at this? IMO no your setup is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

ReApEr75

iTrader: (4)

Your settings seem exactly how my car's fans turn on, thanks for that info lol makes me feel much better

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

My fans always come on together and go off together. They also only go into low speed and high speed "together". 1998 Trans Am.

They did it when I was bone stock and they still do it now.

Yours don't???? I'm convinced PCM's have minds of their own. Some throw codes, some don't. Some throw codes for certain things and the next car won't. Don't get it.

All I'm trying to tell this guy is that running a little cooler, 15*, can only be a good thing, it can't be a bad thing.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Not sure what you mean. But our cars, just like almost every car built on earth, have many things that can be improved upon for free and for very cheap. GM sucks when it comes to alot of things they design on cars.

I don't know why so many people have problems with Dexcool. I didn't open my radiator one time until 2002 when my new engine went in. Its a 1998. In 4 years it was totally clean and topped off. Zero problems.

Crimsonnaire

iTrader: (1)

I understand many are very comfortable with Dexcool mainly because is the factory recommended antifreeze, but quite a few are becoming apprehensive with it the more they learn about its composition and the bad experiences of others shortly after switching to another coolant, hence the given nickname, 'Deathcool.' In short, this was designed to outperform conventional coolants by timeframe; lengthening the maintenance intervals by a huge margin. But the compromise for this is the presence of plasticizing agents that break down surfaces inside the system. Sure, the warranty may cover a seemingly long period of time, making the owner think that it's really the best stuff for the job--and your cooling system will surely last that long as pretested by their enginners, but see what you'll have go through to have them extend the warranty past that point...

For a car that has used Dexcool for many miles (I imagine over 100k miles), you're stuck with it because the deteriorated surfaces rely on its characteristics to keep it from falling apart immediately. So many that replace Dexcool find themselves having to replace some other things, such as the water pump or headgasket. So I agree with you that the engineers want anything but for our cars to last long, and Dexcool is simply a limiter for our gaskets! By the way, this information was corroborated upon with GM certified mechanics from a dealership who I personally spoke to.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

I suppose. Its been nothing but perfect for me. I have my original 11 year old water pump and every single hose is original. I did just replace my upper and lower radiator hoses a month ago just as preventative maintenance. My upper got replaced just because I got rid of my factory power steering cooler and needed the longer one-piece upper hose, so I just replaced them both while I was at it.

I think it simply comes down to how a person takes care of their car.

hotrodscrap

iTrader: (10)

Somewhat off topic, if you didn't want to reprogram your PCM (LT-1 car) and wanted the fans to come on sooner(temp) could you use this? I've seen them around for years. I'm just fixing years of neglect to my T/A project car and don't really want to send off the PCM for tuning, as I am not keeping the car. I have used the 160, and tuning for it, on my 94 Impala clone and it works great. I'm just not trying to spend anymore money than I have to fixing something that isn't really broken, as it NEEDS attention and money elsewhere. It is running a little warm too, and the fans don't seem to be working right, I intend on replacing the t-stat, and pressure cap this evening. Thanks!

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/JET-60602/

-SS

ws6pewter

iTrader: (1)

Hell my 02 T/A has run 200-210 from the day I drove off the dealer’s lot in 02. The trailblazer, and Silverado runs the exact same according to the dash gauges

The only time it is hotter than 210 is if it a 90+ degree day out and I park it for a few minutes. When I start it back it up it will shoot up just a little higher than 210 then once the fans kick on it cools back down to 200 -210 range.

hotrodscrap

iTrader: (10)

So, no input on the part above?

-SS