I changed out my coolant in my 98 Trans Am with the Dexcool, distilled water and the recommended amount of water wetter. After driving it for awhile I noticed that my gauge never gets over the mark between 160 and 210 (is that the 180 mark?) and the fans are running. It use to kick the fans on when it hit the 210 mark but now it never goes about that mark. Did I not get the air bubbles out? I felt the hoses and the hose that goes to the thermostat is warm but not hot....the hose on the other side is hot and plenty of pressure in it. Any suggestions? Oh and I still have the stock thermostat in it.

 

If the car isnt overheating, leave it alone.

 

Occasionally when a coolant change is done, you kill the coolant temp sensor. Its rare, but it happens. If your fans are coming and the "true" temp is only 180* or less, you have a problem. That sensor can make your guage act odd and it can turn the fans on sooner than they're supposed to.....if its been messed up.

 

So is the coolant temp sensor located at the water pump?

 

Drivers side head right under the first spark plug. Its brass and has a plug.

 

Thanks alot for the help and information!!!

 

id check the sender

 

Those temperature gauges are not very accurate to begin with. Best way to get real temperature is with a scanner.

 

Yea thats for sure...but from what I understand the 98 was the most accurate...lol. Well...I did go to autozone and get a coolant temp sensor......got the old one out without much spillage. Grab the new one and it only has two prongs instead of three like the old one. So I got one their website and it says that part number is for that car but No Go. I'll head to the GM dealer this weekend.

 

My temp guages are pretty close, my guage shows its cooler by about 10-15 degrees.

I had the same bullshit happen. Just go to the dealership for it.

 

I am having same issue, my Low coolant light is coming on in my 98 Trans am. Where is the sensor so I can unplug it? Thanks

 

Water wetter is most effective with 100 percent water, a little less effective at 75 percent water and 25 percent coolant, and least effective at 50 percent water and 50 percent coolant as you probably read on the bottle.

So if you mixed your coolant at a ratio of less than 50/50 then IMO it's possible that you have possibly enhanced the heat transfer rate of the coolant because of the water wetter by 5- 10 degrees.

Park the car cold in the hot sun, start it up and turn on the AC and let it idle in the sun and then watch and note when the first fan comes on, second fan comes on and when it hits 210 or more.

You didn't say how old the coolant was - hopefully it wasn't the factory coolant or more than 3 years old. If so that might explain some of the difference in your temps now and before.

 

Back of the radiator right under the radiator fill cap. Its a square and the plug is on the bottom of that square.

 

My fans always go "on" together and go "off" together. They also go into "high" and "low" speeds together. They never do anything seperately.


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Oops - my bad - you are right - mine come on differently because I have an ATI charger - one 16 inch fan and one nine inch. The 16 comes on first, then the nine, and then both run for about two minutes if I shut the car off and the temp guage is 210 or higher.

And with all of the different temp settings to turn the fans on with special tuning now along with the AC determining when they come on and off you are probably right if your car is stock or you haven't changed any of the settings.

My main point however, was for the OP to monitor the car as it warms up with the AC running and if it is hot enough when idling and the temp guage is working it will gradually make its way to 210 or 220 - but if it never makes it to 210 and stay pegged on 190 or lower - then I agree the temp sensor might be bad.

 

I'm curious, how much more cfm's of flow does that 16-inch and 9-inch set-up offer over stock cfm's? Also, can they just be inmstalled and the PCM will operate them just like they operate now? Plug and play?


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There are two separate connections running to each fan - so yes it would be plug and play if the connectors are correct. On my Spal they are not so I had to rewire the connections.

Believe me - a Spal 16 inch pulling 3300 cfm moves some air to point where on my car it creates a dust storm under the car. It also pushes the air out from under the car passenger side when idling. It pulls a bunch of hot air from the radiator and pushes it down and under. If you are NA I would go with a bigger radiator before swapping your dual fans. The Spal 16 Exreme is pricey and will buy nearly two SLP 97 style radiators + you would need to buy a shroud for one or two fans - do that and you can get a new BeCool.

The problem however with an ATI SC is that the SC blocks any air on the driver side from exiting under the car and instead forces it into the engine bay even with the addition of a single 9 inch puller fan.

But that is better than ATI's design replacing two stock 12's with one mediocre 16 inch. Fresh air from the UltraZ hood inlet and removal of the underhood seal at the cowl removes a heck of a lot of engine bay heat at 45-70 mph to the point where I can now lift the hood and place my hand on the STB or strut towers and not burn my hands.

I have been trying to fix overheating on my car for nearly three years and now it runs probably as best it will and not reach 230 or higher.

Installed a BeCool radiator.
Replaced the Meziere electric water pump and went back to stock.
Installed a Spal Extreme 3000 cfm fan replacing the single 16 inch ATI fan along with a PermCool 9 inch at about 950 cfm. Fans bigger than 9 inches do not fit on the driver side above the SC.
Reinstalled the plastic shrouding in front of the AC condensor I had been told would increase flow. Instead it made it worse because it reduced suction at slow or non-moving idle speeds.
Vented to atmosphere rather than recirculating non-boost.
Replaced twin intercoolers with singe FMIC.
Reduced timing over 4k to no more than 16 degrees.
Colder plugs.
SD tune.
Isolated tranny fluid through the cooler only rather than in a series through the radiator.
Replaced radiator air dam deflector with stock - ATI has you cut a third of the deflector off for twin IC's.
Replaced hood with an UltraZ hood to get air in the front.
Removed the seal on the cowl to vent underhood heat generated by the SC.
Run a ratio of 75-25 water to coolant with 2 bottles of water wetter.

This summer I have tested on some very hot days running the AC and it appears I can keep it at 220 or less unless I am in nearly unmoving stop and go traffic.

My only fixes left are to replace the coolant with Evans and go with a higher flow Evans water pump. I am told Evans will drop my temps at least 20 degrees to around 205-210 and out of the 230-240 range.

 

interesting never heard of that

 

I don't have any cooling problems at all, my engine actually runs sickening cool all the time. I have an LT1 radiator and a 160 t-stat, everything else is factory.

But I would still like to go with a new type of better flowing fans soon. WHY? Because my fans are friggin 11+ years old, they're my factory fans from when I bought the car new in 1998. I'm thinking they're gonna go soon, so I'm just looking into replacement options.

I might as well do something better then factory if its available. But I'd just want to pull these out and put something in, plug them in and drive. I don't want to start messing with PCM stuff and different times to come on and off.

Everything is great now. If I had more cfm's, it would just be that much better, especially here in south Florida with the A/C blasting in heavy traffic on a 95* day.

I'd never go with just a single because it goes, your screwed. At least with two fans, one can do the job so you can keep driving.

What dual fan set-up do you know of that will just plug and play, and offer more cfm's than the stock set-up?


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I am told SPAL fans are one of the best and because of quality are used by NASCAR. I am dissappointed however with their advertisement.

When I purchased the Spal Extreme 3000 I actually spoke to product support and it was what product support recommended at the time (2006). Since then however they have a disclaimer emphasizing that this particular fan model is not for street use. It now says it is not to be used for extended periods of time (more than one hour).

Gee - wish they had told me that or put that in writing when I bought the fan.

But they do have a 16 inch that is built for street use now. Give them a call.

I am told SPAL rates their cfm the most accurately. What you read is what you get.

But will Flexlite, PermCool, Zirgo, or BeCool give you any less service or longevity? I don't know. Who knows - maybe Spal makes their fans.

As for plug and play.

Do you want to use a shroud or not?

No shroud:
If no shroud then two fans staggered and mounted directly to your radiator is the the easiest - eight zip ties and you are done. Cut the fan plugs off of your stock fans and wire each to its mate on your new fans and plug both in and you are done.

Shroud:

I haven't done any research and to find one that mounts/hangs on the existing hooks on your stock radiator - probably not. But if the shroud mounts directly to the radiator with zip ties - then BeCool and Flexalite to name two, sell dual puller fan shroud kits.

Other info:

Straight blades pull more air but are nosier than curved blades.
Shrouds supposedly pull more air, if sealed properly, from the entire surface area of the radiator unlike suface mounted fans.
If the custom fans draw more amps than stock you will have to wire in relays to account for the additional draw and startup.
It is the AC when running that causes elevation of temps into the 220 + range because the superheated air exiting the AC condensor is drawn directly into the radiator. So to compensate you need to turn off the air, or run a bigger radiator, or run bigger fans, or change your coolant ratio or coolant, or run water wetter or evans coolant.
I am not inclined to believe that an electric water pump will give better reliability than a mechanical pump but they do flow better at idling.
Removal of the seal on the cowl allows hot air to excape the engine bay but it also permits water to run in (rain or car wash).