I already changed the water pump with a brand new one and new thermostat new lower radiator hose and clamps. It used to go just past the first marker now it gets all the way to 210 degrees. I bled the air out for four minutes with the radiator cap off before the cops told me I was making too much noise a neighbor was complaining, I'm getting a little stressed now feels like I did everything and its not fixed what am I missing??

The way this started was one day I was driving smelled burning coolant and pulled over and the entire engine bay was covered in coolant. I had to reuse the old gasket from the thermostat housing cause my new one

got all jacked up when it was installed the first time and wasnt reusuable but the old one was in great condition, the leak stopped but its still heating up any suggestions folks?

 

Specs are 1998 Camaro z28 with 106k, has tsp 228r cam and headers

 

Tried flushing the coolant system?

Radiator core itself original? Did you replace the water pump because the water pump failed? Have you verified that the radiator is not clogged?

Is it idling at 210 but fine at highway speeds? Or does it run 210+ regardless?

Verified you have the right 180 thermostat?

What engine oil are you running?

Pull the spark plugs and take a look to see what they can tell you - pure white insulators mean a lean mixture/the wrong temp plug which can lead to overheating.

 

I'm running Mobil 1 but I'm due for a change and I believe I actually got a 187 degree thermostat, I replaced the water pump because both gaskets failed and the pulley itself had a lot of play. The radiator is original, flushing the system hasn't been done yet,how could I do the flush at home?

 

If your radiator is bad and you are planing on getting a new one, make sure to get a 93-96 lt1 radiator. The radiators on the Lt1 fbodys are bigger so they cool a lot better, and they fit in our cars with no problems.

 

Your radiator is old & it might be partially plugged up. I bought a new radiator at auto zone for 125.00 for my Z28. The 160 degree LS2 thermostat is a 2 part design that should fit your car. It has a removable thermostat & has less restriction giving you better water flow while also opening sooner at 160 degrees. This is what im running on my camaro & my car now runs at 180 degrees. You need to check out your radiator cooling fans...make sure they are working properly. One fan goes on at approx. 190 degrees & the second fan starts at something like 220 degrees. When you turn on your A/C The second fan should kick on immediately. Could be a fan sensor switch not kicking the fans on.
Your car computer is what kicks the fans on also. Do your research.

 

My car runs @ 200-205 at all times, is 210 even considered running hot?

 

Well I bled the air out of the radiator over night and topped it off, the thermostat I bought is 187* I drove it around it got up to 210 then the fans kicked on and knocked it down just past the first bar I assume is around 190 and it stays there now, I think the new thermostat is messing around with my custom tune so a retune is in my best interests right now, and thanks for the info on the lt style radiators fitting and cooling better @Empatho, and yea I believe its clogging up so I'll still look into that.

 

I got my radiator from pepboys with a printed coupon I got online, it cost like $90 after taxes. Before I got the lt1 radiator the fans would be on all the time, but now with the lt1 radiator the fans rarely turn on and when they do its only for a short time.

 

Sweet I definitely need to check that out. This is my 4th Camaro but my 1st LS1 , I studied extensively via books and forums but I'm glad there's still a lot I have to learn, how's those 3.23s? I have 3.73s but wanted to down it a little.

 

If it was running at normal temp and then the leak happened and You fixed the leak and since it has'nt gotten back down to the temp it was before the leak then it could be 4 or 5 things or a combination of them . Either You're not getting the system as full as it was before or the thermostat is acting up . Buy a new t-stat and flush the crap out of the system and when You fill the system don't be fooled by the water that is still in the system . Find out what the system holds and add 1/2 the amount of pure Dex-Cool. If You have a bad heater core ,,,,,,either remove it and repair it and re-install it or buy a new one and replace it ,,,,,,,,,,,the heater core accounts for probably 20% of You're over-all cooling capacity . Oh ya , 2 other things that will affect the system enough to cause You're problem are worn out fan clutch unless of course You have electric cooling fans which could be malfunctioning and the other is the spoiler on the front missing or deformed .

 

My car used to be an auto that is the reason I have 3.23s, I would rather have the 3.42s but its not as bad because I have a GTO tranny so the gearing is a little different.