AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

Thanks guys.

I know the factory guage is off, but I am also monitering via the OBD II port. And when its real cold I barely have heat.

Blocking off part of the rad or grill is something I have been considering. I may end up doing so but would prefer not to have to.

Removing the fan - I think thats a great idea. I can start it and let it idle while digitally monitoring temps. I should be able to SEE the thermostat open if its functioning with a bit off a sudden drop in temp around 185 or so. If the stat opens, fan is my problem likely. If it never does, I know I have another one stuck open.

CattleAc

iTrader: (7)

I've got another theory on the no heat in the heater...almost EVERY SINGLE 99-02 GM truck we get through the shop, (up here in the Dakotas) has a plugged heater core...we fought the no heat problem with thermostats until we back flushed the heater core in one. I cant tell you how many "no heat" situations in GM trucks we fix now with simple heater core back flushes...

I realize you have a "temp fluctuation" problem...I've seen a couple of these with plugged "steam port" lines causing this problem also.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

This thread is right on target for me. I am about to have a 187 thermostat installed with a system flush (I have 100k) in two Saturdays. My car also sits at 210 & my heat is roasting. My car lives in a much better neighborhod then I do in Scarsdale (friends house), are you in lower or upper Westchester?

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

I do get heat, it is just not very hot at all if it is cold out because the truck never gets up to temp. On 50 degree day it gets to about 140 degrees, which is enough to give me decent heat. Not roasting heat like Carguy888 has and I used to have. My concern is not really the heat though, it is finding out what is wrong and having the truck get to normal, safe operating temperature.

What is a steam port line BTW?

Carguy8888 - 210 is about where you should be sitting, as long as it never gets any hotter. Upper Westchester, in Yorktown. You?

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

The car is in Scarsdale, I am in one of the few nice places left in the Bronx. My sister lived on Hunter Brook Road for about 6 years. I hang around with a Younkers based car club called The Rocknrods. So is the 187 degree thermostat it's too cold?

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

Carguy - thermostat temp isn't an issue. Something else is, dunno what.

Well F me, I took the fan off and let it warm up. Watching the temp on my Torque app, I saw it hit 188, then 190 and then it fluctuated between 188 and 190 for a minute or maybe two. It then held at 190 for another minute or two before the temp started to climb so it looks like my thermostat is functioning properly. I went to the store and got a new fan clutch....... nothing. Still doing the same ****. Wont get hot. I even taped a contractor garbage bag over my grill. Nothing

One thing I noticed is that the upper radiator hose got a pretty warm, not hot, but pretty damn warm before the thermostat opened. Radiator was noticeably warm to the touch too. Is this normal? Is the coolant just kinda moving around even though it cant flow through the lower hose because of the thermostat? My buddy touched the lower hose after a few minutes and said it was cool. I swear I witnessed that thermostat open, and then everything got really hot so I just dont know. What a ridiculous problem I have here.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

okay thank you, I hope to see you in Thornwood in the spring on a Saturday night.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

IMO, it sounds like the fan is part of the problem. If you could get a fan with less pitch angle on the blades, or have your current fan blades bent for less pitch that should help solve you problem....Or try running it with the shroud, or part/s of the shroud removed to decrease the fans cooling efficiency, allow your engine to run warmer.
Another more costly, but probably more effective option is to go with a electric fan that you can select the turn on/off temperatures.

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

Yeah, I'm thinking about going the electric route.

But is it normal for the radiator to be getting warm and providing any cooling before the thermostat opens? That is what is driving me nuts.

sergo

so no one thinks a dual core radiator is going to cool a hell of a lot better than a single core.

the truck gets up to temp sitting with no fan and then nose dives with the fan and moving.
if the fan clutch was bad it would sound like a hurricane under the hood or it won't cool down at low speeds or sitting.
to me, it's too much radiator. block off some of it and see what happens.

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

Yeah but shouldn't the thermostat be forcing it to get up to temp regardless? That's whats crazy. I blocked entire grill, still doesn't warm up.

sergo

didn't you say you changed t-stats already?

studderin

iTrader: (28)

ice cold?

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

I changed the stat twice. Once in the summer when i changed the rad, and then again a few weeks ago thinking that the one in there was stuck open.

Ice cold? Dunno if you're being a smart *** or not, but 130 degrees after 20 miles of driving is pretty damn cold. And temps where I live will get about 30 degrees cooler soon. Heat inside is becoming an issue.

gagliano7

Does your heater core hoses get hot?

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

Yes. No blockage. The truck does not warm up, that is the nly issue with heat. If it gets hot so does my heat.

MX6.0

Sounds like you've already determined that the fan is the problem. By removing the fan it got up to 190, hung around that temp for a while because of the T-stat opening. Once the radiator got up to temp it started to climb more because there was no fan to cool things off.

When you had the fan off, did you drive it around or just let it idle?

Electric fan might be the best bet

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

I did not drive it around, just let it idle. But why did I never have this problem before? It just isnt logical to me. And like I said, the upper hose and rad were gettng warm before the stat opened, so even though the stat is closed SOME heat is making its way to the rad. Fkng bizarre. Or maybe that always happened but never noticed cuz the stock rad was so much smaller.

Thinking about just popping for an aftermarket electric fan with an adjustable thermostat. Sucks that I just dropped 55 bucks on a new fan clutch.

MX6.0

My upper radiator hose also gets warm before the T-stat opens up. But once the T-stat opens, it get's noticeably warmer with a few seconds. That should be pretty easy to monitor with your Torque app. I'm pretty sure that's normal.

If I were you, I'd take the fan off one more time and drive it around to warm it up. The air blowing over the engine might make the difference.


FYI, I have a 160 T-stat and my temps normally hover around 175-180 with the colder weather lately. Summertime is usually around 190. I'm probably going to switch back to a 180.

AnotherWs6

iTrader: (17)

Cool. I am glad you said that, thats exactly what mine does, monitored with Torque. That reassures me that my truck is normal and I dont need to go chasing anything else thermostat wise etc. What a crazy problem to have. Between the fan clutch and the new thermostat I could have paid for an electric fan. Oh well. Live and learn. I would have bet a S ton of money that the first stat was bad.

Any go to aftermarket fans out there that everybody uses? Already checked a few out on Summit earlier this week. 16 inch? 2500 CFM? Does that seem about right?

Think this thing is a total POS? Lower CFM than some I have seen, but it's from the same company I got the radiator from and that thing is pretty awesome.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-RED-SLIM-ELECTRIC-REVERSIBLE-RADIATOR-COOL-RACE-FAN-/110768842348?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item19ca56666c