I currently have an over heating problem and a misfire problem in my 1997 trans am LT1 tram air and I currently have long tube headers and a jegs electric water pump just FYI. First problem: I have no idea why it is because I have gotten my head gaskets replaced back in October 2021 and thought it was my water pump so I ordered a electric one and still does it and come to figure out the OEM one was working fine and I also don't have a thermostat in. The electric water pump works perfect and I measure the temp from the code reader and it likes to stay around 230-234 after driving it for a bit on idle and goes down to 230 while driving and I do have the ac on but once it has gotten up to 242. i have put water in the overflow tank and made sure there wasn't any leaks. I have also did a full coolant flush and made sure the radiator wasn't clogged. I'm thinking that the low temp fan isn't kicking on or working as well because I seen it working and i replaced the motor in the fan in 2021 summer.


Problem two: I have a misfire in cylinder 2 for some reason and I have replaced the header gasket, sparkplug and the wire. Also, I made sure it was getting spark, which it was. I pulled the second cylinder fuel injector plug out so it wouldn't make more problems and I took off the valve cover to see if I had a stuck valve which I didn't. I am currently out of ideas.


Please help me with this please and thank you

 

You need a thermostat. Fix that first.

 

You probably have air in the cooling system. Jack the front of the car up so the radiator is higher than the intake manifold. Start engine. Remove radiator cap if coolant isn't hot, loosen the 2 vent screws on the coolant hoses(should be to the left of throttle body). The coolant should push the air out of the vent screws and produce a steady stream(put a shop towel or 2 under the screws to catch and liquid). Retighten the screws once stream is solid. Once the thermostat opens replace cap.

 

I had a thermostat in their before and it was will over heating. When I gotten my head gasket replaced there wasn’t one in there and it was running perfect for a little till the radiator got clogged.

 

I mean you can do what you want, but having no thermostat means you are hindering the cooling capacity of the system.

 

Couple of easy things to check...

Is the air dam under the front bumper still in place?

Did the thermostat that you removed have a small hole in it to let water through when closed? If there is no hole, then it had the wrong thermostat in it.

Thanks!

Chad

 

Yes it did have a hole in it and I made sure it did before buying it. It was running perfectly fine tho without it for months and I didn't even know until I replaces the water pump.

 

I have done that and with the electric water pump I don't really need to do that because i can just cycle the system without the car running and I've done all the ways possible.

 

If I'm not mistaken, without a thermostat, he is just cycling the majority of the coolant into and out of the radiator or the heads/block. Right? The point being that cooled coolant can't get into the heads/block. I think the LT1 thermostat is needed as the bottom plate seals the orifice in the water pump and allows the cooled coolant to start flowing from the radiator, through the heads, block, then out to the radiator as the engine heats up. Notice I said LT1 thermostat.....a SBC one will not work.

seeyou as an FYI, just because you found it that way doesn't mean it's right. If we tell you that you need a LT1 thermostat, you need to put one in it.

Is the coolant overflow tank constantly filling up or overflowing at times? Does it's level cycle low and high with a cold vs hot engine? Is it leaking or loosing coolant(Is coolant mysteriously disappearing)? Are you having to continually add coolant to the system through the radiator cap to keep the system full?

 

It does, if you want to truly not run a thermostat, you need to block off the lower port in the water pump housing. Otherwise, you just smash a bunch of hot & cold water together. Again, it works, but it could be better.