LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Another LT1 Overheating!

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Old May 12, 2007 | 12:29 AM
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Red face Another LT1 Overheating!

hey guys, first off. whats up with all these LT1's overheating!?
i have had my car for 3 years and the day i bought it i noticed it was overheating.... i stopped at a garage and got the coolant flushed which it definately needed. after that it still was overheating... my friend and i then replaced the temp. sending unit on the waterpump, still overheating.... i brought it to a shop, and they said it was the other temp sending unit for the computer.... they replaced that... i was driving to work that day and the car was still overheating... i should have turned back around and told them they didnt fix the problem, but i would have been late for work... anyways, i then bought the slp fan switch and whenever the car got to 200 degrees i would switch the fans on and it would cool down... that worked great! now the fans dont come on at all when i flip the switch... oh and i have a slp 160 degree thermostat, and i replaced my waterpump in september...
now i took the fan relay out and ran a jumper wire and the fans finally came on...
can i keep a jumper wire on this all the time? or will it kill the battery? i know its kinda ghetto but i dont know what else to do... the fans are just not comming on when they should be.... anybody have any ideas???
thanks.
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Old May 12, 2007 | 11:42 AM
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Make sure you got all the air out of the system. My fans don't work either, but it runs cool till I hit traffic, if yours is overheating with normal cruising, then its something other than fans. Also check for blockages in the airflow to the radiator.

Sara Lou
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Old May 12, 2007 | 11:52 AM
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what hood do you have? My friend used to to not have a induction hood on his Z28 and it always ran hot but then he bought a SS hood like mine and it never overheated again...Just a suggestion
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Old May 12, 2007 | 12:44 PM
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How hot does it run? LT1s were designed to run much hotter than previous SBC engines and the fans DON"T come on until well past 200 degrees; I believe the fan is set to come on at 226 degrees?

Mike
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Old May 12, 2007 | 03:49 PM
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tstat man and the fans o make sure to bleed the air out the system im in the process right now of gettin the slp 160 tstat ,manual fan switch and new water pump. just get all the things i just mentioned and you will be fine o and if you really dnt want ur car to even know what 200 degress is lol add a be cool radiator with all the stuff i mentioned above.
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Old May 12, 2007 | 07:42 PM
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guys, the car runs great when i am doing 60+mph.... but if im at a stop light for a long time or in traffic the car will get up past 220.... i replaced the waterpump in september... i have a slp 160 degree t-stat, and a slp fan switch.... the switch worked great, now the switch doesnt turn the fans on anymore.... im wondering if the fan switch just crapped out but i installed it last summer, so would it just all of a sudden go bad in that short amount of time?
the fans just are not comming on... even around 220 degrees, they still dont come on... im ready to bring it to the shop, but i hate bringing it to garages, i like to work on it myself... but i just have no idea why the fans wont come on!

did anyone get the july issue of gm hightech magazine? on page 74 they are installing a fluidyne radiator in a 94 Z... they say it retails for $679 and includes all the hardware... much cheaper than the be-cool radiator systems that i was looking at....
thanks for the help guys,
again, the fans just arn't turning on, even with the manual fan switch... keep the suggestions comming....
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Old May 12, 2007 | 08:35 PM
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From: Desoto Tx
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if ur car is a m6 then the be cool is cheaper it only cost 400 dollars and check those fans or get some fans from a donor car

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...115+4294840140
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Old May 12, 2007 | 08:43 PM
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BTW check the wiring
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Old May 12, 2007 | 10:31 PM
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yeah, stock fan settings are over 225 degrees before they turn on. It may look bad, but thats how it was engineered to work. I've had my lt1 over 4 years, never messed with the fans, keep clean coolant, and have never overheated, even in traffic in the middle of summer. If your temp gets close to 240, thats a different story. Make sure the system is bled fully as well.
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Old May 13, 2007 | 01:44 AM
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From: Desoto Tx
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how do u bleed the system
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Old May 13, 2007 | 11:15 AM
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To check the fans, jump terminal A + B of your ALDL port (top right, first 2 terminals), that will cause the fans to operate which will tell you if your wiring, relays, etc are functioning correctly.

Sara Lou
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Old May 15, 2007 | 11:04 PM
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http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#cooling

Fans come on at 226* for low and 235* for high. It seems like a lot, but with the reverse flow cooling, the heads are cooler than the motor. GM did it primarily to improve gas mileage and lower emissions.
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Old May 15, 2007 | 11:10 PM
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Werd. Sounds like it may be doing just fine for you, have you taken off your front air dam? I just use my manual fan switch in traffic, but I won't be worrying much about that anymore with an E-WP wired to a relay
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Old May 16, 2007 | 12:29 AM
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Take care of the fans

I have the SLP fan switch I turn the fan on as soon as stat the car. I have ran the car like that for 2 years and it run at 170 all day long. the fan motors could be bad

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CAR
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