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Well my car has new gauges and a new temp sensor in the top of the engine. With my other old gauges and sensor my car ran under 200. But now the car maintains around 225. Will the new sensor and gauges make a difference, and if it stays at 225 all the time will it have effects long term?
My wife had an 81 Corvette it ran 220 I thought that was too hot, she called a Chevy dealer and they said it was normal. Check with a Chevy dealer and give them the engine numbers. On my 86 Elcamino the red area is 200 to 225. I would not want my street rod running at 225. Might add another electric fan to help bring it down.
Richard
Thanks for the info. Where are the numbers located on a block.....LOL!
1st it depends on what kind of motor and year it is as to the temp its gonna run. What size motor is it, also is it an EFI TBI TPI or carbed motor?
I think if the only thing that has changed is the sender and guage. One of the two gauges is off.
The block number should be on the passenger side just below the head, the alternator might make it hard to see if it’s on that side. The older 396 engines had numbers that gave the horsepower by the distributor passenger side. If you could tell the service manager at a Chevy dealer could tell you. I just thought I took it for granted it was a Chevy, maybe not though.
The newer engines, I'm lost so maybe another member can give you a better idea. Good luck, it's a pain to have an engine running hot.
Richard
It's a sbc 350 for now....LOL! I'm gonna put a 302 in her eventually.
If it is a 81 and up center bolt valve cover motor with , fuel injected TBI, or TPI, then they are supposed to run hotter. But at 225 on this style engine the external fan is supposed to kick on and cool it down to about 205, and not continually run at 225. If the motor is a pre 81 with valve cover bolts on the outer flange, then 225 is warm and even 200 is considered about as hot as you would want it to stay at on the pre 81 350 carbed motor.
My valve covers bolt like this one. Also I changed the oil to Mobil 1 recently. Synthetic oil shouldn't make the car run hotter I wouldn't think and if I have the radiator overfilled make any difference?
those are the pre 81 valve covers. synthetic should not make any difference. as long as you have a vented radiator filler neck, with a vent tube running to a puke tank, or right to the ground. Then It cant be over filled. And 99.9 percent of radiators made are vented. If it does not have a puke tank you need one. When the car is running (start from cooled down) Squeeze the upper radiator hose that goes to the thermostat housing. If it is tight and firm the thermostat is closed, as soon as it opens the hose will be softened and you will be able to squeeze it flat. check your temperature at that point to verify the themostats operating range. It should open at 190 or so for a carburated motor with the heads you have.
What type fan are you running, from a water pump pulley, or a radiator mounted unit? If its a pump mounted unit does it have a full shroud from the radiator to the fan blades? If not that may be your problem, and an additional radiator mounted fan might become a nessacary item, and cheaper in the long run to get, then modifying a shroud in a custom fit car like yours.
here is a pic of my puke tank set up from the filler neck.
Good advice mooneye777, It's nice when people can help one another, if a guy in the beginning gets a smart remark he my not ask again then it is one unhappy car guy.
We all hope you get it straighten out soon youther.
Richard
I started the car and I was able to squeeze the hose right away.Quote:
Originally Posted by mooneye777
I do have a resivor tank and I also have an electric fan with a shroud.
With me being able to squeeze the hose as soon as I started it, does that mean that my thermostat is stuck open and that I should replace it?
Youther....Princeton WV is listed as elevation 2605 ft so water boils at appx 207.7 degrees F there. You could take your temp sensor out and put it into a container of water and boil the water....when the water begins to boil, the indicated temperature should be 207.7. Of course, you would also have to take your temp gauge along to the stove and rig up a 12 volt source to run it.
If the gauge/sender reads accurately, the next step is to inspect your installation. Did you change the position or location of the sender? Some folks mount the sender in a location where there is a trapped pocket of air that keeps the temp sendor tip from being in contact with the water. I've seen people put senders in some awful looking pipe adapters that insulated the sender....of course, these read low. One way to assure the absence of the air pocket is to burp the system by unscrewing the temp sensor after you fill the system (and it is still cold) so that a small bit of liquid escapes (to tell you that the air is gone).
You didnt say what brand of gauges you are using and if the sender matched the gauge brand.
hope this helps
mike in tucson
Great info. I'm not technical enough to pull this off....LOL! I can pull off the sender and see if it is full.Quote:
Originally Posted by robot
As far as the sender and the gauges, the sender was not part of the gauges but is new. The gauges are TPI Tech gauges.
OOOOh...that may be your problem if you didnt buy a sender matched to the gauge. A temperature gage is really just a volt meter and the resistance calibration of the sender is matched to the full scale reading of the gauge.
In fact, there are several factory senders for Chevy with different resistances....check with your gauge manufacturer and they should be able to tell you the correct resistance.
Also, the grounding on a one-wire sender is thru the threads to the intake....dont use teflon tape or too much pipe goo and increase the resistance
After market gauges have different senders. For instance, I have VDO gauges matched with a 250* sender. Since I'm wiring my car now, I decided that I wanted a transmission temp sender as well (thanks, Henry Rifle - Jack). I looked through the VDO catalog and chose one identical to the engine coolant temp sender, not the 200* or 300* version. It's installed in my aluminum trans. pan with a SPDT switch so I can read one or the other.
Soooooo with that said, the gauge and sender need to match. Not the GM to gauge:3dSMILE:
Nobody said GM sender needed to match...the example was that GM even had several ohm ranges.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robot
You just re-answered your own statement - they need to match to work right.
So is it possible then that I'm not over heating, the gauges are just off?
Youther old way you can try is after driving it awhile and stop and its shut off open hood and listen for sounds from the radiator . If the engine is running hot some notice would prevail . A gurgle here or there something .
Youther - didn't your gauges come with a sender? TPI Tech's website says that it's part of the package. (Why stop with a 302W, why not a 351W:LOL: :LOL: They're a bit wider and taller then the 302, but for sure will fit an 'A')Quote:
Originally Posted by youther
Bobby - the rad wouldn't (shouldn't?) gurgle if it had the proper pressure cap. The cap raises the boiling temp of the coolant. For instance, a 15# cap at sea level, the boiling temp would be in the range of 245-255F. Corrected for altitude, somewhat less, but still higher then 220..
Ok, I took the car out this weekend and drove it at least 100 miles and the car never got over 200 1 single time. The temps have been about 10 degrees cooler than the last time I had it out and when it got 225 the temps were higher than average for our area. Would that little bit of temp change make that much difference?
Oh yeah, I haven't touched anything or changed anything on the car either.
could cause it.. hot air dosn't cool as good as cold air
The biggest problem ( I see ) with it running a bit warm all the time, is there is less room for error should you have a problem. I.E. if you gain a mere 15-20 degrees you are boiling over. I have been working on the 350 in my 64 C10 off-and-on for about three years now trying to get rid of its heating problem.
The current set up includes a Summit aluminum radiator, with an 18 inch electric fan in front. ( pushing ) Also, have an oil cooler, about 8X10" which sits below the radiator. On the road, with 90 degrees ambient, it is now a cool 180. Still plan to make a couple changes though: going to put a themral switch in line with the fan relay to shut off the fan below 170, and add a small fan to the oil cooler as the temp still climbs up a bit at idle. also need to make a stone guard for the oil cooler using some expanded steel.