Can't keep this SOB cool :(

[Matt]

I've seen elec. water pumps straight from the factory that had the screw loose that holds the wheel on

[kingjason]

Do something crazy and move it to the back of the car. I read an article years ago about a guy that built custom bikes moving the radiators to the rear of the bikes. He couldnt get them to warm up after that. Put you a fuel cell in the trunk and mount your new bigger radiator where the old tank was with some sort of air deflectors. Plumb it down the frame rails with hard tubes and be done with it. Not only would it be trick but you would free up some room. I was going to twin turbo a 73 Vette I had and this was what I was going to do.

Just thinking outside of the box man. Alot of guys that build offroad trucks with motor swaps put them in the bed and it makes all the difference int he world. Think about how bad a design it is to run air over the motor after it has ran thru a radiator. Do it and be done with it.

[Dan03mach]

I'd wrap all the hot side first and see what that does. With my piping all wrapped it doesn't even get hot under the hood of my car at all. I don't have AC but my temps never get above 185-195 in the hottest part of the day.

[Blackpony]

does it get hot with the a/c off? if not you might look for a clog in the a/c system not allowing the freon to circulate properly. is your compressor in good shape? how about the evaporator and orfice tube? might try to discharge the system and blow out the lines, and install a new orfice.

[dville_gt]

does it get hot with the a/c off? if not you might look for a clog in the a/c system not allowing the freon to circulate properly. is your compressor in good shape? how about the evaporator and orfice tube? might try to discharge the system and blow out the lines, and install a new orfice.

runs at 214-216 with the a/c off. still hotter then i'd like, but can at least maintain itself. when the ac comes on it starts steadily rising.

[sosoe]

considered doing this, but with a powerglide i spin ~3k rpm on the highway. i've heard that the elec. pumps do better at idle, and are great for drag cars that makes short blast, but for a car that is going to maintain higher rpm's for long periods the pump doesn't keep up (since it doesn't spin relative to engine rpm).

My buddies orange camaro you raced about a year ago has an electric water pump. drives it on the street with a glide and always stays cool..

[Sleeper]

WRAP THE HOT SIDE... It will help i promise.

[Blackpony]

runs at 214-216 with the a/c off. still hotter then i'd like, but can at least maintain itself. when the ac comes on it starts steadily rising.

That is normal for that thermostat you have. Might try to put a 180 stat in, see what that gets you. Take a temp reading of the condensor, see what temps it is getting up to. Also put a set of gauges on and see what your pressures on the high and low side are. that might give you an indication if there could be a problem.

[shumpertdavid]

runs at 214-216 with the a/c off. still hotter then i'd like, but can at least maintain itself. when the ac comes on it starts steadily rising.

This temp is normal operation for a 196 thermostat, how many times do I have to say this. If you don't like it running 215, out a colder f- ING thermostat in it. As far as it running so much hotter with a/c on, well youve exhausted most all logical options. I'd agree on trying a new oem temp sender.

[turbostang]

This temp is normal operation for a 196 thermostat, how many times do I have to say this. If you don't like it running 215, out a colder f- ING thermostat in it. As far as it running so much hotter with a/c on, well youve exhausted most all logical options. I'd agree on trying a new oem temp sender.

This, this and this.

I, personally, have NEVER had any luck running a 'hot' thermostant in a 'performance' application. Swore them off many years ago and never looked back.

FWIW, there are two distinct schools of thought on this subject and I think both have their merrit - but when you've tried everything, why not try a 6$ part?

Also, I'd vent the hood as CJ suggested. Only when you've made a pass and try to put your hand behind it will you understand the value of that hole in the hood. it's a great defroster too.

[Diabolic]

I run a 195º thermostat in my stroked 95 Cobra. I see temps in the 221º range with the AC on when it's above 100º outside. This is normal I suppose. Heck in the stock tune my hi speed fan isnt suppose to kick on until 222º.

[shumpertdavid]

This, this and this.

FWIW, there are two distinct schools of thought on this subject and I think both have their merrit - but when you've tried everything, why not try a 6$ part?

My engine machinist tells me that the hotter (safely) you can run a motor, the better it is, both in efficiency and wear. Again I stress safely, their lemons car regularly sees temps in the 240-245 range (if memory servers correct & during long endurance races), they do this by running a higher pressure cap rating to control pressure bleed and with a mixture of water and additive.

You may still benefit from a cooler thermostat, the problem is when the thermostat opens early on and the coolant flow is so great that the radiator doesn't have time to pull the heat out of the water as it comes through. Given everything you've tried, take Brooks advice. Put a cooler thermostat in it and try it.

[dville_gt]

Just tried a few things with no luck. Can't find a 160 or 180* thermo locally. I had my heater core hoses looped and read where that can cause issues on these motors since it will recirculate hot coolant around the thermostat via the bypass. I also changed my upper radiator hose and steam vent hose. Nope, took it out and while I think it was "better" (i.e. took longer to heat up), it still couldn't keep it cool. Turned off the a/c @ 230 and it eventually settled down to ~214*. I am going to throw in a new temp sensor and see how it works, but while the autometer sensor reads different, at around 230 they seem to start reading pretty close together, at 214 via the scanner the autometer reads just over 200. Honestly not sure which one to trust.

I think I am going to try to drill out the insides of this thermo and run it with basically no thermo and see how it responds. Worst case I'll buy a new thermostat (and I think with the coolant lines bypassed I can get away with a normal SBC thermo since it won't matter about the bypass.

[Baron Von Crowder]

Just tried a few things with no luck. Can't find a 160 or 180* thermo locally. I had my heater core hoses looped and read where that can cause issues on these motors since it will recirculate hot coolant around the thermostat via the bypass. I also changed my upper radiator hose and steam vent hose. Nope, took it out and while I think it was "better" (i.e. took longer to heat up), it still couldn't keep it cool. Turned off the a/c @ 230 and it eventually settled down to ~214*. I am going to throw in a new temp sensor and see how it works, but while the autometer sensor reads different, at around 230 they seem to start reading pretty close together, at 214 via the scanner the autometer reads just over 200. Honestly not sure which one to trust.

I think I am going to try to drill out the insides of this thermo and run it with basically no thermo and see how it responds. Worst case I'll buy a new thermostat (and I think with the coolant lines bypassed I can get away with a normal SBC thermo since it won't matter about the bypass.

We gut the factory thermo and run it as a restrictor plate on the race cars, works great.

[dville_gt]

We gut the factory thermo and run it as a restrictor plate on the race cars, works great.

that is what i just tried, gutted the stock thermo and blocked off the heater bypass inside the waterpump. definitely better (a/c off it could maintain 205-207 vs. 214 before), but still cant suffice when the a/c is on, and this is with the hood off. going to try to put some gauges on the a/c this weekend and see what the pressures look like.

this shit is really aggravating. i need to throw an oil cooler on it as well as i am seeing 240-250* oil temps when the coolant temps get this high. iat's are 130-140 which also seems pretty high.