How hot does your c4 run?

[Edmond]

Edmond, If you are looking for your fans to turn on earlier, I can do that for you if you are interested.. My prices are a lot cheaper then Ed Wright's too.

Considering we are both in the Chicago area, you can come over and I can burn the PROM with the fans set lower..

Let mw know.. 89ZZ4 on the forum has one of my PROMs in his car right now.

Jeff,

You can do a chip for me that's similar to the Ed Wright chips?

I'm definitely interested!

 

[rrubel]

hot that day, in the 90's. Maybe my sensor is off, I know the fan kicks in somewhere around the 140 range. I had the radiator flushed, thats about it for the cooling. My oil temp runs around 240 when the water is at 150

My fan normally kicks in at 230. Oil and coolant stay around 180-190 when normally cruising (I have a 180 t-stat) but in stop/go or at the strip both are upwards of 220. Something just doesn't seem right about yours; if anything, I'd think that's TOO cool.
[RICHR]

 

[Edmond]

Wow, I don't think the vehicle is even properly warmed up at 140. I'd assume that anything under 190 is pretty darned good.

 

[Dcalebaugh]

Maybe my sensor is out of wack. But those are the numbers that show up on the gauges. I wonder if I could use my infrared scanner to check the water temp?

Dave

 

[-=Jeff=-]

Jeff,

You can do a chip for me that's similar to the Ed Wright chips?

I'm definitely interested!

Edmond,

You should have a PM..

Let me know what you want changhed in the PROM other then the fans and we can go from there. Also what other mods do you have done?

 

[WhalePirot]

50-50

I understand a 50-50 mix of good glycol and water ( I use distilled) is optimum. Antifreeze containers show lowest temperature protection at half/half. Distilled water seems to leave less gunk in the system; cheap insurance, once again.

I heard that these engines run hotter to improve efficiency, as such a large percentage of energy loss from an internal combustion engine is wasted through heat. While extreme heat has to be tough on the metals and oils, an SE or SF oil should have no problem with these temperatures. Many of us run a synthetic (I tend to believe the Mobil 1 frying pan ad). Synthetics supposedly have a narrower range of components, so they don't lose the lighter aromatics, becoming thicker when real hot.

My car runs the in the higher end of those listed here, but I don't pay too much heed until I see 230. I try to keep as much heat out of the underhood area as possible, to improve engine life and preserve plastics, while aiding cool operation; tough with headers.

 

[Gixster]

My '86 never ran over 200 for the most part. I now have an '89 that I picked up a few weeks ago, and it runs at 235 ALL the time and works its way up from there. The oil temp runs around 235-240 also. I definitely don't like it.

I think my first order of business will be to take the radiator out and clean that good, make sure that the car has the optimal mix of antifreeze and water, and I might even go ahead and swap out the thermostat. Assuming it has a 195, which is stock if I remember right, can I go to a 180 degree thermostat without any difficulty on the computer?

BTW, first post. I've been lurking for a few weeks here and look forward to everyone's insight.

Tracy

 

[Drewser]

A BIG howdy do to your face!

Welcome to the CAC...you and your vette will love it here!
--Drew

 

[mds10134]

My 84 stays steady at 195. temp rises when in heavy traffic. never rose above 220. fan turns on at 220 off at 215.

 

[rrubel]

Yesterday I took the shell off the radiator to check how much junk was in there. PLENTY. Leaves, candy wrappers, STICKS, Jimmy Hoffa's body, styrofoam peanuts... and I'm only kidding about one of those items. If all that stuff was blowing around on the radiator while I was driving, no wonder it was hot. We'll see how much lower it is this weekend going to Carlisle.
[RICHR]

 

[Redbob]

Edmond is definitely making a mistake running pure antifreeze; antifreeze has less than half the specific heat of water, meaning a given amount of water will increase in temperature only half as much as a given amount of ethylene glycol, when the same amount of heat is applied.

All you need antifreeze for in summer is to prevent cooling system corrosion, and you can accomplish that with a 70:30 water:antifreeze mix, while getting better cooling than with a 50:50 mix.

My L98 with the puller fan manually switched on runs a water temperature 90F higher than the ambient air temperature at 70 MPH. That is, at 100 F (which is what it'll be when I get off work this afternoon) I'll see right around 190 F water temps on the way home, somewhat cooler at lower speeds.

Now if only the A/C worked...

- R

 

[FordNoMore!]

160 stat,water wetter, distilled water,manual fan switch,I top out at 180 in the desert heat,usually runs between 170 -180in the city,not bad I think....

 

[poorboys831]

I hesitated to give you my 2 cents worth until i finally got mine to where I was happy with it. I was hitting 235-260 sitting in traffic in 95 degree weather-really got worried a lot- turned off the air- pulled off the road twice on one occasion.Flushed the system,instaalled a 160 stat. fixed a tempermental fan relay(worked when it felt like it) put in an ed wright fast chip and am now at a constant 180-190 even when sitting in the parking lot.Left the car running while I went in to pick up a few things (cracked the window for my wife),came back about 15 min. later and the temp.was 185. 85 outside at night in real humid weather. I don't know what came first the chicken or the egg but this combo. worked for me

 

[Edmond]

Edmond is definitely making a mistake running pure antifreeze; antifreeze has less than half the specific heat of water, meaning a given amount of water will increase in temperature only half as much as a given amount of ethylene glycol, when the same amount of heat is applied.

All you need antifreeze for in summer is to prevent cooling system corrosion, and you can accomplish that with a 70:30 water:antifreeze mix, while getting better cooling than with a 50:50 mix.


- R

So how should I go about correcting this problem? Should I change out the reserve first with a antifreeze/water mix? Don't use tap water right?

 

[Eyerock]

I just got my power programmer in along with the 160 stat. Programmed it before i left work and changed the stat last night .... let her run in tahe driveway last night for 20 min.... 188 degrees! Will post later today after a day in traffic and give results!

 

[Redbob]

So how should I go about correcting this problem? Should I change out the reserve first with a antifreeze/water mix? Don't use tap water right?

Just for summer use: If you haven't drained and flushed the system in the past two years, now's your golden opportunity. Drain, flush, put in about a 70:30 ( or 3:1 if that's easier to mix!) mixture of antifreeze and distilled water, which runs about $.59 a gallon at the grocery store.

If your antifreeze is relatively fresh, drain some off from the radiator, top up with distilled water. Get yourself one of those "floating balls" -type antifreeze testers for a couple bucks from the local discount auto parts store, and guesstimate how much you have to put in. I disremember the cooling system capacity, but I'd drain off at least two gallons of the straight antifreeze - save it if it's recent stuff - top up with the water, run it for a few minutes, let it cool back down, then test with your new tester. Adjust as required.
PS: Antifreeze also has a higher boiling point than water, so you might want to run at least 70:30 unless you've also put in a 160 'stat, and wired your fans for manual control.
Regards,
- R

 

[Gixster]

Ok gang, I've had a chance to further evaluate my heating woes. Here's what I know for sure.

The puller fan in front of the condenser doesn't come on. Even with the AC turned on, it doesn't work. I'll be checking the relay first. Does anybody know where the relay for that fan is located ? I'm at work and don't have my manual handy.

The temp climbed up to 248 today at lunch, doing 70 down the Interstate. That's TOO stinkin' hot in my opinion.

I plan on putting in new coolant and pulling the radiator and making sure there's no crap between there and the condenser this weekend.

Also on the agenda is a 180 thermostat.

Thanks for any input gang.

Tracy

 

[Edmond]

Wow, 248 is very hot! Fortunately, I've never had it that hot.

I think I'm going to at least change the little coolant tank in the front this weekend and mix some water in there. I'm going to do the chip in a couple of weeks.

 

[jeepie]

Ouch, you are running at 248 while on the highway, I would say you have something wrong. I would bet your radiator is all blocked up. I don't think that fixing your one fan will help while running on the highway, I think the fans turn off once you hit a certain speed anyway. Of course you could have other problems also, but I would check the radiator first, don't forget to check for crap stuck in the fins and to fix bent fins. My radiator was pretty blocked up and I only saw temps above 230 while stuck in trafic on hot days, once I hit the highway it would cool down quite a bit.
Good luck.

 

[Eyerock]

Passed the test!!!! Power Programmer and 160 stat car got to 203 1 time in heavy idiling traffic! 180-185 on the highway!! 100 degrees here today too! If you got some extra bengis purchase the power programmer and the 160 stat... Solved my problem !
Used to run 235 in traffic and 205 down the highway