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Question: Thermostat Question

Jessica19699

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
152
Location
Stephens City Va
Corvette
1998 Jet black coupe
Hello CAC world I have a general question nothing to important more of curiosity but I was wondering I have a 92 corvette and I have seen other threads and heard that GM engineered corvettes to ride warm meaning the temp gauge will ride hotter (fluctuate) than any other car that I have owned anyway, mine for the most part stays in the middle or slightly below it unless I run into stop and go traffic (I commute to work In DC traffic) then it will start to ride hotter it has been up to the 3/4 mark and to be honest it has made me quite nervous at times, when the traffic lets up and I start driving a good pace again the temp gauge returns to the half mark that it normally stays at..so my question is that is this normal for corvette's to ride like this (are the stories true that I heard in other words) and if so can anything be done to maybe regulate the temp better maybe by changing out the thermostat or something like that and if I can do that can anyone tell me what kind I should get or are there any other ways to maybe keep it from riding hotter in traffic backup situations, my normal reaction when I see a temp gauge go up is to pull over and turn the car off before the engine blows but because I heard corvette's ride like this I haven't yet cause it hasn't reached the danger zone and always goes back down when i'm in a good driving pace, any insight or ideas would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance
 
Jessica, one problem with late C4s is the analog gauges are horribly inaccurate. I can't remember if you can do this with the 92 IP but with the 95 I once owned, I could see the actual coolant temp on the IP display by using the gauges button on the DIC to select it for display.

If the highest you see the gauge go is 3/4ths, then it's unlikely your car is "overheating" and the engine is certainly not going to blow.

C4s do run a engine coolant temperature than some of were used to seeing in the "old days". In fact, the primary electric fan doesn't come on until coolant or oil temp reaches 226-deg. The secondary doesn't come on until 234-deg.

One trick you can do to get a better feel for those inaccurate gauges is start your engine then open the hood and watch the fans. Once the engine gets to 226, one of the fans should come on. Then, go look at the temp gauge. it's probably going to be up at the 3/4s mark. While that might seem hot, it's not abnormal.

Now if both fans come on and the gauge is pegged, then you might have a problem.

You didn't say how many miles are on your 92, but if it's a high mileage car, a new thermostat can't hurt. Additionally, inspecting other cooling system parts would be a good idea, too.

Other C4 cooling tips...
Make sure your front air dam is in place and functional.
Remove the top of the cooling stack and inspect the area between the HVAC condenser and the radiator. That's an area where debris (leaves, plastic bags, paper, etc) can get stuck. Debris in that area restricts cooling air flow.
 
Hib, thanks for the reply I will certainly check these things out I seen in other threads on here about checking the front of the car for blockage of air flow to the radiator etc.. so yes I will certainly check that out you mention takeing off the cooling stack sorry i'm not to familiar with that term can you explain how to get that off? the car has roughly 121,000 miles on it I bought it used it had around 112,000 so it may need a new thermostat if I was to buy another one what is the best kind to get for that car? I will also check the temp display to see if I can see the actual temp read out after I drive it and see what the temp says to the fan kicking on. Like I said this don't seem like a major issue to me the temp always goes back to where it should be when I drive a steady pace (it seems the faster I go the cooler the temp gauge reads funny enough), thanks again for the reply

On a separate note do they make a screen or something that blocks debris but not airflow that can be mounted to the front underneath of the corvette cars, last year I had to replace my condenser on the car because a rock must have kicked up and put a hole in it which drained the system so I was wondering if they make something to prevent this and other debris from doing that?
 
Hib pretty well nailed it, the gauges aren't the most accurate...and when we lived in Colorado, temps around 230 were common in traffic. My 89 C4 was a bottom feeder, too. I got pretty good at cleaning the crap out of the intake area until I figured out how to make a screen out of extruded mesh. Not hard to do if you're handy with tools or,,, Mid America or most any other Sponsor on the site will have something like this that you can purchase if it becomes a problem.
Screen, 1984-1996 Condenser & Radiator Protection Shield From Mid America Motorworks
 
.. temps around 230 were common in traffic. My 89 C4 was a bottom feeder, too.

^ True that.

Also, that is one heck of a commute if you work in DC. I did the 50 mile one way trip to DC for 18 yrs from So. MD and you are probably close to double that.
 
Corvette central sells an inexpensive water temp. switch you install in the left head in a plugged water jacket hole above the 1 & 3 spark plugs. You then wire splice into the fan relay wiring. I used it on my "90 along with a 160 thermostat. It comes with installation instructions that are easy to follow.
Works Like a charm. Engine never got over 185*, even on hot, humid days with the A/c cranking..
A Cool engine is a powerful, happy, engine.

Here's the link for the fan fix.
http://www.parts123.com/corvettecentral/dyndetail.pta?catalog=0000050f&ukey=13002


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
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Thanks for all the replies everyone I will certainly check these things out, and yes the commute to DC does suck but I have to go where the money is unfortunately I don't drive my corvette there everyday only on occasion I use my Honda for that drive cause it is better on gas, I am certainly interested In the screen you are referring to scottsredvette ,Hib my car does have the temp read out also I drove it yesterday and on the half mark on the temp gauge the temp read around 201 degrees is this a normal temp for the specific area of the gauge I wasn't in stop and go traffic so I didn't see what the temp was in that situation at the 3/4 mark but next time I am I will check? DonB I will check out the fan you are referring to also. Thanks again guys:)
 
Hib, thanks for the reply I will certainly check these things out I seen in other threads on here about checking the front of the car for blockage of air flow to the radiator etc.. so yes I will certainly check that out you mention takeing off the cooling stack sorry i'm not to familiar with that term can you explain how to get that off?

"Cooling stack" is an engineering slang term for the assembly consisting of the radiator, A/C condensor, oil cooler (if so equipped), electric fan assembly and the mounting hardware which holds all that together. There is a large plastic "cover" over the top of all that. If you're gong to get into the DIY thing that deep, you need the Factory Service Manual which will explain how to remove the top along with removing the various parts of the cooling stack.

the car has roughly 121,000 miles on it I bought it used it had around 112,000 so it may need a new thermostat if I was to buy another one what is the best kind to get for that car?

Stant makes good 'stats. See this page at Rockauto.com

I will also check the temp display to see if I can see the actual temp read out after I drive it and see what the temp says to the fan kicking on. Like I said this don't seem like a major issue to me the temp always goes back to where it should be when I drive a steady pace (it seems the faster I go the cooler the temp gauge reads funny enough), thanks again for the reply

ECT going up in traffic then going down once you speed up a bit is normal.

[/QUOTE]On a separate note do they make a screen or something that blocks debris but not airflow that can be mounted to the front underneath of the corvette cars, last year I had to replace my condenser on the car because a rock must have kicked up and put a hole in it which drained the system so I was wondering if they make something to prevent this and other debris from doing that?[/QUOTE]

I've not seen an off-the-shelf product like that but they may exist. I have seen cars were the owners have made and installed such a screen.
 
Hello CAC world I have a general question nothing to important more of curiosity but I was wondering I have a 92 corvette and I have seen other threads and heard that GM engineered corvettes to ride warm meaning the temp gauge will ride hotter (fluctuate) than any other car that I have owned anyway, mine for the most part stays in the middle or slightly below it unless I run into stop and go traffic (I commute to work In DC traffic) then it will start to ride hotter it has been up to the 3/4 mark and to be honest it has made me quite nervous at times, when the traffic lets up and I start driving a good pace again the temp gauge returns to the half mark that it normally stays at..so my question is that is this normal for corvette's to ride like this (are the stories true that I heard in other words) and if so can anything be done to maybe regulate the temp better maybe by changing out the thermostat or something like that and if I can do that can anyone tell me what kind I should get or are there any other ways to maybe keep it from riding hotter in traffic backup situations, my normal reaction when I see a temp gauge go up is to pull over and turn the car off before the engine blows but because I heard corvette's ride like this I haven't yet cause it hasn't reached the danger zone and always goes back down when i'm in a good driving pace, any insight or ideas would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance

Hey,

Just to confirm what you experience with the temp gauge. Mine as well pegs at 3/4 on the conventional temp gauge which is around 230° on the digital temp. This car ran this way from when I first got it and it still does the same thing. I think the thermostat for my car which is a 93 is 192 or 194°. As soon as the car is under way out of traffic the temp falls to around 194 to 196°. Aux fan kicks on at 230°. This is normal for this car. I normally ride around with the digital gauge on temp and monitor this as it always worries me as well. In Florida is gets quite hot here but I never had it go above 230°.
Again at 196°, the conventional or analog gauge is around half way....
 
Hey,

Just to confirm what you experience with the temp gauge. Mine as well pegs at 3/4 on the conventional temp gauge which is around 230° on the digital temp. This car ran this way from when I first got it and it still does the same thing. I think the thermostat for my car which is a 93 is 192 or 194°. As soon as the car is under way out of traffic the temp falls to around 194 to 196°. Aux fan kicks on at 230°. This is normal for this car. I normally ride around with the digital gauge on temp and monitor this as it always worries me as well. In Florida is gets quite hot here but I never had it go above 230°.
Again at 196°, the conventional or analog gauge is around half way....

Ok Robert thanks for the info ,yeah like I said I heard this was typical for corvettes and the needle always goes back down when the car gets going again, but like you said it can make one nervous with that "what if factor" it goes beyond that 3/4 mark lol have a good day:)
 
Just did total hose replacement,thermostat,cap,Anti freeze etc,etc on my 93. Used spray Gunk to clean the Rad & condensor also. Gona do the screen thing when I find the time. I bought the 1/4 from amazon,but Home depot etc caries it also & is much cheaper.Amazon.com : 1/4 Inch Mesh 24 Inch Tall x 5 Feet Long Hardware Cloth : Wire Mesh : Patio, Lawn & Garden I did the toggle switch mod for the fans on my old 85,ya just need a toggle switch to ground out the relays. I did notice the temps will rise faster if ya have a automatic since the trans fluid get's cooled by the radiator also. Another thing I noticed when I tried a 160 stat in the l98,it threw a EGR code after a substained over 50 MPH cruze,so I switched back to the org 191/192 stat. Dont know if it would in a LT1.
 
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