Howdy. Did you get your overheating problem solved, or lessened ?? I see that Texas is approaching the stage of heat only found in Hell ! In addition to the 1970 BB, i also have a 2006 LS2 with a 160 f. stat installed ; this cooling system is remarkable as when its 98 f. outside , i can still maintain 176 f. so long as im moving about 35/40 mph in
4th ; and if im going 50 or more in 5th, i can get it down as far as 173 f. In the 2006, i run 25% coolant to 75% distilled water with 1 bottle of Water Wetter .
Thanks for asking I was waiting up until yesterday for the radiator hoses had to order them so I'll be working on the car the next couple days will let you and everyone know how much the temps come down if at all and what I did. It's hot now here in TX like it should be in Aug. as hot as it'll get this year so I have an opportunity to see what really works. In stop and go traffic it peaks at about 225-227F so I have that as a 'baseline'. Got an IR thermo and the dash digital output is within 2% the thermo accuracy is
1%.
The car has green antifreeze in it now but I plan on going back to the pink stuff, the guy at the auto parts store advised that the green in a system meant for the pink might corrode some of the parts, in the heater core especially, said the manufacturer changed the solder in the copper joints for the pink and the green will corrode the solder. Never heard of that one before but he sounded like he knew what he was talking about said he sells lots of cores in cars that changed to the green stuff GM trucks especially, he has a C3 too he's taking an interest in the car I think not just giving me BS.
I have everything I need now so I'll be out there tomorrow morning working, until it gets too hot anyway...
Ok, let me know if it runs cooler once you get the hose replaced. If that doesnt do it and youre sure youve got a clean cooling system and have seals around the radiator/condensor sides...then, id run without the thermostat in it and see how it operates (at least during the real hot weather Texas has been having).
By the way, im RVing to the SouthWest starting Nov. 1st and will be stopping by Austin, Texas to say hi to some friends on my way to Tempe , AZ ; are there any 1/4 mile race tracks open and/or big Classic Car Shows in Nov. ??? Thanks, Dave.
Nov 3 Road Dogs Classic Car Show Great Hills Baptist Church mail Austin TX US Nov 3-4 Fall Conroe Swap Meet Montgomery County Fairgrounds mail Conroe TX US Nov 10 Pistons and Paint by Chupacabras mail Denton TX US Nov 10 Reunion Car Show Conroe High School mail Conroe TX US Nov 10-11 Dry:Off Custom Car Show Texas Ski Ranch mail New Braunfels TX US Nov 22-25 Houston Autorama George R Brown Convention Center Houston TX US
This is what I found for Texas shows in Nov.
"On November 17th, bring your best friend and best ride to help support the Central Texas SPCA at our 2nd Annual Road Dogs Classic Car Show at Great Hills Baptist Church, 10500 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas. There will be awards for the best cars and trucks in a variety of categories as well as music, food, and fun for all. Registration is only $20 for those who pre-register."
This is what I found when clicking on the Nov. 3 link -- the dates aren't the same I haven't emailed yet to get the right date but in a church parking lot I doubt it's very big or special. Anyone with more info on Texas shows or races in Nov. please post.
For the race tracks I go to Texas World Speedway for track days that's a road racing track, I don't do 1/4 mile so I searched a little on the web, Houston is having a shootout 3 Nov and there's a couple tracks up in the DFW area, a track is near Temple too about an hour north of Austin their schedule doesn't go past Sep maybe they have test 'n tune days in Nov I have no idea though. Not much racing around Austin and the one big car show is usually in the spring. Austin does have a go kart track near the airport (rental karts are available too) and a small road racing track that's still under construction I think have no info on that one however.
Still waiting for one molded heater hose and I'm changing spark plugs and wires and the drive belt and pulleys the car is not quite back together yet still trying to get one spark plug out, the #8 I can't seem to get to it enough to turn it with torque enough to break it loose. Don't think taking the thermostat out is a good idea as it keeps open the bypass port and probably runs the water too fast through the radiator not giving it time to cool much. I replaced the thermostat with a new 180F the same as came out. Hope to be finishing up on it tomorrow (if I figure out how to get that plug out) so I should have new temp info then.
Not only a bad idea to take out the thermostat but a known fact that you will run hotter. Anyone that is forced to do that has run a washer in its place for restriction to keep it from boiling out the coolant. Good call.........
Don't think taking the thermostat out is a good idea as it keeps open the bypass port and probably runs the water too fast through the radiator not giving it time to cool much. I replaced the thermostat with a new 180F the same as came out. Hope to be finishing up on it tomorrow (if I figure out how to get that plug out) so I should have new temp info then. Butcher '96 LT-4 CE
"Not only a bad idea to take out the thermostat but a known fact that you will run hotter. Anyone that is forced to do that has run a washer in its place for restriction to keep it from boiling out the coolant. Good call........."
REPLY: Didnt work that way on my 1970 BB ; I took the thermostat out , temporarily, and it ran much cooler around town and 160 f. on the highway. The engine in a 1996 may have different results.
'Nov 3 Road Dogs Classic Car Show Great Hills Baptist Church mail Austin TX US =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Nov 3-4 Fall Conroe Swap Meet Montgomery County Fairgrounds mail Conroe TX US =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Nov 10 Pistons and Paint by Chupacabras =A0 mail Denton TX US =A0 =A0 Nov 10 Reunion Car Show Conroe High School mail Conroe TX US =A0 =A0 Nov 10-11 Dry:Off Custom Car Show Texas Ski Ranch mail New Braunfels TX US =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Nov 22-25 Houston Autorama George R Brown Convention Center Houston TX US This is what I found for Texas shows in Nov. "On November 17th, bring your best friend and best ride to help support the Central Texas SPCA at our 2nd Annual Road Dogs Classic Car Show at Great Hills Baptist Church, 10500 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas. There will be awards for the best cars and trucks in a variety of categories as well as music, food, and fun for all. Registration is only $20 for those who pre-register." This is what I found when clicking on the Nov. 3 link -- the dates aren't the same I haven't emailed yet to get the right date but in a church parking lot I doubt it's very big or special. Anyone with more info on Texas shows or races in Nov. please post. For the race tracks I go to Texas World Speedway for track days that's a road racing track, I don't do 1/4 mile so I searched a little on the web, Houston is having a shootout 3 Nov and there's a couple tracks up in the DFW area, a track is near Temple too about an hour north of Austin their schedule doesn't go past Sep maybe they have test 'n tune days in Nov I have no idea though. =A0=A0Not much racing around Austin and the one big car show is usually in the spring. Austin does have a go kart track near the airport (rental karts are available too) and a small road racing track that's still under construction I think have no info on that one however. '
REPLY: Thanks very much for the events. Ill catch some of them but wont be in the Austin area till end of Nov. Have a few stops along the way from Illinois . Dave
Done finally with the spark plugs that # 8 was a *itch, #6 is not much fun either... I think it had the original plugs in it, 140K miles and they still looked pretty good. New wires, serpentine belt and pulleys too.
Okay the drum roll please -- temps top at 203F in traffic now, a good 25F cooler than it was. I'm surprised it when down that far, from 228F here's what I did:
flushed system with Zerex Super Flush, flushed until clear and drained everything I could, replaced all hoses, replaced thermostat (180F stock AC Delco), used aluminum duct tape to close all leaks around the rad. cover, including around the hose outlets and the condenser piping, filled with a 25% mix of Dex-Cool and distilled water added one bottle Water Wetter
idle is smoother now with the new plugs and wires, just bought the car a month ago have changed all the fluids, lubed everything I can think of, checked brake pads (has new tranny and clutch), I think I'm finally running out of things to do on it now, maybe a couple more O2 sensors to freshen them up (already replaced two) that's all I can think of. Buying a high mileage car can be a bad experience but I think I've lucked out here suspension and body is tight, drive train has no play engine is in great condition interior looks like it has half the mileage.
I do hear a rear hub (right one maybe?) though just a little sound goes away in left turns, is there in right turns maybe I should prepare for changing them out? I think I have some time the noise isn't noticeable unless you're listening for it. Any 'special tools' needed? I only have a Haynes manual now it sucks... looking for a factory set on Ebay.
Thanks all for the cooling system advice the help and all my work paid off well,
It took losing several auctions to get a set of factory service manuals for the '93. I was kind of stuck on paying no more than $75 for the pair. Finally saw a "Buy it now" for $79 and jumped on it. With shipping, under $100 and they were in very good condition. From experience since then, they're indispensable.
'Sounds like water wetter is a waste of time. In 110 degree air temps, our 2003 runs 194 with the stock thermostat and a 50/50 antifreeze mix.'
REPLY: I think the key with water wetter is to use it with as much distilled water as possible ; I use a bottle of it with 90% distilled water/10% coolant ... and it runs far cooler that its amazing. Takes far longer for the temp to increase when stopped at a light too.
Took it for a drive today it was 102F by the outside air thermometer, in traffic it topped out at 203F again went down to 197F as soon as I started moving, had to add a little water in the res. this morning probably will take a few days to work all the air out of the system, it's doing a great job now the oil temp doesn't get over about 215F too. I'm happy .. and thanks again all for the advice I think the Water Wetter does help, anything that helps the water make contact with the metal better (breaks surface tension) should allow the water to transfer more heat, especially over rough aluminum castings like the heads, where the temp sensor is. 25F difference can't be argued with, the old antifreeze that came out of it looked pretty good and the old hoses and thermostat seemed to be in fair shape and doing their jobs although I did replace them.
'probably will take a few days to work all the air out of the system,'
REPLY: You can 'burp' the cooling system to save time ; when the engine is cold remove the radiator cap then start the car and let it idle up to operating temp.
'it was 102F by the outside air thermometer, in traffic it topped out at
203F again went down to 197F as soon as I started moving, '
REPLY: This is a great improvement and well within the design specs for a C4.
Theres a simple C4 Fan Control Kit available that will turn on your radiator fans sooner than the factory setting in case youre interested . Go to
yep tried that got a lot of air out but in the morning the res. was only half full, this morning it needed maybe 8oz. of water to fill to the top I bet that does it
thanks Dave for the website I checked there found a few fan switches but I think I'll see how it does I'm getting tired of working on it,hehe. If it stays below about 205F during the hottest time of the year here (now) I think I'll leave it be.
It's still setting a code, P0420, "cat. efficiency below threshold" when I 'get on it' I've replaced one O2 sensor on that side (heater circuit problem) will replace the older one in case it's not matching well with the newer one, cat and muffler seem to be okay no rattles, reduced flow, sound difference or innards coming out as I can tell. A counter guy at the local auto parts store said sometimes a faulty gas cap can trip various codes like this one but I put a new cap on it when I bought it just a month ago so I doubt it's that.
'thanks Dave for the website I checked there found a few fan switches but I think I'll see how it does I'm getting tired of working on it,hehe. If it stays below about 205F during the hottest time of the year here (now) I think I'll leave it be.'
REPLY: Im on myh other email address -- In case you change your mind, its the HyperTech Brand Fan Switch Kit Jegs #533-1014 (on at 176 f/off at 166 f) or.... Jegs #533-4028 (on at 200 f/off at 185 f) in the TPI/LT1/LS1 section of thier catalogue. Its a screw in Temp Sensor with simple wire harness. $46.00 .
From observation the computer turns on the rad. fans at about 200F off about
190F that second Jegs part # seems to be about stock settings for this car. The first part # seems a little too cool I'm thinking 166F would be into the cold mixture mapping when it's running in open loop and ruin this car's excellent fuel mileage, not to mention carbon up the engine and maybe harm the cats. I don't know when the computer decides to change from open to closed loop my old RX-7 went to closed loop only in top gear. And of course it would need a 160F thermostat.
I think I'll keep an eye on the temps for awhile and see if I want to spend more time and money on lowering the temps more than I have already. I still need to diagnose that cat. efficiency trouble code and I barely hear a rear hub but will eventually need to replace both the rears I'm thinking, the O2 sensors and hubs are higher priorities now I think. And if the trouble code isn't the O2 sensor mismatch on that side (one old, one new) I'll need to replace the cat I suppose an expensive repair and one I can't do myself as all the exhaust is welded together. Where I live they 'sniff test' the cars I need working cats and no trouble codes to pass the inspections.
Thanks for the website I did look around there and they have some interesting stuff I'll post if I change my mind on the fan kits,
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