[tonyuh60]

I've had an issue with high temps (200-230+) since i've owned this car....first when I was running hot, read into the divider plate issue, I decided to replace the water pump with a flowcooler one....nothing. replaced thermostat with a 160 degree(checked)...nothing replaced the sending unit...nothing....checked the gauge, something not right....replaced with autometer gauge and sending unit(in the intake)....nothing, removed the trans cooling lines, put in an aux cooler and ran lines directly through that....nothing....replaced radiator with a 3 row champion aluminum....nothing.....I'm at a loss what to do...next step is electic fans I guess....Is there something I'm missing? I am in texas and temps are steady at 100 degrees....help please (pontiac 400 stroked, in a 78 trans am)

[68 Firebird]

What type fan and fan clutch?? Also how is the timing setup.
Also do you have a shroud.

I learned cooloing is a total package, no one part can make up for a
problem else where.

Gerry

[tonyuh60]

fan is stock 7 blade, yes on the shroud, newer hayden heavy duty fan clutch, timing....not a clue, within normal limits? timing light shows right on last we checked....I'm not privy to that knowhow yet

[freebird69]

tony, did you read my thread? http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=701783

Like Gerry said for me it was the many things that all slowly added up. One of the last and cheapest things I tried was to gasket off as many sources of hot air that could recirculate through the rad and that probably made the biggest difference. Needed every item though.

Mark

[tonyuh60]

Originally Posted by freebird69

tony, did you read my thread? http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=701783

Like Gerry said for me it was the many things that all slowly added up. One of the last and cheapest things I tried was to gasket off as many sources of hot air that could recirculate through the rad and that probably made the biggest difference. Needed every item though.

Mark

I just read it again, seem's we're in the same boat....I drove it today with the new champion 3 core in it and with my unreliable stock gauge, I put in an autometer gauge. I put my trans cooler in front of the a/c condensor then my radiator. totally bypassed the radiator with the trans lines. I'm going to try to close the edges around the radiator with some foam or wx stripping to see if that makes a difference. I drove it around today for the first time with everything swapped....neighborhood driving, 30 mph, and she climbed to 210 and held....even at idle. I got worried with that temp, so i didnt want to take it out on the highway quite yet. would rather do it in the morning when it's a bit cooler out(100+ here today in texas)

[tom s]

What kind of timing are you running?I have found over many years it can effect running temps of our pontiac engines.Tom

[tonyuh60]

Originally Posted by tom s

What kind of timing are you running?I have found over many years it can effect running temps of our pontiac engines.Tom

Tom, I'll be honest...I have no idea how to tell what timing i'm running....I can fly a 15 million dollar helicopter around all day long, but when it comes to cars, i'm a directions by pictures guy. could you please inform me how to check and will do it tomorrow. when I had it at the shop a few months ago, the guy threw a timing gun on it and said it was good...unfortunately, thats the extent of my knowlege on that subject.

[freebird69]

In a previous post you wrote:

"I drove it around today for the first time with everything swapped....neighborhood driving, 30 mph, and she climbed to 210 and held....even at idle. I got worried with that temp, so i didnt want to take it out on the highway quite yet."

Does that mean that your heat issue is at highway speeds and your temp's climb at high RPM?

[tom s]

put a light on it and find out what the initial is,then the total.Have to do it with the van line off the dist.Plug the line from the carb when you do.I find 12 initial is a good starting point.Tom

[geeteeohguy]

210 engine temp on a 100 degree day is nothing at all to worry about. Not an overheat condition and won't hurt a thing. 230+ is not good, however.

[Old Goat 67]

[Rodney R]

Tony, timing is huge. I'm sure there are plenty of youtube videos on how to do it exactly. I'm stll tuning my new build. When i had 12 initial and 30 total, the car hit 210 at 70 mph with no sign of ooling off, so I advanced timing 4 degrees(turning the distributor clockwise) to 16 initial and 34 total. Had no problem keeping it under 190 in the city and under 200 on the highway.... did I mention it was 110 degrees out after I advanced the timing? You may be running lean though as well..........

[tonyuh60]

Originally Posted by Rodney R

Tony, timing is huge. I'm sure there are plenty of youtube videos on how to do it exactly. I'm stll tuning my new build. When i had 12 initial and 30 total, the car hit 210 at 70 mph with no sign of ooling off, so I advanced timing 4 degrees(turning the distributor clockwise) to 16 initial and 34 total. Had no problem keeping it under 190 in the city and under 200 on the highway.... did I mention it was 110 degrees out after I advanced the timing? You may be running lean though as well..........

I'm going to grab a timing gun and start over with that....I don't think i'm running lean, carb was just redone with cliff's recommendations and kit. Thanks for the numbers and the know how, now I know how to at least take a stab at it.

[Ben]

Have you tried replaceing the WATER PUMP SLEEVE it makes a big differance if there not touching or the seals are bad

[Rodney R]

Have you pulled any plugs? If so, what color are they? Also, I don't know much about your combo. My motor runs awesome with initial timing of 16 and total 34, but I have detonation issues that I'm currently working on. What's your compression ratio?

[tonyuh60]

Originally Posted by Ben

Have you tried replaceing the WATER PUMP SLEEVE it makes a big differance if there not touching or the seals are bad

sleeves were replaced at the time of the water pump swap.


not sure the exact compression....in the low 9's if I remember......stock 6x-4 heads, butler 4.25 stroker kit with ross pistons, .030 bore.

I'm going to try the timing thing first, cheap way to see if it makes a difference.

[rad400]

Tony if you are using a vacuum advance can on the dist. make sure it works or get adjustable on from summit or jegs.

[HWYSTR455]

Yup, timing is a big, big part of it, and seems to get a lot of people. Have to run as much initial timing as possible, that's the key. Many times that means you have to limit total, and think that's part of your issue Rodney R.

Another thing to check is the vacuum switch that screws into the water crossover, for many cars that's where the vacuum advance gets it's source, and if bad, no vacuum advance.

I personally prefer manifold vacuum for advance, but not going to get into that debate. BUT, as a test, you can try manifold vacuum and see if it helps. That will give you an idea where to look at least. May want to make sure your vacuum advance even works, too.

On my driver, as an example, I run full time vacuum, and have like 18-20 degrees or more at idle. I can sit in traffic all day long, 100+ degree temps outside, AC blasting, never goes over 10-15 degrees of the stat rating, which is 180.

Think you should put the trans cooler lines back through the radiator too, and have the external after the rad cooler.

.

[Rodney R]

I may have the dist recirved, but I know the motor is really happy and powerful at 34 total. I may recurve to get 16/34, but I'm gonna try to do something about octane levels first.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by Rodney R

I may have the dist recirved, but I know the motor is really happy and powerful at 34 total. I may recurve to get 16/34, but I'm gonna try to do something about octane levels first.

Unless you have dished pistons, you're at like 10.98 - 11.2 CR, may take more than pump gas. My experience, 32 is optimum with iron heads. Your final drive isn't helping either. Loading it like that amplifies the problem.

.