Temp Issues

[rildin]

Hi,

I have a 2004, 3800 not SuperCharged. My ex-wife gave it to me, as it was overheating and one of her friends told her it was the head gasket. She didn't want to be without a car while it got fixed, so she bought another car, and gave the GP to me instead of the junkyard. (One of the reasons she is my EX-wife).

So... after doing my GP Forums homework, I figured that it probably wasn't the head gasket, but might be the LIM. As I was gathering steam for that job, I thought I'd take a chance with the elbows. That's what it was the whole time (as far as I can tell). I'm not losing coolant anymore. BUT.....

While I was doing the elbows, I changed the water pump and put in a new thermostat. The thermostat was a 195 degree. After that work, it was still runing hot, about 210-220 sometimes, but then back to around 195-200. The AutoZone guy told me that was common, so I accepted it. After about a month (I did this stuff about a month ago), the water pump started squealing, so I got a new one under warranty. I replaced the water pump, and put in a 180 degree thermostat, I just didn't like the over 210 temperatures. (I have a ScanGauge in the car).

After all this, this is what is happening: I bled the coolant system, but the temperature is fluctuating between about 202 and 218. It will peak at 218 and then drop back, then rise back up, even at idle. The transmission fluid temperature is hanging around 195 or so but I've seen it at 210 at least once. One thing I noticed was that the intake air temperature is about 134 degrees, while the ambient temperature is about 70 degrees. I haven't paid a LOT of attention to that temp since I've had the car, but I seem to remember seeing it at about 10 degrees higher than the outside temp.

The fans kicked in when I turned the a/c on, and pulled the temp down to about 185, and it hovered at about 182 to 192 until I turned the a/c off then it went back to the higher temps.

Sorry for all the detail, I hope I haven't left anything out that might help you, and hope that you have any help or ideas about this issue.

Thanks,
rildin.

[matt5112]

thats 100% normal.

Stock fan settings suck. get your car tuned if you want to lower it.

[rildin]

Thanks for the quick response! The car is stock, so I'm not sure that I want to put $$$ into pcm for only the fan settings. Are there other stock issues that I would want to address with a new tune? Also, if I don't do the tune, is there any "danger" with these temps?

Thanks,
rildin

[FastestGTP]

A tune will improve the perfomance and fuel economy of the car no matter what stage it is at as long as the tune is done right. But no other major issues need to be corrected. MAF tune. Timing tune. Ect.

[TheOtherNick]

No there is no danger with those temps, unless you are driving wide open down the high way for long peroids of time.

[matt5112]

Wide open high way runs kill these things regardless.

Not racing motor...

But yeah, tune would improve fuel economy and a small amount of power.

It would improve even more if you had a street tune done on higher octane fuel.

Go back to the 195* t-stat. no need for anything colder.

[rildin]

Done and done.
Thanks for the help guys.
rildin.

[TheOtherNick]

No problem.

[MyPrixGT06]

I'll ask, because someone(like me) might not know, at what temperature do GP owners need to start to worry?

I just bought my GP GT 06 last week and found out that the coolant is sludge. I am having them flush it but no openings till Tues. The transmission temperature went up to 215 on the way home but i guess this is normal..?

Matt5112- highway kills GPs? Elaborate?

And I am going to be switching over to a 180 stat, because I am gonna be doing a couple mods and a cooler engine compartment will help my intake.

[MrTube]

I'll ask, because someone(like me) might not know, at what temperature do GP owners need to start to worry?

I just bought my GP GT 06 last week and found out that the coolant is sludge. I am having them flush it but no openings till Tues. The transmission temperature went up to 215 on the way home but i guess this is normal..?

Matt5112- highway kills GPs? Elaborate?

And I am going to be switching over to a 180 stat, because I am gonna be doing a couple mods and a cooler engine compartment will help my intake.

Matt means "wide open" kills GP's. most engines don't tolerate that very well.

If your dexcool was sludged there was a reason for it, most likely a leak and the car was allowed to run low on coolant for a long, long time. I would investigate why it happened.

You will find many people on here who bash dexcool, and others who are the complete opposite. I have found it works great as long as its used in an airtight system and the level is maintained. I run Dex in everything from my cars to ATV's. The only thing I'm running traditional green in is a 31 model A because it has an "open" low pressure cooling system.

I'm pretty sure most guys here recommend sticking with a 195F stat unless your doing other mods.

[SuperSport]

If your dexcool was sludged there was a reason for it, most likely a leak and the car was allowed to run low on coolant for a long, long time. I would investigate why it happened.

You will find many people on here who bash dexcool, and others who are the complete opposite. I have found it works great as long as its used in an airtight system and the level is maintained. I run Dex in everything from my cars to ATV's. The only thing I'm running traditional green in is a 31 model A because it has an "open" low pressure cooling system.

I'm pretty sure most guys here recommend sticking with a 195F stat unless your doing other mods.

Quoted for TRUTH.

[MyPrixGT06]

I'm getting my coolant flushed today with dextrol. woot