ok I have another question and I am stumped on this situation...

Three years ago My girl puta reman 305 in her car, Her cluster does not work properly and the temp gauge is stuck all the way at the top. So they put a live gauge in the car (Sunpro) and used the same port that the factory sending unit for the temp gauge goes in. They removed the sending unit from the drivers side head and installed the line for the live gauge. She has complained of her car running hot only during the summer so I decided it was time to take a look at it. The car runs between 210 and 220 with no ac on. With the AC on the car would run above 250 according to the live gauge. So over this past winter I installed a 160 degree thermostat and decided to see what that would do. The car still ran 200 degrees according the the live gauge in 40 and 50 degree outside temps. Her AC compressor crapped out on her the other week (Reman units from advance suck donkey nuts) and she has been complaining of the 210 and 220 degree temps again since the weather got warmer. So today I completly removed the AC condenser (it had spots in the fins where it looked like it was leaking oil so it needs replacing reguardless) There was a little bit of trash between the condenser and the radiator so I removed all of that and cleaned it up really good. The car still runs 210-220 degrees and with no AC condenser to restrict airflow. Her cooling fan is wired up to the the ignition so it runs constantlywhile the car is on.I did notice that there isabout a 1/2in gap between the cooling fan and the radiator, is this normal oris there something that is supposed to go there? I am at a complete loss.

According to her, she has all of the following parts new from GM:
New Radiator
New upper and lower hoses
3 year old water pump (I turned it by hand when I was installing the thermostat and water did come out of the outlet)
New 160 degree thermostat
New heater core

Any help would be greatly appreciated especiallybefore the 95-105 degree temps hit here....

 

If the car has electric fans, do they run when it is overheating?

 

yeah..electric fans?? if not it may chechk your fan clutch.

 

 

Maybe it just needs a bigger radiator.

 

Does the fan shroud actually contact the radiator on all edges? Does it even HAVE a fan shroud? And how often has the coolant in the car been changed?[/align]

 

New coolant... the upper rad support has the threads in it for the fan to bolt to, Everything is tight and secure, like I said the fan is about 1/2 and inch away from the radiator... the fan in bolted in place with 4 bolts All camaros that I have seen with a 305 TBI use this same setup.

 

maybe the fan is shot, or is turning the wrong direction? i had an overheating issue, even in the winter. i just put my fan on a manual on/off switch. make sure when you have it on you can feel air pulling through the rad and blowing onto the engine. if all else fails, get a higher volume pump

 

just a thought but is the lower air dam still there? a little overheating at idle isnt that uncommon, if its doing it at driving then you got a problem.

first off elimate the easy things
coolant, check to make sure its proper mix, wouldnt be the first time someone put to much water in the mix
next check the fan, make sure its not wired reverse, i know mine u can switch the wires and make it run backwards, wont spin as fast but will spin.
next step get the car running, and check the temp another way, idc how u do it but do it, sunpro guages are known for being complete crap, and it being off 30 degrees wouldnt surprise me at all. probably the easyest way to check it would be either a temp gun(if u know someone with one), or finding another guage, our walmart sells some, i dont rember what they are, not sunpro, their mech something, and they actually work wonderful, cost like $8-9, will atleast work well enough to see if the sunpro is accurate, might be able to take it to a shop to have them test it as well. i keep one in my tool box to check reading off my cars. could even get a cooking one and just stick it in the hole for the guage if its on top, or pull off a heater core hose and let some go into a cup and put it back on quick. whatever works for you.

if everything checks out good then, before you replace anything, give a raditor flush a try, if it doesnt fix it its a good thing to do anyways, i do it every spring to all my vehicles.. if its still running that hot, then it may be time to go to a better raditor, double core probably, or a higher volume water pump.

 

Put a 180-195 t stat in. The 160 opens then it stays so hot it never closes giving the water a chance toi stay in the radiator and cool. Like running your car with out a t stat.