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160 stat. still running hot

ClockworkC5

ClockworkC5

droog
i installed a hypertech 160 stat a week ago and have the fans tuned to turn on at 180. the fans are turning on but it still running hot at times. theres plenty of coolant. i filled it back up with dexcool. not leaking fluid. any ideas? before when i had the oem stat i never went over 196. so i dont really think its the water pump. also just out of curiosity. our ls1 water pumps, when they start taking a dump to they piss coolant out like the lt1s?
 
ClockworkC5 said:
i installed a hypertech 160 stat a week ago and have the fans tuned to turn on at 180. the fans are turning on but it still running hot at times. theres plenty of coolant. i filled it back up with dexcool. not leaking fluid. any ideas? before when i had the oem stat i never went over 196. so i dont really think its the water pump. also just out of curiosity. our ls1 water pumps, when they start taking a dump to they piss coolant out like the lt1s?
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When you change out the Thermostat you get air into the coolant system. You MUST run the engine up to operating temps with the cap off the coolant tank to allow the air to escape. You should also use a mix of 50% Dexcool and 50% Distilled water.

Check your radiator. They get clogged with small stuff. Take a garden hose set on "spray", not a heavy stream, and try to wash out the debris in your radiator fins.

Good Luck...
 
I remember my motor running hot w/ 160 tstat and fans on early. Took a week or so to gets the burps out, but even now itll run around 196.
 
LS2POWA said:
I remember my motor running hot w/ 160 tstat and fans on early. Took a week or so to gets the burps out, but even now itll run around 196.
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Thats normal for my car too. Occasionally my C5 will get to 220 if it's a real hot day and I'm in city traffic.
 
Put it up on a lift and look up in front of the A/C condensor & between the radiator & condensor.....you may find it all full off feathers, leaves, grocery bags, sand, etc. A bottle brush taped on a dowl and a long reach air fitting and you can clean it out. Also, the higher the percentage of antifreeze to water, the lower the ability to transfer heat. 100% water is the best, but then there is no corrosion protection. If not running in the northern climates where freezing is a threat 70% water, 30% dex cool & a bottle of water wetter will give the best results.:thumbsup:
 
thanks for the info everyone. im running about 50/50. everytime i ran the car i opened the coolant fill area to let some air out. the radiator is clean and clear of debris, was just down there changing out the ac tensioner pulley. i didnt know about the dexcool inhibiting heat transfer. should i use a water wetter or similiar?
 
A 160 stat will not make your car run cooler. It will only delay it getting to maximum temp as it opens earlier and allows circulation, thus delaying warming up. Make sure your radiator is perfectly clean and your fans are working properly. I've used water wetter before with good results, about a 10degree decrease in temp. You may want to try that.:thumbsup:
 
in my lt1 formula, i hard wired the fans and had a 160 stat and i never got over 170. yesterday my car was running at 210.
 
Bob88 said:
A 160 stat will not make your car run cooler. It will only delay it getting to maximum temp as it opens earlier and allows circulation, thus delaying warming up. Make sure your radiator is perfectly clean and your fans are working properly. I've used water wetter before with good results, about a 10degree decrease in temp. You may want to try that.:thumbsup:
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Do you have a 160 in your car? Or are you guessing what will happen?
 
i have a 160 stat. was driving and the car got up to 230. it was 100' outside according the the ext. temp sensor. and i was sitting in traffic. ac on full blast. im going to drain some coolant today and replace with water and a bottle of water wetter.
 
My C5Z used to get that hot, and hotter, during the summer months. After going with the aftermarket radiator, 160 degree thermostat, and having the fans reprogrammed, the temps rarely get to 210, no matter what. Normal driving temps hover around 185 degrees.
 
ClockworkC5 said:
i have a 160 stat. was driving and the car got up to 230. it was 100' outside according the the ext. temp sensor. and i was sitting in traffic. ac on full blast. im going to drain some coolant today and replace with water and a bottle of water wetter.
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A 160 stat will keep the temp lower at cruise, but in traffic it doesn't help- you need to reprogram the fans. Water wetter didn't do squat for me, and I'm running about 30% dex-cool/ 70% water.
 
davekp said:
Do you have a 160 in your car? Or are you guessing what will happen?
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I have a 160 stat in my car now. I put it in when I did all my mods. My car runs at almost the exact temps it did with the 180 stat, just takes a little longer to get there.
 
98 softtail said:
Any comments on removing the thermostat? This is Florida...not a freeze zone.
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I read somewhere that some people claim this will actually make the engine run hotter. The argument being that the coolant rushes through the engine too quickly to allow heat to transfer to the coolant, and in the same vein, the coolant moves too quickly through the radiator to allow the coolant to shed the heat into the coils and fins of the radiator.

That being said, I am not sure I believe it. I would think the coolant would have to be moving awful damned fast for this to happen. And it seems to me that if I am overheated from working outside and jump into a cold shower, the faster the water flow the better to cool me down. :hehehe:

But bear in mind, that this is a cooling SYSTEM. The thermostat is only one part of that system. It is designed to regulate the amount of coolant that can pass through the engine based on the temperature of the coolant. If your entire system will not allow the coolant to drop down below 195 degrees, then a 160 thermostat isn't going to do much beyond opening sooner then your engine goes from cold to hot. Once it reaches full operating temperature and the coolant never drops down below 195, because it CAN'T, then the thermostat is completely out of the picture until you shut down the engine and the coolant cools down enough for it to close.

Now, if you add a hi-cap radiator and/or make other modifications whereby the operating temperature is more like 180 degrees, then replacing the stock thermostat with a 160 WILL drop the temp of the coolant during regular operation. Whereas if you had done those same mods with something like a 200 degree thermostat, then the thermostat just would not allow the coolant to drop below it's opening temperature. Because if the temps DID drop below it's opening temperature, it would begin to close, restricting the flow of coolant, and cause the temps to RISE. Not sure how good this would be for a thermostat to be constantly cycling opened and closed, but I would imagine that premature failure of the thermostat may be in your future that way.

Now, with no thermostat at all, I guess you would be able to see what the running temperature of your engine stabilizes at, and perhaps use that as a guide as to whether just adding a lower thermostat will be worthwhile for you or not.

In my opinion, of course.
 
i took the thermostat out of my lt1 and it overheated. coolant not able to shed the heat. i ended up putting a 160' thermostat in. as previously stated with fans hard wired i never went over 170'. i drained dexcool, added water, and a bottle of water wetter. we'll see this week. just out of curiosity at what temp does the pcm come out of closed loop?
 
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