thought i'd share this

as many of you know, camaro's are prone to overheating and i see it on 3rd gens more than anything. i think the main reason is because the engine bay is so tight, and when combined with cast iron components the engine is essentially insulated, (that seems to be why trucks or bigger vehicles with an open engine bay dont overheat as often) and the second being that people dont know how to properly service their cooling system (no offense).

Air must must be removed from your cooling system for the fan switch and the thermostat to work. a thermostat will not open from hot vapors, and a fan switch will not work either. to explain this better, simply boil a pan of water on your stove, and hold your thermostat above the water... it wont open.

even after removing all of the air from a cooling system, after a few weeks or even months, the problem still tends to arise. i found that drilling a 3/16 hole in the outer rim of your thermostat will do 2 things: it will lower your operating temperature a few degrees, and purge the air from your cooling system to the top of the radiator where you can then just remove the cap and add more coolant, and should still give you proper cooling during idle.

also, dont be suprised if you have to go through 2 or 3 thermostats untill you get a descent one. i've had that problem before. even expensive ones are made cheap. go with an OEM if at all posible. :smile:

also, a very common problem with third gens is getting a plastic bag, or leaves in between the condencer and the radiator, thus blocking the path of air through them and not allowing the system to cool.

well my car's just got an extra fan and it runs at 170 on a cool day but 190 on a hot day i mean for all i know this is normal but i thought it was low

I've got a "becool" radiator with out a fan and I bet I'm running cooler than any of you. LOL

aother thing to keep in mind, anything blocking the grille, fog lites or whatever can also contribute to cooling problems. the later year third gens, like mine, have only like an 18 sq. in. area for cold air to enter thru grille and has all this plastic crap underneath to prevent air from gettin in (in the process of removing all that). so the grille is a key in keepin cool. also good hoses are key in cooling the engine. if hoses are worn out they can allow air to enter the system which 4onFloor reminds us that not good for cooling, but also valuable coolant to leak out. even worse they can burst and really cause a problem :uhoh: . so not only should you check radiator for foreign objects blockin air flow, but make sure the whole cooling system is up and running.
hellraiser

advance sells this stuff that you pour into your radiator and it is sopposed to lower your temp 10 degrees or lower. wonder if it works.

hellraiser, don't screw with your aero package not a good idea bad for speed and likely to create lift at speed

advance sells this stuff that you pour into your radiator and it is sopposed to lower your temp 10 degrees or lower. wonder if it works.
http://www.royalpurple.com/prodsa/prpice.html
look this supposably lowers 28 degrees...

um, air for the radiator does not come through the grill, it comes up from underneith the front chin spoiler, the air inlets through the grill are only used for functionality on TPI cars, as they are used to route cold air into the dual snorkal air filter those engines use. so having fog lights and such in the grill wont effect the cooling of the vehicle. there is a curved plastic panel under the car, in front of the radiator, that pulls air up into the radiator for cooling.

advance sells this stuff that you pour into your radiator and it is sopposed to lower your temp 10 degrees or lower. wonder if it works.

called water wetter (or is it wetter water?), anywho, it works pretty well. i dont know about ten degrees but my buddy uses it in his turbo rx-7 and it runs that thing cooler than if he just ran straight water with no additive. dont know if any of you guys know bout rotaries but they dont run cool, so i figure if it works on them itll work really well for a regular engine...

Hmm well my front spoiler is broken in half mabye i should get that fixed since i never knew that it made the air go up into the radiator

hmmm, blueturtle, the chin spoiler dosnt really do much of anything, if you reach back UNDER the chin spoiler, and follow that big plastic panel, it curves up from the ground up to the radiator. this is the peice that puts air to the radiator by creating a vacume pulling air up off the ground, and through the radiator.

called water wetter (or is it wetter water?), anywho, it works pretty well. i dont know about ten degrees but my buddy uses it in his turbo rx-7 and it runs that thing cooler than if he just ran straight water with no additive. dont know if any of you guys know bout rotaries but they dont run cool, so i figure if it works on them itll work really well for a regular engine...

Its REDLINE WaterWetter (synthetic rad fluid) I run it in my Camaro and Supra.. Works pretty good, I use about 90% water to 10% LL Coolant, and dump a bottle of WaterWetter in.. Keeps both cars running a little bit cooler