First Generation Firebird-L Mailing List ......................................................................... I run the 160 in mine. I like to see 185 to 190 running temps so I don't want to wait to 185 for the thermostat to start opening. These engines love to go up in temp but it takes a good bit of effort to get that temp back down. Modern cars are run at about 210 for smog equipment reasons but that's way too high for my taste on the ol' Pontiac engines. I know that when mine reaches that (it's not very often) it's because my electric fans haven't kicked on (I don't have a mechanical fan) and unless I can get the car moving fast to get air flow through the radiator, it will soon start puking coolant (when it gets to about 240-250) so it's time to shut it off. One time one of the relay legs burned off, no fans. The other time I had mounted the control module on the firewall and used the mounting screw for the ground. Well, the plastic tab broke on the module so the ground was loose. No fans in traffic = high temps.
If you run a mechanical fan I would suggest a 160 and switch to a clutch fan (unless you are a stickler for correctness) and let the system take care of itself. Hugo ________________________________ From: Edward Gregory <[email protected]> To: First Generation Firebird-L <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 7:44:06 AM Subject: RE: [FGF] Cooling Question First Generation Firebird-L Mailing List .......................................................................... I think I need to sort out my fan (previous owner put a crap flexi fan on) I have since put on a proper shroud but there is a lot of clearance between the fan and the shroud. What should the proper gap be ??? At mo it is running at about 180 ish with no thermostat, so with a 185 thermostat will it run hotter or just at this temp? Ta Ed ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Submissions to Firebird-L: <[email protected]> Unsubscribe from Firebird-L: <[email protected]> Help: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/firebird/Firebird-L.html> Classifieds: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/ubb/> Owner Pictures: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/show/>
