Hey guys, need some help. Neighbor kid loves Camaros and has about 4 of them. Anyway, I try to help him with troubleshooting issues on some of his cars, but I know pretty much Diddly about LT1's because they are so much different than the traditional old school SBC's. He has electric fan that he says comes on at 170'. Oh by the way this is a 95 LT1 Camaro. He says he has a 220' thermostat. He says the car will stay cool quite a while but once it starts to get up around the 210/220 area that it starts to overheat on him quickly and goes about 2/3 over on the gauge. I told him that too little timing can cause heating issues like this but he says that on LT1's there is no timing adjustment because of the digital distributor and ignition which I guess makes sense on these engines. I guess you just line up the distributor and install it and go. He is going to try and install a 190' thermostat and try that thinking that maybe the fan is keeping the engine cool at the lower temps and the thermostat may never be opening up until it is too late and then it's too hard to cool back down, but I was wondering if any of you experienced LT1 guys/gals (mustn't be sexist.............LOL) have any ideas or had this problem before????? Help me help him! He's a good kid!

My son has a 94 Firebird with an LT1. The fans are factory set to come on at 230 unless A/C is requested then the fans run as long as the A/C does. The standard 195 thermostat should be used.

How many miles on the car?

It is possible that the radiator needs cleaned or replaced or the water pump is not moving enough coolant due to a worn impeller. Has the lower hose been changed with a less expensive type that is collapasing?

I have had to remove road debris from between the radiator and condensor. These cars tend to trap a lot of stuff in there.
If the fans are coming on at 170 the temp sensor may have been changed or the PCM reprogramed. Check the values with a volt meter at the temp sensors. If you need the values/temp I can look them up in my service manual.

...He says he has a 220' thermostat...

Maybe the thermostat is too long...

Maybe the thermostat is too long...

10,000 comedians out of work and Mike is trying to be funny! :yes: :D

Maybe some day they will invent keyboards with a degree symbol. :thumbsup:

But hey, great suggestion Mike! Thanks for the Tip! :noway:

I don't know how many miles are on the car Phillip but I will pass the information along. He was trying to figure out where the fan relay was and I told him to check his Chiltons/Haynes manual to see how it was all wired. I'll forward your comments to him and see if he can find any blockage between the radiation and condensor and hopefully he got the 195' (that's degrees not feet, so Mikey don't get confused......LOL) thermostat and I'll post any results when I hear them too. Thanks for the help! :yes:

The only factory thermostat available is a 180 degree. Hopefully that is what he has in there. I would try a new one first of all unless he has recently changed it. Next I would make sure that the fan comes on as it should, when it should.

I have 3 cars with LT1's and they never have overheating problems. Has he checked the simple stuff such as coolant level being proper?

As mentioned the factory setting for the fan to kick in is quite high. I have been caught in traffic on a warm day and sometimes had the gauge start to climb. I simply turn on the A/C (which makes the fan kick in) and the temp immediately comes back down.

10,000 comedians out of work and Mike is trying to be funny! :yes: :D

Maybe some day they will invent keyboards with a degree symbol. :thumbsup:

But hey, great suggestion Mike! Thanks for the Tip! :noway:

We had a thread on this a while ago. If you want to look like you're really cool and know how to make a degree sign, just do Alt 0176, like this °
You don't need a college ° to do this, just a keyboard...

I'm also amused by the abbreviation of the model year as 71' rather than '71. I am easily amused...

Hey Mike !!! i'm just like you... i'm easily amused also !!! :thumbsup:


Johnny (i GOTTA quit) lookin' in the mirror :eek: ;)

°

HEY IT WORKS !!! "alt 0176" and wha-La !!!

wow, now i can quit for the day... i dun larn'd me sumpin' :D

°

HEY IT WORKS !!! "alt 0176" and wha-La !!!

wow, now i can quit for the day... i dun larn'd me sumpin' :D

No more asterisks from you.

oh i see, so i'm supposed to remember this ? :( ;)

° Hey it really really works!!! HEY JOHNNY!!! It worked for ME TOOOOOO!!!!! Wow it's magic! ALT 0176. Geez, whoda thunk it! Thanks for the TIP Mikey, but ummm, how do you remember that? LOL What can you teach us next? If you're easily amused, I'm easily impressed! Woo Hoo!:hurray::D

The only factory thermostat available is a 180 degree. Hopefully that is what he has in there. I would try a new one first of all unless he has recently changed it. Next I would make sure that the fan comes on as it should, when it should.

I have 3 cars with LT1's and they never have overheating problems. Has he checked the simple stuff such as coolant level being proper?

As mentioned the factory setting for the fan to kick in is quite high. I have been caught in traffic on a warm day and sometimes had the gauge start to climb. I simply turn on the A/C (which makes the fan kick in) and the temp immediately comes back down.

Thank you for the help Carl. I will pass your info along. I haven't talked to the young man lately to see how it's going but I'll try to check in on him this week to see if he's got it figured out yet. Thanks again! :thumbsup: