Hey, guys. I am having trouble with my 289 warming up a little too much when idling. It does just fine when driving, needle doesn't budge. It's got the stock water pump and a 5-core replacement radiator. Both are fairly new. The rad is less than a year old. I just put on a fan shroud (it didn't have one before) and a new aluminum flex fan, but it still heats up when idling. What would you guys do next? High-output water pump? Would this help at low rpms? Or should I invest in a aluminum radiator. Electric fans? What do you guys think? Thanks!

 

If it stays cool when driving (air gets pushed through radiator) then I would suggest an electric fan to help get air through that big a$$ 5 core radiator (damn I've never seen one that big).

 

Aluminum radiator, and an electric fan.

Check out www.becool.com they may have something to help you out.

 

A radiator that thick may not help you that much, by the time the air reachs the the last couple rows it is already heat soaked. If you do end up getting a new rad. get on with as much surface area as possible with three or four cores. I would try electric fans and/or a clutch type fan, flex fans don't pull much air and are more drag on the engine, plus they are razor sharp and have been known to come apart from time to time. If do go electric try a dual puller setup, it is more efficient than a pusher. I have a three core Griffin rad. a CSI electric water pump and a single 12 inch puller fan on the Nova and it never runs hot, the most it has seen is 200* on a hot day in traffic.

 

Jezus! I think it's just a crusier. No need for all that fancy CSI stuffs!

 

5 cores, holy sh*t!!!!!! im 90% sure its a fan problem. try getting bigger/more fans.

 

I would reverse flush the engine put in a 175-180 stat if still heats up the buy a alum rad....how many blades on the fan?....is this an automatic car?...

 

wadeb3 - I have the same problem when driving my temp is at normal temp, If I just let my car idle in drive it gets above the normal mark, Not overheated point, Ive got new water pump / New rad / I dont use thermostats in the summer months, 9/10 I agree the fan is what keeps the temp at idle.

 

you should use a stat as the rad can't do it's job effeniecly....I would buy a set of mechanicial gauges first thing

 

Most of the time when you remove the t-stat it makes the car run HOTTER, your cooling system is engineered with a t-stat in mind. Its hard for a radiator to cool the coolant when its running through it crazy fast.