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    Results 1 to 11 of 11
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Aug 2004
      Location
      San Francisco
      Posts
      281

      195-200 temp normal?

      running a 385 fastburn crate engine and it runs normally at 190-200. is that okay? i remember my 400 getting 180-190 where 190 would be overheating in my concern.

      i have a stock replacement water pump ($25) instead of the pump that came with the engine because it was a reverse flow for serpentine systems. i noticed the shaft spun smoothly and easily on the reverse and this new replacement cheapy felt a little more stuck.

      anyways, i'm also running the tranny lines directly to the o.e. style aluminum radiator, i have a 16 lbs cap with a thermostat that came with the crate engine, which i'm thinking is a 180 degree. original fan shroud with flex fan and a 2 inch spacer, putting it about... 4 inches away from the radiator?

      AND it's being run in semi cold s.f. weather.

      what changes should i have done - 160 thermostat? (heard it wasn't the best way to keep temps down in a mag i think) use a diff cooler for my tranny? (i was thinking of putting my b&M supercooler between the tranny and radiator, keeping the main radiator oil cooler in use as well) or upgrade the pump?



      thanks...
      1967 Chevrolet Camaro 350/350
      1962 Chevrolet Chevy II 400 194/PG


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Apr 2006
      Location
      Huntington Beach, CA
      Posts
      2,415
      Country Flag: United States
      Sounds like a 195 degree Tstat based on those ranges. If the cooling sytem is matched up the engine size and power then Tstat will control your temps.

      Fan can be 4" from the radiator as long as it is positioned in the shroud properly. Note the fan shouldn't be all the way in the shroud but rather half way in and out about.
      Please Subscribe to the AutoXandTrack YouTube Channel

      Autocross and track blog about running autocross and track events with pro touring cars

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Sep 2006
      Location
      Southern Indiana
      Posts
      4,699
      Country Flag: United States
      Honestly why in heck does everyone think an engine running 200 degrees is over heating?
      First of all the current engines in oe cars and truck are generally running in the 200 to 231 range with cycling fans.
      water boils at 212F but if you add 3 deg per lb that takes the boiling point up to 260 degrees and this is if the cap actually pops off.
      I buried the needle on my 71 Monte in downtown Nashville on power tour one year and it read 280.
      Now the cap never pop off the engine never boiled over and I drove it for another year before having any head gasket problems(I had a batch of defective Felpro SBC gaskets).
      Anyway you normal and it working fine.
      also do not run a 160 stat on the street it keeps the engine below proper efficiency level.
      I used to run them and put them in ever engine I built.
      But after I started working at a GM dealership I started seeing how engine are more efficient at or around 200-210.
      I put 190 stats in everything and set my electric fans up relys and stock temp switches. They usually cycle to around 221 to 224 and shut of down at about 200-205.
      I found that tuning my engine to run at a higher temp made the engines wear less and I found my power levels more ,well stabile.
      Now dont get me wrong SOME engine just need to start cooling at alower temp but that engine should be fine.
      Run a good mix of coolant and a good overflow/surge tank. OH and if you have a car with DexCool(ie GM ) get that crap out of there and use the Ford spec G-05 extended life if you need long life coolant.
      Dex has an organic acid (one of the corrosion fighters) call 2EHA andthis is a plasticizer and it will cause problems with the plastic framed gaskets and any type of plastic intake or water outlet.
      As a tech i see it every day and will tell you I hate Dexcool. It was rushed into production cars and if you try to run it in Ford or DC they dont like it.
      If you have aluminum radiators with the wide tubes (even OE rads) give a product called NPG+ or NPGR from www.evanscooling.com.
      This stuff is awesome it has a boiling point of 375F with no preasure cap.
      The NPG R work awesome and my buddy has never put a preasure cap on yet. He bought a car that would never stay cool. He bought one of the big tube aluminum rads ,dual electrics, etc.
      So we ordered the stuff and put it in after fluching out all of the other crap in the system and TADA it runs a steady 200F all the time.
      Oh found out why it ran so hot, it got a 400 sbc thats bored 080 over!.
      He just wants to keep it running while working on body and paint and I have a World block ready to go for when we decide to actually build a new engine.
      BUT THIS STUFF WORKS. Oh and the number is 1-888-990-2665.
      But that temp is fine as long as it doesnt run way high like over 230deg and not cycle up and down.
      I like to see a system that can cycle up and down and never over heat.
      If it cycles up and never goes bak down then the system isnt removing the heat from the coolant properly.
      Nevertake the thermostat completely out, if it stick just pull it remove the guts and put it back in ,the system needs it to slow down the water flow. Trust this i saw a fella do this with a bad stat , he took it out and 14 miles laterthe engine seized up, well not sure if it seized or just got to hot to run.
      It cooled down restarted ,he started rriving and watched the temp. the guage never moved up. he stopped and it puked ,he let it cool down , put the stat outer ring back in, and refilled it and drove home over 300 miles and the engine ran arounf 170 all the way home.
      We decided to pull it out as he had a bad rear main seal leak anyway and the engine wasnt hurt. I went ahead an put in new rings and gaskets and swapped his bigger cam and lifters in ,swapped in some new springs and it still lives today.
      He tried to remove the stat from his truck and it over heated(figured he would have learned) , put the gutted stat back in and drove it home.
      Good luck and just watch your guage very high rises or puking rads will tell you if its over heating.
      Lee Abel
      AFTERMARKET PERFORMANCE

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Aug 2004
      Location
      San Francisco
      Posts
      281
      thanks for the info! yeah my temp cycles up and down at a normal pace. i remember reading an article in a magazine showing cooling tips. one such tip is the drill a bypass hole in the thermostat. is that a terrible idea?

      and what about if i race it at the track? would it better to run around 180-190 degrees?
      1967 Chevrolet Camaro 350/350
      1962 Chevrolet Chevy II 400 194/PG

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Nov 2005
      Location
      Rural Retreat,VA
      Posts
      286
      We used to run those motor on the circle track, we didn't worry until they got to 260.

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Aug 2006
      Location
      Hampton Roads, VA
      Posts
      678
      Country Flag: United States
      Leave it alone, it's perfect! I used to think cooler was better until I did some research and found out that most V8s run more efficiently in the 200-215 range. I have personally ovreheated the ever-living crap out of my engine (260+), not on purpose of course. When it came back down it was ok. I don't recommend that, I'm just saying that at 200 *, or even 220*, you're not in any danger of hurting that motor. It sounds like your cooling system is adequate, as long as it can maintain those temps while idling and in hot weather.

      A fin-type trans cooler is always a good idea in a high hp setup.
      1980 Pontiac Trans Am, Chevy Big Block 468, TKO 600 Trans, Hotchkis TVS, Bilsteins, Eaton/Motive 3:73's, 18" Coddington Junkyard Dogs, Nitto NT555 rubber, Autometers http://www.fquick.com/Bandit
      http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2458763

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Sep 2006
      Location
      Southern Indiana
      Posts
      4,699
      Country Flag: United States
      the drill hole in the tstat isto bleed air only. I have found no benifit yet todate. But a smal hole 1/8 " ofr less will let theair in the system bleed through.

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Nov 2004
      Location
      Sweden
      Posts
      214
      Country Flag: Sweden

      Alu vs. iron

      Are any of You guys using alu-heads ?

      I feared that I overheated My engine (alu-heads) when the needle showed 216F , when i got stuck in traffic once.
      Luckily nothing happened.

      Is there a risk that alu-heads get more easily damaged than iron -heads , when overheated?

      "Osdmike"

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Aug 2006
      Location
      Hampton Roads, VA
      Posts
      678
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by osdmike
      Is there a risk that alu-heads get more easily damaged than iron -heads , when overheated?

      "Osdmike"
      Probably, especially if they cool quickly afterward, but I think it would take a lot more than 216* to do it...
      1980 Pontiac Trans Am, Chevy Big Block 468, TKO 600 Trans, Hotchkis TVS, Bilsteins, Eaton/Motive 3:73's, 18" Coddington Junkyard Dogs, Nitto NT555 rubber, Autometers http://www.fquick.com/Bandit
      http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2458763

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Dec 2002
      Location
      Lost Wages, Nevada
      Posts
      2,683
      Country Flag: United States
      Your best volumetric efficiency is going to be between 195-215*F.

      Dont sweat it too much, unless you start witnessing heat soak issues. If you are woried about it, make sure you have a 180*F stat in there or go ahead and drop in a 180*F stat and see how it reacts... its a cheap swap.

      Next would be to run an aftermarket pump like a Brassworks Flowcooler... or ... do their internal disk/impellar modification, which only costs about $10 (Summit).

      Next, use straight water with a bottle of RedLine Water Wetter... dont use any ethylene glycol product.

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Jul 2005
      Posts
      20
      Depends on your thermostat. A cooling system with adequate cooling capacity will always run within 5-10 degress of the thermostat set-point.





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