77 403 Temp

[mich77442]

Ok folks what temp are you running at with your cars. I read somewhere that the 403's run around 220 when going down the road at 70mph on a 80 degree day.
I have changed my water and put waterwetter in it and it dropped to about 210-215. Is it normal to spike around 230? I know in my chevy's I take out the thermostat to drop the temp more. Can I do this with the Olds without hurting it.

Denny

[texxas8902]

The 403 in my 79 Trans-Am never runs that hot even on 105 degree Texas summer days. 210 tops and it is bored .30 over. I just run the proper mix of green antifreeze and a 180 thermostat. I never run any of my vehicles without a thermostat. Your car seems to be running a little hot to me but what the hell do I know.

[brad442]

Denny,

My 403 in my 442 down here in Texas never gets hot either. Mine will stay at 185 or so all day long. Never gets too close to 210. I run a 165 (or 160) degree thermostat and like David mentioned, a good mix of anti-freeze and water. Main thing to check is your fan clutch. If you run the engine, then shut it off, try to spin the fan clutch to see if it has tension. If there is not, bad fan clutch. Easy fix. Also, a few years ago, I took my radiator out and took it down to a Radiator shop and had it professionally flushed out. That also made a huge difference. Hope this helps you.

[sledhead2]

like all have said, the answer is no, I would start with a good high performances t-stat get a preston 330-165 (part number) this will be a full flow type. I would also flush the car real good. When I rebuilt my engine you would be surprized how much stuff came out of engine, Then i would make sure rad is good.

So step 1) check fan 2) does it have a fan shroud? 3) good flowing T-stat 4) flush rad 5) check rad for blockage

[texxas8902]

What they said, but make sure the heater core gets replaced or flushed real good too. They hold an incredible amount of crud that can get back in a clean radiator. A lot of people don't mess with the heater core because they are such a pain to replace. Also if you can look in the radiator and if you see crusty build up on the tubes inside near the top, it is certainly worse down low where you can't see. Have it rodded out. I have a radiator guy near me who only charges $65 to $75 to vat, remove the tanks, rod it out, re install the tanks and paint the radiator.
I have heard of people using that rust stain, hard water build up remover stuff from Home Depot, I can't remember the name. Apparently, you put it in the radiator and run with it a few days then drain it out. It should melt all the crusty stuff away and loosen it up so that the flush works much better. I haven't tried it and don't think it would hurt the cooling system. It would be worth a try for some one on a budget. Good luck.

[mich77442]

Brad I checked my fan clutch and it spins when the motor is off. How do I fix this clutch and will a V-6 motor have the same fan clutch?

Denny

[brad442]

Does it spin freely? Or does it spin, but kind of tight, just turning a little?

[442MUCH]

What they said, but make sure the heater core gets replaced or flushed real good too. They hold an incredible amount of crud that can get back in a clean radiator. A lot of people don't mess with the heater core because they are such a pain to replace. Also if you can look in the radiator and if you see crusty build up on the tubes inside near the top, it is certainly worse down low where you can't see. Have it rodded out. I have a radiator guy near me who only charges $65 to $75 to vat, remove the tanks, rod it out, re install the tanks and paint the radiator.
I have heard of people using that rust stain, hard water build up remover stuff from Home Depot, I can't remember the name. Apparently, you put it in the radiator and run with it a few days then drain it out. It should melt all the crusty stuff away and loosen it up so that the flush works much better. I haven't tried it and don't think it would hurt the cooling system. It would be worth a try for some one on a budget. Good luck.

Are you talking about CLR?

[texxas8902]

Are you talking about CLR?

Yeah, I have heard of people running that in the cooling system for a few days to get the crusty water deposits out, then flushing the system. Apparently it works real good and doesn't hurt anything. I try to use distilled water in my radiator when possible. It helps keep the build up from accumulating.
If that fan clutch spins freely when turned by hand and doesn't have much resistance, it's bad. I don't know if the V-6 is the same as the V-8 when it comes to fan clutches. I don't think you can fix them, just replace them.

[zodiacblue442]

Here's another piece of info. for you. Sorry if it sounds like a commercial; I don't have stock in the company, honest! :p I am running a FlowKooler aluminum water pump on my 442 w/ 455 engine and a 3 row Modine radiator, thermostatically controlled fan, and a 160 degree Robert Shaw thermostat. The car runs at 160 degrees all day. A little hotter (maybe 180 degrees) with the a/c on after extended periods On very hot days, 95 to 100, the temp gauge slowly climbs to about 200 or 210. The only time I saw the gauge at 225 or 230 was coming back from the Nats. in Seattle. I was driving in the Idaho valley (around Boise) and it was about 105 outside. I was going about 65 or 70 mph down the interstate for several hours with the a/c on. I finally cycled the a/c manually, a few minutes on, a few minutes off to cool the engine down a little bit so it wouldn't overheat. With the a/c off, I was overheating! Those FlowKooler water pumps are fantastic. I've never had an overheating problem and we have some hot days around 100 degrees here in CO. They have some fancy engineered high flow impeller that really moves the water. Worth every bit of the $90.