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am i running too hot ?

1.4K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  97S281  
#1 ·
i bought my 96 about a mouth ago with a full 02 pi motor swap "not just heads and intake" and it seems to run hot "or what i think is hot " 210-235 when im going down the interstate with the air on . with it off it stays at 200. in town it gets up around the 230-235 mark . is this normal? do i need to worry about anything?
i tried a search on temp but did not get much .
i have done a flush and removed the t-stat and the honeycomb grill.
the car also has under driven pulley's not sure if that makes a difference or not . but nothing i have done has worked .
 
#2 ·
thats running hot man. My car sits around 180 on the highway with out air. I believe 225 is over heating. You should start checking stuff. If your saying its overheating on the highway check your thermostat, water pump and for the heck of it check the fan with the car parked.
 
#12 ·
You need to have a thermostat or at least a flow restrictor in place for the cooling system to work properly. Removing it all together doesn't allow the coolant to remain in the radiator long enough to shed heat.

These cars were designed to run hotter than older cars but it shouldn't be getting that hot on the highway. I would guess its air the system. Its a common problem with the 4.6.
 
#5 · (Edited)
very possible, have you opened the cooling system? I had a good bit of air in my motor once and that bitch pegged out quick on the highway. If not I would start looking at the water pump. Expecially with underdrive pullies, i have heard they can sometimes mess up the pumps.
 
#8 ·
if you have a full PI motor swap then im assuming you have a tuner if so did you try setting the fans to come on a little sooner. I have mine set at 180* for the low fan and 210 for the high fan. it is my understanding that the factory setting for the high fan is 228* and thats ovbiously with the A/C off .
 
#15 ·
wow, with my motor i have the exact opposite problem, i run very cool.The temp guage never gets above 1/8th of the way up...if i were you, run a cai if you havent already, do a 170 degremo thermo and if you have a tuner set it for that..Id do a system flush since its so simple so why not..if none of that works youd have to bet its those pullies.They seem to be a hit or miss for these 4.6's..