Engine running temperature

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TATAKAHUNA

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Nov 26, 2012
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I have a 87 Cutlass with a 2000 GM 350 crate engine...Edelbrock 600cfm, Edelbrock intake, Schoenfeld headers with 3" exhaust no cats dual flowmasters, Lunati cam...Fast and Loud and Cool...Maybe too cool for it's own good, I'm not sure? Theres no fan connected to the engine just a 16" electric between the engine and the radiator that pulls air through when I turn it on...No thermostat in the engine and no relay to turn the fan on or off at a certain temp...My problem is that I can run the car without any fan and never go past 180F unless I'm at a stoplight...If I leave the fan on the temp will stay at 140, 150F...The RPO code V08 is the type of radiator I have...It's huge...But I heard that running your engine at too cool a temp can be detrimental to internal workings at high rpms...Is this true...I've always thought 180 - 190F to be optimum temp but I can only get there if I use no fan at all...Now I just turn the fan on in slow traffic and let the engine stay at 160F running with no fan at all
 

Evan11

Royal Smart Person
Apr 17, 2009
1,259
10
38
Southern Indiana
It's not good to run at too low temps or to not run a thermostat, but its much better than overheating of course. If it were me, i'd put a 180-190 thermostat in it & run the fan. An engine can actually run warmer without a thermostat in hotter weather also.
 

G_Body_Enthusiast

Royal Smart Person
Supporting Member
Feb 28, 2005
1,056
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38
Louisville, kentucky
i wouldnt use an electric fan without a controller to adjust when the fan turns on and off. i wouldnt use an engine without a thermostat. address these two issues and your problems will magically disappear. 180 is fine with the fan turning on at 200ish and turning off at 185-190. that way your thermostat stays open and the fan does the hard work, as it should. the consistent temperatures will assure consistent behavior from the engine. an engine that runs erratically can be hard to diagnose, fix and tune.

though i have an issue with air passing through my radiator at speed. any air temp shy of 70 degrees has a drastic cooling effect on my radiator. i wouldnt worry about this at all. if it wasnt happening i would be more concerned.
 

TATAKAHUNA

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Nov 26, 2012
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Here in Hawaii where its usually hot all year and with the traffic getting worse, its kinda nice not having to worry about the vehicle your in stuck in 5mph, bumper to bumper driving, overheating, especially one with a sbc on steroids...I've got all the stuff on my workbench; new thermostat housing, 160, 180 thermostats however, the engine runs great and with no air con, no computer chip just old school muscle and I think I'll throw caution to the wind ( no pun intended ) and let my speed cool me down and hit the fan when needed...Now I let her get up to 180F before I even think about turning on the fan...Flushed the system and using straight water and haven't lost any coolant...Life is good...TATAKAHUNA USMC Vietnam Veteran 1965-68
Semper Fidelis
 

online170

G-Body Guru
Oct 28, 2010
726
319
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No thermostat in engine is a slow death for that engine.

Your fluids arent up to temp, your combustion is inefficient, and you are slowly building sludge. Bad things all around.
 

TATAKAHUNA

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Nov 26, 2012
12
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online170 said:
No thermostat in engine is a slow death for that engine.

Your fluids arent up to temp, your combustion is inefficient, and you are slowly building sludge. Bad things all around.


Thanks for the info...I'll be diligent about keeping the temp above 180F...I knew driving around 140 all day wasn't too good
I had pretty much the same setup in a S10 but it had an aluminum corvette radiator with a clutch fan and normal operating temp was 195 - 210F not something you'd want to get stuck in traffic with...This V08 radiator is awesome!
 

DRIVEN

Geezer
Apr 25, 2009
8,062
14,479
113
*CENSORED*
Even 195-210* is nothing to be concerned about. Many newer cars don't even turn the fans on until around 230*. Your car will likely run best between 180-190* since that's what it's designed for. Using a thermostat will minimize the temperature swings (spikes) that can cause damage.
 

TATAKAHUNA

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Nov 26, 2012
12
0
0
DRIVEN said:
Even 195-210* is nothing to be concerned about. Many newer cars don't even turn the fans on until around 230*. Your car will likely run best between 180-190* since that's what it's designed for. Using a thermostat will minimize the temperature swings (spikes) that can cause damage.


It's been 2 months since I've owned this vehicle...Ive put 500 miles on it, mostly in little 1/4 miles bursts and I let it warm up before any serious rpms...Royal Purple is the only in engine modification and now I almost never engage the fan...13,000 miles on the engine when I got it and it doesn't skip a beat...A great island car and with those big G body windows down who needs air con. Fan on only in bad traffic or over 200F
 

othtim

Master Mechanic
Mar 23, 2010
392
0
16
online170 said:
No thermostat in engine is a slow death for that engine.

Your fluids arent up to temp, your combustion is inefficient, and you are slowly building sludge. Bad things all around.

I agree with this wise man. Thou shalt purge thine oil of moisture through the fiery fires, regulated by thy trusty thermostat. So sayeth we all.
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
29,270
20,391
113
Kitchener, Ontario
othtim said:
online170 said:
No thermostat in engine is a slow death for that engine.

Your fluids arent up to temp, your combustion is inefficient, and you are slowly building sludge. Bad things all around.

I agree with this wise man. Thou shalt purge thine oil of moisture through the fiery fires, regulated by thy trusty thermostat. So sayeth we all.

not only that is the fluid is flowing too quick to pick up heat from the block. The block can be much hotter than what the coolant temp is, you can fry the engine without any warning. It gets worse with a higher concentration of antifreeze
 
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