I have a friend that has a 73 Omega with 350 Olds. He recently put a temp gage on and the gage shows it is running 205 to 210 degrees. The car does not clatter, smoke, run lean, or any other symptoms of overheating. Has a new 180 thermostat, new fan clutch, and an 8 blade fan. Stock radiator with factory shroud. Any thoughts on this problem?

 

People hook up a temp gauge for the first time go OMG my engine is overheating. Was the air running? Was this temp at speed or idle? Retarded timing and lean carburation will make an engine run warmer in addition to poor radiator airflow. While 205 -210 is not whats called really hot, some are uncomfortable with it. What distributor is installed, what is the timing settings, is the vacuum advance working correctly and hooked to manifold vacuum?

 

First of all, 205-210 is not a problem. With a 15 psi cap, your coolant boils at about 250 deg F. What were the conditions when those temps were observed?

 

THIS was his mistake. Until he did this, everything was fine, right? Now he has TOO MUCH information, and he's panicking. Tell him to step away from the gauge carefully. Remove the temperature gauge, and all will be right with the world again.

I had a '75 Chevy Nova back in the late '70s and put a temp gauge on it for no reason other than I was a teenager and thought it would be a fun thing to do. It routinely showed temps in the 210-220 range, and I never gave it a second thought because the car was running fine when I installed it, so I took that reading to be the normal reading. Ran the car for 10 more years before finally getting rid of it when it was so rusty it would hardly cast a shadow, but the engine never once overheated.

 

I keep telling him this but he will not listen. My wife says he is his own worst enemy. Has done this same thing with every car he has owned and swears they run hot.

 

If he won't listen, then its HIS decision. Let him do what he wants to do. You can't save him from himself.

 

 

If he won't listen then, tell him his factory 2 row rad should cool it on any given day if its in good shape. If not, (because he thinks 205-210 is running hot which it isn't) tell him to buy a be-cool 2 row aluminium rad with 1 " tubes. or a 3 row copper core rad, new 180 or 195 high flow t-stat, high flow aluminium water pump, new 16lb cap and a bottle of Wynns coolant system flush. Ahh and a bottle of water pump lubricant for the heck of it.
Then go at it, that will bring the temps down to 200-205 on the hottest of days.

Eric

 

But you're not helping the situation by agreeing to post his problem on this site. That's called "enabling." You should be telling him that he's full of it and that you're not going to help him fix what ain't broken!

 

Actually, if he blasts the heat on defrost while driving around, that will drop his temps down to 195- 200 easy.

 

Wonderful. Is this what you want to do all day long on hot summer day, or any day at all?

 

Only if I had a really cool chick up front with me.

 

All ready did that and I have already told him there is nothing wrong and if he wants to fix the problem he should trash the temp gage.

 

Depending on the brand of gauge, it my be off a fair amount as well... especially the off-brand ones at the local auto parts store.
When in doubt, get a second opinion (Gauge) to verify.

Couple this to the fact that a thermostat typically starts to open at the rated temp & is fully open about 5 deg above, a 195 stat should keep the car about 200.
An old stat can easily be off 5 degrees.

In most newer cars, the cooling fans are not commanded on until about 210-220 degrees.
This temp will not hurt anything.

 

Tell him he needs a $6k engine rebuild, a heavy duty radiator, new high flow water pump, a brace of electric fans, and a new fuel and ignition system. Offer to buy the car for scrap as a favor to a friend.
Or tell him to stop worrying about a problem he doesn't have, except possibly a temperature gauge not giving an accurate reading.

Roger.