labrats804

i've got an 87 Cutlass 442 that has a chevy 350 w/ 700r4 transmission. it's been beefed up a little with a shift kit and the engine has had some work done to it.

Anyways, at idle my car will get up to 210 degrees. I just got the car back from having the cooling system checked out and according to them, the radiator is okay, no leaks. I just replaced the thermostat and the gaskets a few weeks ago and they say that the water pump is in good condition. What they recommended was replacing the fan clutch and replacing the stock fan with either an electric unit or with one of those flex fans. Do yall have any experience with those flex fans? I've heard mixed reviews so I don't know what to think. I'm not all that interested in getting an electric fan but it might come down to that. If so would a single fan unit move enough air? the dual units are pretty expensive.


Thanks for the help guys,
Drew

Oldsguy

There have been some discussions here about cooling/overheating before, some good reads. I would personally not use a flex fan, I like the clutch fans myself, if you are moving air at idle speeds then it is probably working. Is your fan shroud in good shape? Has your coolant system been flushed thoroughly lately? Has the engine been rebuilt recently?

texasred

I'm personally not a "fan" of flexies. Also, you don't say what your location is. 210 at idle in Miami in July is different than 210 at idle in Minneapolis in July.

Like Dan said, don't underestimate the power of a fan shroud. How's your current fan clutch? Regular or heavy duty? How many cores in the radiator? Is it a good quality or a McAuto Parts special?

Soooooooo many variables....

C.J.

labrats804

Thanks guys,
yeah I've been reading a bit throughout this section on small blocks and in the cutlass section as well. All the reviews about the flex fans seem to make me think replacing that will not improve my situation.

--My fan shroud is in good shape, i guess. I mean it's there.lol.....and it's not falling apart or anything. I don't know if there's something specific i should look for, but it appears to be in good shape.

--I performed a coolant flush about a month ago when i replaced the thermostat and replaced it with new coolant. it didn't help my problem at all. The shop I took it to found a small leak around the thermostat housing and replaced the gasket which stopped the leak. I still have the same overheating condition though.

--I checked the fan clutch as best I could. I tested it just by spining the fan when the engine was off. It does not allow the fan to spin freely...in fact i only get about 3/4 of a revolution when the engine is cool. i read somewhere that was about what you're looking for. I do not know if it's a regular or heavy duty one. I just bought the car about 3 months ago so i'm still learning what has been replaced and what hasn't.

--the engine has about 10K miles on it and the transmission has about the same.

--as far as the radiator goes, i do not know if it's the original oldsmobile radiator or if it's been replaced and i'm not sure how many cores are in it. I will give it a look this afternoon after work and see if i can get some more info and post it. is there an easy way to tell how many cores are in it by looking at it, or will i just need to run the part number?