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5L Temps

someguy360

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Hi Guys.

I know the V6 guys often have temp issues (usually sensors or user error when bleeding system) but never heard too much about heat issues on the old 304.

I have been having some issues with mine over the past few months where my VR will warm up to just above the 1/4 line after a few minutes driving then out of the blue will jump up to 1/2 then a couple of minutes later will drop back down to 1/4 again. (on a hot day I have seen it go to 3/4 on inclines but never above that)

Sometimes it can be triggered driving on a flat road sometimes it gets tripped by the slightest of inclines.

When the motor went in I changed the water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses, coolant temp sensor, inlet gaskets etc.

Only thing that is still original is the fan clutch......It has the typical clutch fan roar on a cold start in the morning for the first minute or so then the fan is relatively silent for the rest of the drive....is this normal?

Any ideas?.....thinking it could be the clutch but don't want to replace if I don't have to.

Thanks
 
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Demonica

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Anything up to half way is fairly normal for the V8s. They're not huge fans of hot weather that's for sure.

The fan kicks in when it gets to half (fan get noisy) and then disengages (fan noise decrease) when it drops back down to the quarter mark? If so then all good.

Are you running a 10 degree cooler thermostat or just the standard one?
 

someguy360

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Anything up to half way is fairly normal for the V8s. They're not huge fans of hot weather that's for sure.

The fan kicks in when it gets to half (fan get noisy) and then disengages (fan noise decrease) when it drops back down to the quarter mark? If so then all good.

Are you running a 10 degree cooler thermostat or just the standard one?

I don't tend to hear the fan at all when driving (generally only cold start then the first 500m or so)

Just running standard thermostat for now, will do a lower temp one when I get tune sorted etc


EDIT: It also gets a lot hotter on warm days with the A/C running, on a 30-35 degree day it will be sitting at around 1/2 temp and with the A/C on it will hover between 1/2 and 3/4 which makes me a little uneasy (anything above 1/2 and I get worried)
 

Demonica

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Maybe pull over when she hits half and see if you can hear it kicking in?

10 deg cooler thermo will make a decent difference to the temp. Mine doesn't move over the quarter mark since I put one on.
 

someguy360

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Thanks, might try a cooler thermostat just for the hell of it anyways.

Whats the standard temp and whats the cooler temp thermostats on the V8's?

I know the one the V6's all go for the 82 degree thermo
 

Demonica

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Standard is 88 to 91 I think. 82 is what you want though :)
 

VS 5.0

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Mine very rarely, if ever gets to half way...the odd occassion will be a really hot day stuck in traffic but will drop down once moving. It will generally sit on 1/5 or just above.

Just because a thermostat is new doesn't necessarily mean it is working properly either. I have heard of quite a few new ones not passing the boiling water in a cup test.

Have you tried moving the fan by hand ? There is a way of telling if it is stuffed. IIRC if it is stiff or hard to move it should be OK but if it moves easily then the clutch is buggerred.
 

Deuce

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Mine is a thing of confusion; it used to creep onto the temp gauge, and then disappear off the gauge again if you were at low load/high speed/cool outside temp.
I tested my gauge sensor and it needed replacing, so replaced it.
It then sat around 3/4 mark.
I then fitted a trans cooler and now my gauge sits about 1/3rd of a line below the 3/4 mark, and may creep upto the 3/4 mark on a really hot day if I have aircon on.
I can tow another car (1600kg) on a dual axle trailer, and as long as the outside temp isn't too high or the air too thin (high altitude) my temp does not really venture above 3/4mark.

I'm not super worried about where the temp sits, but use its position as a gauge to judge against where it is in comparison to where it usually sits. It's all about resistance variance of a sender in relation to engine coolant temp, not an exact reading of a temperature.
 

iChris

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I think it's a 5l commodore thing. my brother used to have a VR SS and that didn't go to well in the heat, in fact that car hated perth summers.

I've never really had any major cooling issues with my B3800. I had a dodgy relay which was stopping the fan coming on at low speed though a month or so back. mine heats up to half and then drops right back and runs at the first notch even with a/c on and it's got a standard thermostat. it did have a new radiator and complete flush 2 months back.
 

BlackVXGTS

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On a standard Holden V8 with a cooling system in good condition (radiator, hoses, thermostat, fan clutch) you shouldn't have a problem even on hot days. Cooler thermostats are for wank factor only - engines are designed to work at hot temperatures for maximum efficiency. If your cooling system isn't in good condition, a cooler thermostat won't make any difference to the engine temperature. If you have a modified engine (particularly if it has been grout filled) then you need thermos to keep the temperature under control.
 
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