Alaskan TA too hot??

[ColdBird]

Hey guys im a new owner of a 95 TA and i noticed something the other day.
I dont know what the normal operating temp should be, but around town the temp gauge reads right around 210. I was driving on the highway in 6th gear about 75mph (~1600rpms) and noticed the gauge crept up about 15 degrees and held there, even with the heat blasting.
It doesnt seem to do it in other gears so im thinking the fans might turn off in 6th gear? either that or its not enough rpms for the water pump, but it does fine at idle so i dont think thats the prob. Maybe its normal, but i thought i'd ask because it just seemed weird at 75mph when its 32degrees outside.
Another question, at the risk of sounding like a tool, i cant figure out what the darned buttons on my seats are supposed to do. If its lumbar it must be broke because i cant feel/hear anything when i push them. Any help would be appreciated

[Rob B (shoebox)]

If the air dam is missing from under the front of the car, the temps will rise when you are on the road. Check that first.

[ColdBird]

looks to be in good order, but its a little dark out. Is it possible the fans shut off at a certain mph/gear?

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

My lumbar controls actually change the lumbar in the passenger seat. I don't adjust my lumbar support so I don't bother to fix it though...

[SS_CarGuy]

This question has come up before.

While you cannot rule out a problem, the unfortunate thing about the temerature guage is you never get an accurate reading of what the temperature really is. Most of us notice our guage NEVER moves off 210 degrees no matter what. For some reason Chevy apparently chose to treat the guage more like an idiot light. You can get an actual reading but you will have to have your dealer plug in his diagnostic equipment to get it.

[FRMLAV8]

The fans don't kick on until the temp gauge hits about 227 or if you have the AC on - so I don't think the fans are your issue.

Make sure the air dam is there and secure. It is the black peice of plastic that hangs down under the front of the car.

Other than that I wold look at the normal overheating problems: Make sure there is no air in the coolant system, stuck thermostat, proper coolant/water ratio - -things like that.

Randy

[Injuneer]

This question has come up before.

While you cannot rule out a problem, the unfortunate thing about the temerature guage is you never get an accurate reading of what the temperature really is. Most of us notice our guage NEVER moves off 210 degrees no matter what. For some reason Chevy apparently chose to treat the guage more like an idiot light. You can get an actual reading but you will have to have your dealer plug in his diagnostic equipment to get it.

That must be an "LS1 problem", because the coolant temp gauges in the LT1's work fine. Using a scanner, I have verified that the dash temperature gauge accurately tracks the sensor in the water pump housing within 5degF. I'm actually running three coolant temp sensors - an extra one to feed my MoTeC ECU - and there is no case where the gauge just hangs at 210degF and refuses to move.

Seeing 210degF in heavy stop-and-go traffic isn't unusual with the stock LT1 programming. As noted above, the first fan is programmed to come on at 226degF, and the second fan (or high speed in the later models) comes on at 235degF.

The unusual part about his problem is the coolant temperature rising with vehicle speed. A very common cause is a missing air dam - I saw that happen when the shop that does my work left it off after they did a trans cooler install. Another possibility could be a collapsing suction hose to the water pump.

[FRMLAV8]

In 99 they changed the temp guage to a "dummy light". It is programmed to go to 210 and hang there. Apparently GM got tired of people complaining that the temp gauge moved around alot.

Another decision that was made in a board room by people with no handle on reality - I'm sure.

Randy

[Injuneer]

Yes... the 4th Gen FAQ indicates this started in 1999:

Q: Why does my temp gauge constantly read around 210 degrees regardless if my 1999 F-body is moving or sitting still?

A: Although this hasn't been proved by a TSB, most people with 1999 LS1 F-bodies appear to have a problem with the temperature meter that makes it constantly read 210. If you run an Autotap on that car, you will see the temperature correctly displayed, so the problem must only be with the gauge, and not the computer. The 1998s don't appear to have this problem.

[Rhode Island Red]

there was serious investigation on the 210 for us 99+ cars... it seems the the dash cluster itself (not the PCM) has some circuitry that GM switched to only read 210... LS! edit can't fix it ... as of now there is no fix for it currently until some people do some investgation on the circuitry of the dash cluser .

If I run across the post (if it still exists), I'll post a link to it .

This affects 99+ cars... not coldbirds ....

cold bird... best advice I can give you is start with easy stuff, that the above said. Hopefully you will easily find the culprit

[ColdBird]

the air dam is there, pointing straight down, im going to go test drive it again, but as i recall it only seemed to happen in 6th gear. Ill see.
Thanks for the tips, guys

[ColdBird]

Ok i went and tested it again, it must be an rpm thing. Drops 5-10 degrees when i drop into 5th, 2500 vs 16-1700 rpms. Just a water pump thing. Guess its no big deal. Thanks again though guys

[Joe 1320]

Ok i went and tested it again, it must be an rpm thing. Drops 5-10 degrees when i drop into 5th, 2500 vs 16-1700 rpms. Just a water pump thing. Guess its no big deal. Thanks again though guys

How many miles on this car? If you have to pull the water pump, there might be some other things that should be done while it's off.

[ColdBird]

75k miles. Another question, does the low coolant light also cause spark retard and how long does it take for the light to go off usually?

[Joe 1320]

75k miles. Another question, does the low coolant light also cause spark retard and how long does it take for the light to go off usually?

No. The light should go out if the coolant is the correct level. The module is prone to failure, it is located on just under the fill neck on the end tank of the radiator.

While the water pump is off, it would be a good idea to replace the drive seal on the timing cover. If not, you may be doing it all over again when the seal starts to leak.