To those over-heaters of the world with Corvettes
I have an early 1968 big block which are notorius for running hot. I have used the "Water Wetter" by Red line products and it does help a bit. It is designed to keep hot spots from happening inside the cooling passages in your engine, it does not solve chronic over-heating problems but it will make a system operate a bit more efficiently.

To much anti-freeze will also make an engine run to hot, too much water will boil over unless your system is in good shape and holds pressure well.

As the "milkman" suggested be sure to check your rubber seals and the air dam under the nose.

If this doesn't work then you have to look at the radiator or other parts of the cooling system, did this just happen or has this problem always been there? How old is the water pump? The fan clutch can also be a source of heating problems, they are not cheap so test it with another 'known good" unit or a direct drive fan

One thing that can make the engine run much hotter than normal is the timing being off a bit to advanced. Be sure to look at all the simple cheaper things before going to the expence I did to solve the heat problem.

I have been using something called "Evans NPG+" which is a replacement for the water and antifreeze in your engine. It is a "non-aqueous propylene glycol" mixture that that won't boil over untill it hits 370 degrees F. You can learn more about the NPG at "www.evanscooling .com
After using the NPG+ my temperatures dropped 20 to 25 degrees in traffic and put a stop to detonation completly. Next I purchased a "Be-Cool" Radiator made out of aluminum and an electric fan which then pushed my temperatures to between 180 and 200 degrees in heavy driving.

Now I drive around in my big block vette and I don't have to worry about my engine temperature being a problem anymore. I would be happy help in any way I can...
Good Luck!
Chris McCloskey

Norsky is right on.. I to had a heat problem in my 76. Tried the Water Wetter, and it made little difference. My problem was in the old radiator and when replaced, the temp came down to where it should be. Replacing the thermostat also could solve the problem if it is not fully opening, but lowering to a 160 isn't going to bring down the temp once it has fully opened. It just opens faster. Check the flow through the radiator, and if blocked, either have cleaned or replace. Other possible areas include the fan shoud and or seals, pump, and the fan clutch. Good luck...

YES, I HAVE TRIED IT, WETTER WATER. GET IT OUT OF THERE SOON.
IT DID MAKE THE ENGINE RUN COOLER BUT IT ALSO MADE MY WATER
PUMP LEAK. HAVE YOU TRIED THE PINK ANTIFREEZE? AS FAR AS I KNOW
ITS OK BUT KEEP A CLOSE CHECK ON THE LEVEL. IT SEAMS LIKE IT LEAVES A FILM. ALSO I REPLACED MY THERMOSTATE WITH A 160. ITS
OK IF YOU KEEP THE SPEED DOWN BELOW 65 OR 70 OTHER THAN THAT IT RUNS AT 195 TO 200 WHICH IS OK. ONE SUGGESTION I READ WAS TO PUT
A SHUT OFF VALVE ON THE HEATER RETURN HOSE...JIM

be careful when changing antifreeze. some of the new colored antifreeze is not compatable with the older slime green as well as not usable in some types of cooling systems. i have read an article reguarding this. (car and driver i believe). I would check with the antifreeze Mfg before mixing or changing to the new types.

|UPDATED|1/7/2003 7:37:04 PM|/UPDATED|

I just read the thread which was discussing the "Red-Line" product called "Water Wetter" and suggested that it be removed since it caused a water pump seal to leak.

How was it used?

The label and the manufacturer suggest using it with or without conventional Glycol antifreeze and if absolutly neccesary you can use it with straight water (distilled, of course). Naturally if it is used with straight water you will have virtually no freeze protection.

When Water Wetter is used with straight water you should add a lubricant for the water pump as niether Water Wetter or water have the needed lubricating characteristics of conventional anti-freeze.

Lots of people have used this product without any problems, I have used it all 5 of my cars at one time or another. It is used in thousands of car of all types, several race teams use as well. It has worked for me and it is inexpensive.

With the two major types of anti-freeze's on the market you have to be carefull. Ethelyne Glycol is the green stuff and Propylene glycol (forgive my spellings) is the red stuff. They do not mix. I was told that I had to flush the system very well before I could switch to the newer Red Antifreeze products that are supposed to be good for five years or more.

Good luck with your cooling systems out there!

Chris

Hey guys, cool is good, but not too cool. An engine builder for the past 25 years (Joe, owner of PME Racing in Sacramento, and who also balanced my rotating assembly) told me that it's very important that the water temperature in the water jacket be at least 192 degrees. When the temperature runs cooler than that (I've heard guys bragging about their cars running at 170 or 180) then you're killin' your engine. The reason for this is that the water jacket temperature is cooler than the temperature inside the cylinders. This difference will cause warpage of the pistons and cylinder walls. He told me he'd torn down engines with 150,000 miles on 'em that ran 200 degrees and the pistons and cylinders were in beautiful shape, and then other engines with 50,000 miles on 'em that ran 150-160 degrees and the pistons and cylinders were warped terribly out of shape. Just something to keep in mind.
Marc.

I know I'm a little late chiming in, and I don't think it's been brought up yet, BUT, make sure you check the accuracy of your gauge as well. My factory gauge was a full 15 degress off.