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Oldsmobile Aurora Maintenance & Repair

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What is this discussion about? Oldsmobile Aurora, Auto Repair, Sedan

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#32 of 4284 rjs200240 & temp by cwiley1 Nov 13, 2001 (7:45 pm)
The 2001 & 2002 have additional air passages thru the grill, the classics only have air passage thru the bottom of the bumper. This I think will give you better cooling. My fan comes on but once the gauge reaches 220--240(approx)and the outside temp. is 100+ and on black asphalt the fan doesn't provide enough air circulation. I have considered installing a 180 deg. thermostat. Has anyone tried this? Also I would like to hot wire the high speed fan to a switch. Will this work? Oldsmobile mechanics say it can't be done! Has anyone tried this? Replies to this message: cherokeewmb (Aug 23, 2005 12:46 am)
#33 of 4284 Bottom feeders by rjs200240 Nov 14, 2001 (10:28 am)
Even on cars with grills, most of the cooling air comes to the radiator from the bottom. A car doesn't need a grill to have good cooling (my 87 Corvette had no grill at all). I wonder if the gauge numbering is not overly accurate. Sometimes the numbers/gauges are not linear. 225-240 is usually considered overheating for most cars. I would think by 240 degrees, you would get a warning light.   A 180 degree thermostat will most likely not help. As it is, your thermostat opens a 195, but the temp soars to 220+. When cruising a 180 thermostat will keep the temps down to 180+ as opposed to the usual 195+. However, once the temp gets over 195, the 195 degree thermostat is just as open as a 180 degree thermostat would be.   If you really wanted to try an aftermarket "fix", something like "water wetter" would work better than a thermostat. It works by transferring heat more effectively to the air. However, I've heard negatives about water wetter accelerating wear of cooling systems (nothing concrete, though). Summit Racing sells it (as do other places). http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=8342   I have no experience with "hot-wiring" a fan on an Aurora, but on Corvettes this was possible on early models up until the fans became computer controlled. These later models could not be easily rigged to manually control the fan. Earlier models used a temp sensor that basically grounded the fan when a certain temp was reached. In that case, the sensor could just be replaced with a switch "fooling" the fan into thinking the temp had been reached.   My '87 had two fans, one controlled by the computer and an aux cooling fan controlled by a temp sensor. I could easily get the aux fan to come on at lower temps, or at my control. However, the only way to alter the main fan's behavior was by replacing the PROM (computer) with a custom chip.
#34 of 4284 More on fans... by rjs200240 Nov 14, 2001 (10:42 am)
Even if you could get the Aurora's fan to come on earlier, this too probably wouldn't help. If the fan isn't cutting it at 225-235, it won't cut it at a lower temp. The hotter the coolant is, the easier it is for the fan to cool it off or hold the temp. steady. This is because the difference in temperatures between the radiator and the outside air is greater than when the radiator is cooler. When the fan does come on, does it hold the temperature steady, or decrease it? If not, then maybe you should look into augmenting the fan, or putting on a higher-flow blade or something.   Just thought I would ask this: Have you checked to ensure no leaves and such are covering the radiator? Also, is the plastic "front spoiler" lip under the radiator still there? If that has been damaged/torn off, then very little air will get directed into the radiator. This wouldn't have much negative effect when your car is stationary, though.
#35 of 4284 temp & history by cwiley1 Nov 14, 2001 (5:12 pm)
When highway cruising there isn't any problem keeping the coolant cool, it runs on the 200 mark or a little below, it is when I slow down in a traffic jam or stop and go driving in town, that is when the temp. gauge gets to the 2nd mark above the 200 mark. I have had it the the Olds dealer and he has checked it out and said everything is okay, fans come on at the correct temperatures. They said the Aurora's are supposed to run that hot. I am not use to a car running that hot!! It really concerns me when I'm in a traffic jam at an idle or creeping along at 10mph and the temp. gauge is at the 2nd mark above 200. I would think running this hot would cause other problems or parts to wear out faster? Seems like there are enough problems with these vehicles anyway. We have a 95 and a 97 both are great cars but have their share of problems. I wouldn't be without some kind of warranty.
#36 of 4284 High temp wear... by rjs200240 Nov 15, 2001 (6:28 am)
I would worry a bit too. High temps can shorten gasket life, hose life, increase cylinder head temps (which can cause knock and reduced performance)and can warp heads and even blocks. If you are concerned, try adding fans(or modify them for more airflow) or using coolant additives (if you use coolant additives, I would stick with "water wetter" because I would trust Red Line Oil more than another maker of similar stuff). However, I will ask again. Are you sure it is running at 240? Just because it is two lines above 200 doesn't mean the gauge is linear (or accurate). Also, maybe you should confirm the temp some other way (via a diagnostic computer getting the temp from the Aurora's computer or maybe with a temp sensor or even a thermometer)   I remember seeing (somewhere) some small cooling fans that mount in the wheel well and pull air out from the engine compartment, thus improving flow through the radiator. I have been trying to find them, but so far have had no luck. It must have been in Summit, or JC Whitney or a Corvette parts catalog. They were neat because they were about 5" fans, and you could put one or two or three in each wheel well depending on how much you needed and were willing to spend. I will continue to search for where I've seen them.   Also, I get it! Everyone wants a warranty. I will make no more disparaging comments about them.
#38 of 4284 Hot stuff by bjack Nov 18, 2001 (7:30 pm)
My 95 runs up into the 220+ range when in stop & go. I checked everything. Check the owners manual the 220+ is not a problem. If the engine gets too hot it will start shutting down cylinedrs to reduce heat.
#39 of 4284 temperature by tipsicobob Nov 19, 2001 (12:01 pm)
Now you see why most newer cars have the actual numbers removed from the temp gage. Most are susceptible to calibration variation, but in many cases the seemingly high temperatures are just normal and not a problem because of the pressurized system.
#40 of 4284 Pictures really are worth a thousand words... by rjs200240 Nov 19, 2001 (1:02 pm)
Thanks for the pic, Zinc1. That really helped. Now that I know what the gauge looks like, I can speak more intelligently (not necessarily intelligently, just more intelligently than before) about it. First, it looks like the second bar above 200 may or may not be 240. The gauge isn't linear. Plus, that bar isn't in the red, so who cares? As long as the temp isn't soaring into the red zone, I wouldn't worry about it. The engineers who made the car are smart guys. If they weren't worried about the temps two bars above 200, then I wouldn't worry either.   As far as when to worry; if the fan doesn't come on until 220, then obviously this isn't a dangerous temperature. This means the engine is getting to the upper end of its comfort range. The fan will kick on, cool things down, turn off, and then kick back on if the temp climbs again.   As an additional note, most engines have a temperature sensor that the fan/computer uses, and a second one that goes to the dash gauge. Therefore, the temp you see on the dash isn't necessarily the temp the computer sees. Also, the temperature of the coolant is different depending on where in the cooling system you measure it.

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