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97 gtp overheating -_- help?

Leiliel666

Leiliel666

New member
im pretty new to the forced induction world i shud say first. but the gtp i bought some time ago is starting to overheat at lets say...high speed/high rpm. i realize that it could be something simple like possibly a water pump goin out? or maybe a stuck thermostat. or a clogged cat? or something of that nature. but im a little fuzzy on the whole KR issue and how it works.

It stays at normal temp unless im on the throttle. if im on it long enough, the temp gauge climbs rather rapidly. but drops back down once i let off. and the pcm kills the power of the car both under high heat, or an abundance of knock, any help on discovering the cause would be appreciated =)
 


Some of the more veteran guys can correct me BUT knock is caused by internal cylinder temps. And your temp gauge monitors your water temp. You might have air in the cooling system. Have you done any work on the cooling system recently? It could be a bad water pump but usually water pumps leak when they start to go bad... If I were you I would check for a coolant leak and check you coolant levels. That's a good place to start.
 
Which plugs are you running
Year and mileage of car
Is your cat plugged
How much KR are you seeing while you keep flogging it and hoping you don't pop a piston
What octane fuel are you using
 
ngk tr6
97
130k
cat is not plugged
no u bend
i have no way of detecting kr if i had the money for a sensor reader, id buy an intercooler
the overheating doesnt even happen unless over 3500 rpm and returns to normal temp as soon as im off the accelerator
92 octane highest in town
 
Above 3500 for extended periods of time will heat up the cylinders and cause KR. You may want to back down to one range cooler plug say Autolite 605 gapped around .055"

Any gunk on the underside of the radiator cap? If so flush

Being a 97, assuming the original radiator..you may have a lot of debris in it or the condensor. I'd try cleaning and straightening fins. Especially if you are in a warmer climate. Which ...i'm assuming you are based on heating up this time of year.
 
south dakota.... not exactly tropical. seems the more i drive it the worse it gets none of the hoses are collapsed, the coolant is newish. the only things ive done lately, since this started happening, is get a 1.0 pcm and change the supercharger oil. im startin to suspect the water pump or thermostat goin bad. i got both ordered from zzp. and im getting the radiator flushed next week
 


Why would you pay ZZP prices for something the local parts store sells for a better price?

I'd also suspect your radiator cap. If it's not holding pressure, your car will heat up easier and might be low on coolant.
 
lol zzp charged me 70 with shipping and all plus a thermostat. local joe auto parts wanted 110 for just the pump and another 15 for the gasket ^.^ u think the radiator cap would heat it up so fast under acceleration? i shud be able to get that at walmart at least
 
What part of the country do you live in that you are paying 110 for a $30 waterpump?
Advance auto
Autozone
Checker
O'Rielly's
Even Napa...
 
apparently a very economically inflated part of the country =/ but besides the point. i just sorta wanna know why the temp gauge climbs with the speedometer once i hit around 120. it didnt do it before the pcm. or the new supercharger oil. idk whats all been done to the car, allegedly the supercharger has been ported and milled. the ubend is gone, and the sc whines pretty good, but doesnt appear to be in a bad way. i just dont know why it overheats so heavily all of a sudden.
 


its pretty nasty out in the rural parts of this state. even the junkyard is exorbitant sometimes. yeah 120 mph. well not exactly. but thats the longest point where its at a higher rpm, so im assuming thats why it heats up so badly. im hoping anyway. an intercooler is gonna cost me an arm and a leg
 
its nice to see that this forum board, like all others ive discovered is full of internet tough guys.... oh my what a surprise
 


well, due to the fact that if you tracked the car you'd never reach 120mph, regardless of the type of racing, we are assuming youre bombing the highway like a child.

so assumptions being made, why do you think we say these things? to save others on the road or potentially the motor in your car? who knows, our opinions are clearly over your head.

also, even if you are doing a road race you wouldnt ever reach 120mph unless youre pretty modded. we all know better than that. if you are pushing your car that hard for that long then you already have your answer for why it's overheating as well. sooooo...now what?
 
You decide to give as little detail as possible and wonder why assumptions are made? i wondered about your location which you are dancing around, because I was hoping to save you money.

I'm not tough guy. I answer things based on the information people provide or questions I ask. Your style of answering...doesn't lend itself to me being able to help much. You are holding back on information that would be helpful and are hoping we can tell you answers w/o info, sorry.. I don't have those answers.
 
nice to see thats goaded a retort out of you. its called a straight away in case u were wondering. yeah the things fairly modded, im not entirely sure how much. but it shouldnt be trashing mustangs on the 1/4 mile track. and if i knew the details i would tell you. the car over heats. at a variable exceeding 4000 rpm. i live in south dakota, in a town called spink. theres 14 people and a bar. the closest checkers or sturdavants is in vermillion. not really right across the street. i said i was new to forced induction, not motors. im not a child, im 32. and if i didnt have such a crush on old turbo buicks i wouldnt even be playing with this thing. i got an LS6 monte carlo in my garage, runs 10s but i was hoping for something sort of speedy that does better than 11mpg and actually starts in the cold. so any comments related to the actual topic would be useful.

the hoses dont crush under rpm so they arent collapsed
the coolant is new. the radiator cap is new
the fans come on high speed when the engine exceeds 180 degrees
the air damn..is sort of damaged
the radiator is a bit gunky, but ive seen worse
there is no antifreeze in the exhaust or oil
the water pump OR the alternator (or both) do sorta chirp
and if it matters the number 3 cylinder gets a fair amount of oil in it so im gonna stroke the motor anyway

what i am currently worried about is the how its overheating. not driving across town, only under heavy load and rpm. as stated, i do not understand the symptoms of Kr and i do not know if the temp gauge climbing as it does IS in fact a symptom of it. i do know the car is modded, but not how much. and i am trying to discern if it is a typical overheating issue like a clogged radiator or a failing water pump, or if someone boosted the car too much and now it gets heavy spark retard at high rpm. what i want to know, is if the temperature climbing at high speed is caused by kr
 
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