86 vette overheating

my 86 has 160 stat and over heats,i live in vegas . get to 230 changed fluid ,stat
fans work  would a 2 core radiator and high flow water pump fix it? lost...  

all late model gm motors need a 195 thermostat to operate the cooling system properly...

the fans on corvettes are computer controlled...   they don't come up till the engine coolant temp reaches 228F to 238F...


with a 160 or even a 180 stat... the stat will open.. swap the hot water in the motor with the cool water in the radiator.. the fans never come on...  the coolant swaps again..    now the thermostat stays open..  the coolant circulates faster and faster... when it finally reaches the temp to turn on the fan..  the coolant is moving so fast.. no electric fan in the world could take the heat out of it...

drop a 195 stat back in it...    make sure that you have a 50 to 60 percentage of coolant to water...   have someone with a scan tool look at the live data...    engine coolant temp...  sometimes you can even see the fan request.. i don't know on an 86 but on some models you can with a scan tool...   cause all the relays to cycle on for a few seconds.. with the engine off.. this will prove the engine cooling fan relays can come on under computer control...


warning... do not back probe the fan relay connector...   if you probe the wire to the ecm with a test light.. you can burn out the circuit that controls the relay...   i have in the past... figured out which wire is the relay control.. and put a switch on it..  with the other side to ground...     with this switch on.. the fan relay turns on with the key...     this also lets you cool the motor in a few minutes if you need to do something to it... ...

i forgot the color wire to add the circuit to...



non contact temp pens and guns are available starting at 20 bucks.. going up to 60 bucks.. and really really come in handy...  you can aim the temp gun right at the base of the coolant temp sensor.. or at the front of the intake manifold..

antifreeze testers are also available for under 10 bucks..  usually under 5... this gives you the freeze and overheat protection levels...  

scan tools for these early models are getting harder and harder to get...   you really might think about one if you see one for a good price...  

Let's start with the basics here. Yes, he's correct above, you should leave the 192 thermostat in for proper engine operation.

My guess is your problem lies int he radiator cap. When, if ever, have you changed it last? What pressure cap is it? If the spring and seal are bad ont he radiator cap, the cooling system will never pressurize, and won't be able to function properly.

Try a new 15 lb radiator cap first before replacing anything and see what it does. A new cap is less than 10 bucks.