Is 220 degress ok?

[Nodnarb76]

Still ironing out the kinks on my LQ4/4L80 swap into my 87 Suburban.
been noticing the temp gauge has been reading around 220-230.
Installed a new 195 degree thermostat before I installed the motor. Going to see if I can program my fan controller to come on a little earlier. Seems to be getting hot when running on the interstate. Don't have any leaks, and I have the sensor for the Dakota Digital gauges mounted in the pass side cylinder head.

[mongocanfly]

My lq9 has a 160 thermo in it.i pulled it to check and i assume thats what came in it..didnt look like its ever been off engine.and my fans are programmed to come on at 175 for fan #1 and 185 for fan #2..its runs all day around 175-180 .My 2013 truck with 5.3 runs around 220

[dec010974]

my .030 LQ9 runs a normal engine temperature 185 degrees. for a while, I thought my E-Fans didn't work. im only a novice at this LSX thing, but the factory thermostat is 180 degrees.

[dec010974]

I also want to add that GM vehicles, not altered from its factory settings, including my 2016 suburban, normally runs around 220 degrees. I think its called thermal efficiency. Nodnarb76, your LQ4 engine, in its LSX swapped form, runs a little hotter than I would want it to. I would check the temp. gauge, against the OBDII gauge to see if there is an accuracy problem. Other things to consider are the water pump's age, coolant, is it fresh, is it enough, how did you remove all the air pockets, radiator may be clogged, Cylinder heads may be clogged, or something weird may be happening with the steam passages in the cylinder heads. a friend of mine had this same problem. he installed the Temp. gauge wrong. good luck and keep us informed about the outcome.

[Nodnarb76]

Originally Posted by dec010974

I also want to add that GM vehicles, not altered from its factory settings, including my 2016 suburban, normally runs around 220 degrees. I think its called thermal efficiency. Nodnarb76, your LQ4 engine, in its LSX swapped form, runs a little hotter than I would want it to. I would check the temp. gauge, against the OBDII gauge to see if there is an accuracy problem. Other things to consider are the water pump's age, coolant, is it fresh, is it enough, how did you remove all the air pockets, radiator may be clogged, Cylinder heads may be clogged, or something weird may be happening with the steam passages in the cylinder heads. a friend of mine had this same problem. he installed the Temp. gauge wrong. good luck and keep us informed about the outcome.

Thanks for the advice, when I installed the motor installed new water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses. Went with AC delco 195 degree thermostat and AC delco water pump. My Entropy Radiator has electric fans, I may have them set to come on too late, going to set them to a cooler temp tomorrow when have time. I will keep everyone posted, thanks for the help.

[Andy4639]

Best to make sure no air is in the system. These motors are really bad about traping air and even worse to get it out. Mine runs all day @179* and the fans come on @185*. When driving they never do come on.
Temp on should be around 185* and if you have the fans sized right it should never see 220. Most newer GM trucks run 210* at cruising speed at least all three of mine do the ones I bought.

[mongocanfly]

On the lq9 thermostat I replaced mine and water pump when I did the install..oreillys had a 180 and a 160..mine already had the 160 so that's what I went with

[ChuckLee]

LS based motors love 210 all day, and they make better power when "hot". 230, that is borderline for sure.

[storm9c1]

You also don't want the electric fans running while on the interstate. They will only impede airflow and the electric motors will draw more current at that speed because they are being overrun by natural airflow. Airflow is already optimal through the radiator at highways speed without the fans. All stock/OEM systems that I know of will turn off electric fans above a certain speed. So you may want to install some LED lights to monitor when your fans are running.

[BR3W CITY]

The stock stat is 195. Whoever had the 160 stat did not have a stock part. Some guys switch to the 160, but no vehicle was equipped with it o.e.

[Nodnarb76]

Noticed a small kink in my lower radiator hose, I wonder if the lower radiator hose is collapsing shut under acceleration?

[storm9c1]

Newer hoses are designed not to collapse, but a kink in a radiator hose is not good. I'd fix that for sure.

[Nodnarb76]

Originally Posted by storm9c1

Newer hoses are designed not to collapse, but a kink in a radiator hose is not good. I'd fix that for sure.

That's what I was thinking. The hose has a bend in it that is creating a flattened spot that I'm thinking is collapsing when I'm driving.

[ChuckLee]

Yikes. That's a blowout waiting to happen (and hopefully u would catch it before you ran it hot and burned the motor up). I would change that pronto. Good eyes.

[Nodnarb76]

[QUOTE=ChuckLee;7602997]Yikes. That's a blowout waiting to happen (and hopefully u would catch it before you ran it hot and burned the motor up). I would change that pronto. Good eyes.[/c

Do you suppose this could cause the truck to run hotter when driving at interstate speeds? Or even impede coolant flow at idle enough to make it run hotter than normal?
Already ordered a stainless hose to match my upper hose.

[ChuckLee]

Restricting flow means high pressure everywhere in the coolant system between the water pump outlet and the restriction. This means high chances of a blowout at the weakest point in the cooling system. Restricting flow also means anything between the restriction and the water pump inlet will be too low, which will increase heat.

[zach_carver]

My 2007 LS2 runs 210-212 degrees all day long. Even sitting in traffic after driving it may get to 215. It has a stock thermostat and everything, seems to run really good.

[ChuckLee]

Yah it's totally safe...and makes better power there than sitting at 175-190 like on most engines.

[MalibuSSwagon]

Who programmed your ECM? Not sure why people run aftermarket fan controllers when the factory ECM does it better.

[clinebarger]

Convoluted Radiator Hose RESTRICTS coolant flow, I hate them! Only use them when absolutely necessary!

As Storm9C1 stated, Running Cooling fan/s at greater than 40mph.....WILL cause a airflow restriction that could be attributed to temp rise on the highway.
Aftermarket Electric Fan Shrouds impede airflow as it is, No need to make it worse.

I have fixed many overheating LS converted trucks with a Clutch Fan & Shroud, Similar to what you had originally.

[Nodnarb76]

Got my lower house replaced with a stainless steel hose, now stays at about 210 degrees, which is the 12:00 mark on the stock gauge. So I think I'm good now.