4L60e running at 200-210F at operating temp.

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alpinecrick

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Well gm engineers made heads that are prone to crack,

When the engine is overheated (abused, and/or not well maintained), yep, heads crack--and the lower intake will most likely warp, too. One of the sure signs of poor maintenance of the cooling system is pitted surfaces on the intake.

the 3-4 in a 4l60e was designed with bad fluid flow and cooling issues that a couple drilled holes fix and it took racers to figure that out not overpaid dummies. You can keep on the factory is best bandwagon and I'll keep on using my non gm parts in trans and engines I mean sunnex parts are doing great in my trans but that's jus me

Got me there. My rebuilt 4L60e's are drilled. Then again I wonder how my friend's all original heavy *** '98 Suburban with the factory 4L60E has lived for 230k here in Western Colorado where long, sustained 3000ft elevation gains with the TQ unlocked are common (and where the air is less dense and doesn't cool nearly as efficiently) . Might be because he takes good care of it........

Those same racers also recommend 8 clutch packs, and as it turns out those clutch packs don't live very long with those same long, sustained 3000ft elevation gains with 3 ton+ vehicles. Here in Colorado any of the trustworthy rebuilders I know won't warranty a Colorado trans rebuild with those racing clutch packs. It took the builders of reliable transmissions to figure that out.

And I have the upgraded Sonnex sunshells and pinions among other upgraded parts in two of my rebuilds--but I have no idea if they are race parts or not........
 
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alpinecrick

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Wait is the coolant temp gauge supposed to be below 210???

I was under the impression that my motor just ran cool for some reason. I think it runs around to what the stock thermostat is, in that case. Am used to my Mercury's gauge being in the middle when at normal temperature.

Man, I am really not familiar with these trucks lol

That being said, it does sometimes randomly go up to 210 then back down to normal. Might get a new thermostat installed when I flush the Dexcool out.

If left outside in the winter, neither of my vans will fully warm up by just idling (a 5.0 and 5.7). When I take off down the road--regardless how much I've let them warm up, winter or summer--the coolant temp will spike up to ~205 and then within a minute will settle in at 195. I bought the 96 with ~140k now has 262k, bought the 02 with ~110k now has 220K, and other than the rebuilt trans they are factory original. They have behaved like that since I bought them.

My 96 and 97 K1500's do not do that. I just figured it's a van thing:confused:, but maybe it happens with other 1st Gen Vortecs too.

The coolant gauge may or may not be accurate, it's just a relative thing. All four of my gauges in my 1st gen Vortecs read slightly different when the scanner reads 195.

There are two temp senders on the engine, one reads for the gauge, the other sender is for the ECU. The scanner reads the temp going to the ECU.
 
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zetros

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If left outside in the winter, neither of my vans will fully warm up by just idling (a 5.0 and 5.7). When I take off down the road--regardless how much I've let them warm up, winter or summer--the coolant temp will spike up to ~205 and then within a minute will settle in at 195. I bought the 96 with ~140k now has 262k, bought the 02 with ~110k now has 220K, and other than the rebuilt trans they are factory original. They have behaved like that since I bought them.

My 96 and 97 K1500's do not do that. I just figured it's a van thing:confused:, but maybe it happens with other 1st Gen Vortecs too.

The coolant gauge may or may not be accurate, it's just a relative thing. All four of my gauges in my 1st gen Vortecs read slightly different when the scanner reads 195.

There are two temp senders on the engine, one reads for the gauge, the other sender is for the ECU. The scanner reads the temp going to the ECU.
Wack.

Maybe it is a van thing. I'm not terribly concerned about it because we are talking about a small block Chevy V8. I may be mildly concerned by the trans but I do not worry about the 350 at all. Besides the optional "oil seepage" feature, perhaps.
 

badco

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The reason most vortec heads crack is the way the seats are hardened and how thin it is around them. Take apart a few engines that haven't been hot but lots of miles and tell me how many are cracked. Better yet go back a few yr models and find a decent pair of 882s 0r 993 heads.
 

badco

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Adding clutches is good for towing but in a race trans the less clutches needed to hold the hp the faster you are. As far as lasting I know of a truck that went 425k and another that is at 380k and neither took care of them they just lucky
 

Pinger

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Pinger,

According to my Bluetooth scanner all four of my Vortecs run at 195 degrees going down the road. Indeed, once fully warmed up, the only thing that will budge them above 195 is a sustained uphill climb with the TQ unlocked or sitting in traffic with the AC on. Running at 210 in normal driving conditions seems quite warm to me--especially in the cool climes of Scotland.

This will likely confuse as much as clarify - but here goes!
Running bang on the 210F mark all day long has been recently in weather that has been much warmer and, with no heating on (set on cold and with AC removed).
Since the change of inlet manifold gaskets the temp has remained constant. Prior, when say, accelerating to overtake, the temp would rise (I'd feel it in the cabin via the heater as well). Without running the heater (since change) I can't be certain that it isn't still but the gauge doesn't move and I'm pretty certain it did before.
I'd put this down to the new inlet manifold gaskets as before they leaked coolant. But, as I re-instated the MAF at the same time and the gearbox no longer changes down gears more than it has to, that could also be contributing to the new found temp stability.

And just to confuse further - I can't be sure that the needle on my temp gauge is mounted correctly. All the needles were removed so that the cluster could be fitted with a new adhesive face (to convert the speedo from km/h to mph). Pretty sure the voltmeter needle is under-reading and possibly the temp is over reading. I'd ask where it should sit with a cold engine but that will vary depending on ambient temp (typically 60-70F here currently).
 

Reega

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The stock GM cooler on my Express van was mounted that way. Worked perfectly fine. I mounted both the trucool 40K and the M7B that way too.
On the thread df2x4 posted, someone was commenting that B&M didn’t recommend installation in that orientation, as they are both produced by long I assumed they would be similar, as is the factory, but mounted in the downward location. Seems like that’s not the case.
 
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