Does anyone know about our thermostats in the 2.4? I think I may have a bad one and if I replace it I was thinking of getting a lower thermostat than stock. The LSJ I'm thinking is an option to use that therm but I want to make sure the LSJ therm is different temp than the LE5 Therm before getting it. Also, I need to find out if it will fit the LE5.

Where is the therm located on the 2.4?

Will there be any positive or negative effects from using a colder therm on the LE5?

 

i think your reachin for anything other then the head gasket..you boost a car thats not ment to be boosted and do no supporting mods..

 

probably true... I don't see any kind of intercooler listed... mmm

anyways... to the point... as far as I know there are no low-temp thermostats listed for the Cobalt... I've been looking for a long time b/c this car runs way too hot...

have you gone in with HPTuners and adjusted the temps that the fans turn on at?

 

I am running a hahn turbo kit with a front mount intercooler and no drivability problems except high temps so theres no smoke or anything so no blown head gasket. The hahn tune is what I'm running and I dont know what temp he has it set for the fan but the fan is working.

 

Okay *inject my infinite LE5 wisdom*

The thermostat on the LE5 is a piece. If you lower fan temps too much you just wear it out. Good way to tell, does your temp gauge read "---" instead of a number? Also the thermostat temp is linked to the cam phasing, and if you f-that up then your cam phasing will be off. You have to replace the T-stat most likely, they are $40 over the counter, and ~$25 online. Just be thankful that you don't have to do it in a Solstice where you have to take off the cowl and other components to get to it.

As for your problem with no low-temp therm. Take yours out and drill 3 1/16th inch holes through the t-stat with a drill. Problem solved. Should run about 175* instead of ~183* Truth is with aluminum heads you will want to stay around 180* anyways. (LSJ only)

It is located on the drivers side of the motor on the block in about the middle. Just follow the coolant hose to the housing.

 

the only reason i think its the therm is because of the flucuation it has, for a minute it will be 189 then 198 then 194 then 205 then 199 then 210. its all over the place. but it never does ---. so there is no better option at this point besides the stock therm, i wouldnt wanna drill into it but i thought maybe the LSJ one would be an upgrade.

Can someone show me in pics where the therm is located in the engine bay?

 

to find it seriously follow the coolant hose on the drivers side to the block. It will lead you right there. It's not connected to a magical jelly bean farm.

If it reads radical temps that's another story. But the T-stats are sticky in the LE5s

 

i'll wait on it, since my temps have been lower now, seems like 190's and 210 seems normal which is where im at now. still have to figure out that cel im getting about a loose hose that i cant find.

 

Mine started doint that after installing the hahn kit too!

It always ran at 192* stable almost always. Now it goes from 192 up to 214 then down to 198 then up to 210 then down to 192 etc...

I think it has something to do with me taking off the air dam underneath and also all the HOT water comming off of the turbo.

I am considering the new Rebel high capacity radiator that holds 2-3 times the coolant.

 

Mine is steady at 192, and it never goes higher. Under a load I have seen it go down to 183. BTW my fans are on 100% of the time. Even if I sit, in traffic it's always 192-194. Before I supercharged, I would see like 210 if I sat in traffic. Very odd.

 

mine is at 178 on the freeway and 190ish in town traffic

 

thanks for the heads up, i didnt know there was a new radiator out, i think us turbo guys may need to use it. we arnt running into really high temps but still higher than normal and erratic. I'll have to check out their website to see this.

 

There's a reason for the air dam...... it there to force more air through the radiator when the car is moving. Take it off and you'll need to compensate in some fashion. Putting a colder thermostat doesn't help because the standard thermostat is already opening due to the hot water coming from the block. A bigger radiator (and radiator tank) might help but the better solution (pun intended) is optimum coolant - antifreeze solution AND reinstalling the air dam!

 

its not the god dam turbo people. if you think that turbos gonna heat soak the coolant at a speed in excess of what the radiator and fans can pull back out of it, your crazy.

plus, more of us would have that issue.

i like steeves "drill the bitch" plan, thats an old trick done on TONS of cars. works every time.

also, remember that this engine, mainly the heads are built and designed to run in the high 180-210 range.

 

All i have is a CAI and a Shift plus and seeing temps up to 220 is common typivcally 195 -210 is my cars operating temp.

 

Well with a 190*-195* thermostat, that's what you would expect.

 

i guess i just freaked out on my temps since its cold out now and the car is running hot, i just imagined a 100 degree day here in the summer and running those temps or higher but i guess all is ok, if i ever get a chance to buy a better rad then i will though.

 

It works on the LSJ's too, just has side effects on the LE5 so I don't recommend doing that on the LE5 cars since Cam phasing is dependant on ECTs. Most people just don't want to go through the effort of pulling it for the sake of 5* drop in ECT, but it's worth it for the price of free, and then you can replace your coolant with the wetter at a better mix than normal.

 

Interesting idea... 180 is fine with me... but I don't like it once it goes over 200.

 

you also have to tune the fans to come on otherwise drilling the t-stat does nothing on it's own.

 

It doesn't work/fit properly due to the intercooler for the turbo

 

You should consider some modification to get an air dam back on your car in order to improve the heat transfer efficiency of the intercooler as well as that of the radiator. I know there are aftermarket air dams that are larger and lower than the factory stock. The air dam is very low tech, you should be able to get a local "body man" to make one for you that will help lower engine temps. Good Luck!

 

good point, maybe an aluminum one or could they make a custom plastic one for better duraability?

 

Hey, did you ever get your air damn back on in a way where the air does not just smack into the bottom of the intercooler?

I may have to look into this before summer. These highly variable temps in the cold of winter make me nervous about summer.

 

no i have no air dam underneath the engine since the turbo.