[Shop-talk] '02 Suburban engine cooling

[Ronnie Day]

The fan's working fine, as best I can tell. Like I said, the air temp was
pushing 100 and I sat for an hour with the engine idling before the water
temp went up. This is not unusual Texas weather this time of year. I'm
concerned about towing a substanial load under similar conditions,
wondering if I should take preventative precautions?

On Friday, July 6, 2012, wrote:

> If driving got the temp down, consider the possibility that the radiator
> fan is not working, or now working well.
>
> Phil Ethier West Side Saint Paul Minnesota USA
> 1973 Triumph Stag LE22439UBW "uncle jack", Sapphire Blue
> 2004 Suburban 8.1, Sport Red, the only automatic of the bunch
> 2005 Lotus Elise, Bordeaux Red Pearl
> 2007 Saturn Ion 3 2.4, Berry Red
> pethier [at] comcast [dot] net
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier
> http://www.triumphtransamerica.org.uk
> http://www.mnautox.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Ronnie Day" <ronnie.day at gmail.com <javascript:;>>
> > To: "Shop Talk List" <shop-talk at autox.team.net <javascript:;>>
> > Sent: Friday, July 6, 2012 7:45:09 PM
> > Subject: [Shop-talk] '02 Suburban engine cooling
> > The first of last month we bought an '02 Suburban. A very nice one
> > owner
> > with116K on it. It has the late model (LS style) 5.3 in it, towing
> > package
> > and 3.73 gears. Last weekend we were in NE Texas, near Marshall, and I
> > sat
> > in a Sam's parking lot for over an hour while my wife and her sisters
> > shopped for the reunion we were hosting. It was right at noon and the
> > air
> > temp was pushing 100.
> >
> > Water Temp on this things normally sits just below mid point (marked
> > 210 on
> > the OE gauge, which I think is fairly accurate). I was reading and not
> > paying much attention until the air from the AC began to warm up. The
> > temp
> > gauge was then at the 3/4 mark. I moved to a clear area of the parking
> > lot
> > where I could drive at fairly low speed and not worry about other
> > vehicles
> > or shoppers. After just a few minutes of driving the temp returned to
> > its
> > regular spot and the AC regained its efficiency. I never saw any lose
> > of
> > coolant or any sign(s) of overheating.
> >
> > The primary purpose for buying the vehicle is travel, usually with a
> > bunch
> > of folks and our stuff, while possibly towing either a car or travel
> > trailer. Should I consider looking for a heavier duty radiator for
> > this
> > thing, or maybe a high volume/dual electric fan setup, or both, and
> > chunk
> > the engine driven fan? I might even pick up a few tenths in mileage.
> > BTW,
> > we got just under 18 mpg going up there from home, on Hwy 79. Good
> > secondary road with just a few small and medium towns.
> >
> > Thoughts/suggestions appreciated,
> > Ron
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > Shop-talk at autox.team.net <javascript:;>
> > Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> > Suggested annual donation $12.96
> > Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
> > Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
> > Unsubscribe/Manage:
> > http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/pethier@comcast.net