# Distance between fan and radiator and ideal temperature



## Andy65GTO (Jan 9, 2012)

Can anyone tell me what the proper distance between the fan and the radiator should be on a 65? (389)
The other question i have is what temperature should the motor be sitting on?
Mine normally sits on 180f but yesterday it crept up to 212f is this to hot?
Someone mentioned to me that my fan is to far from the radiator, mine sits about 2/3 from the radiator and there is a gap of about 1 inch between the edge of the shroud cover and the fan.
Thanks Andy.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

You're good to go!


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Fan should be half in, half out of shroud. 212 is not overheating. Normal operating temp for these engines is 180-225 degrees. You are good to go.


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## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

I saw this same question asked on another Pontiac forum by Andy. One of the responses deals with the fan shroud. This one response said the shroud came with AC equipped cars (1965) which I agree with. This response goes on and says these shrouds were also a stand alone option, which I dont think you could get unless you had AC. If I see a non AC 65 GTO with the shroud, I think to myself he's got the wrong part on there.


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## Andy65GTO (Jan 9, 2012)

Thanks for all the info, and yes I can see were your coming from Roger that.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I've never seen a shroud on an original non AC car, either. And I've owned several of them. ALL of these cars need a shroud, though, IMO. They flat WORK.


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## bayou4us (Nov 27, 2011)

I think that any thing over 205 there is a problem. If you have clutch fan the clutch could be bad. Or the thermostat is starting to go out.


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## Zak (Feb 17, 2012)

I wonder if you could request to have a shroud installed on a non ac car through the Pontiac dealership in 65 before picking up your new beast. If so as a dealer fitted option does this still make the shroud incorrect after all it was made to fit the car and was sold by pontiac parts division in 65 ??


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Also, make sure you properly set the clearance between the metal plate behind the water pump and the pump impeller. That one thing has a VERY significant influence over how well the pump works.

Bear


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## the65gto (Oct 9, 2008)

Enclosed is a couple of pics of my set-up. It is a 65 non A/C car but installed a shroud after I went thru several fan blades, flex blades and clutches troubleshooting heat problems. Ended up with "back to the factory" blade and clutch. I currently have a 1" spacer on there now to place the clutch about 1.5" from the Rad. The Rad top and bottom tanks are original, but had a Rad shop remove and install another 4 core guts as the original was pretty well clogged up. Could not locate a p/n on the shroud but pretty sure I got it a a Pontiac dealer.


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## Andy65GTO (Jan 9, 2012)

Thanks for pics I appreciate it!


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Ok...looks about right. But, two things: the pitch of the fan looks shallow to me (much less than stock, from what I can see in the photos), and normally, spacers are never used with a fan clutch. That puts just too much load on the water pump bearing. I would advise another fan and losing the spacer....or losing the spacer and getting a deeper shroud. The placement you have of half in, half out looks right on.


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## us66 (Feb 16, 2012)

BearGFR said:


> Also, make sure you properly set the clearance between the metal plate behind the water pump and the pump impeller. That one thing has a VERY significant influence over how well the pump works.
> 
> Bear


Bear, would you please elaborate on how to set the clearance and what the clearance is? TIA.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

the65gto said:


> Enclosed is a couple of pics of my set-up. It is a 65 non A/C car but installed a shroud after I went thru several fan blades, flex blades and clutches troubleshooting heat problems. Ended up with "back to the factory" blade and clutch. I currently have a 1" spacer on there now to place the clutch about 1.5" from the Rad. The Rad top and bottom tanks are original, but had a Rad shop remove and install another 4 core guts as the original was pretty well clogged up. Could not locate a p/n on the shroud but pretty sure I got it a a Pontiac dealer.


That's the same setup as I'm running sept the spacer. Have had no issues at all in nearly 20 years of driving. Although I have no temp gauge, (idiot lights) but every time I check it with the lazor temp gauge it's within specs. I'll try to get a pic later today.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

There are other threads here with more detail if you search for things like "cooling" and "plate clearance". Basically what you do is remove the pump, lay the plate on the back side of the pump with no gasket (important) and "work" the plate carefully with a hammer until it just kisses the impeller all the way around the opening. When you reinstall with the gasket in place, the clearance will be where it needs to be.

Bear


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## the65gto (Oct 9, 2008)

Rukee said:


> That's the same setup as I'm running sept the spacer. Have had no issues at all in nearly 20 years of driving. Although I have no temp gauge, (idiot lights) but every time I check it with the lazor temp gauge it's within specs. I'll try to get a pic later today.


You might have noticed from the previous picture, that I installed a mechanical water temp gage and the corresponding connection at the intake manifold. The more I think about it, I believe the spacer was installed when I tried one of those fiber glass flex fans with only the OEM cover on top, no shroud. On this pic, I measured 3/4" of the fan out of the shroud at the very top. The 7 blades of the fan itself, un-even spacing, measures 4.5x6" per blade and estimating about 40-45 degree pitch from the RAD plane. Have had this setup 20+ years. I have no knowledge if me removing the 1" spacer and thereby pulling the blade out of the shroud 1 more inch, would be better:confused , that would put the clutch about 2.5" from the RAD.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I'm just pointing out that fan spacers are not normally used on fan clutch applications in industry. It puts a huge strain on the water pump that can lead to catastrophic falilure. Your car, do what suits you best.


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