The 9C1 cooler DOES work, or GM would have put something different on the car--or nothing. The question is, if it works, what was its purpose and what does it REALLY do? Well, how about passing the police car tests? We already know it just doesn't work very well when pushed beyond a certain point.
GM created a problem for itself with the LT1 package, at least in the B-body configuration (I'm not familiar with the F-body) since the pump is right up against the engine, and both the pump and remote reservoir are out of the airstream. Heat is a real problem, as many of us have learned, and as clealry GM recognized with the inclusion of the "cooler" on the SEO package.
GM only had to be concerned about vehicles that were likely to be operating in the profile that would present a problem. The Impala might have seemed to logically qualify, too, but the marketing wizards didn't expect/anticipate/realize who would buy this car and how it would be used. GM probably said the cost of not putting the cooler on and dealing with the "few" steering failures under warranty would be less than putting coolers on all Impalas. We'll never know, but in the meantime, quite a few people have discovered ways to help the system survive.
