phoenixv8

iTrader: (1)

Like the title says, my car has been running a little hotter than usual. it doesnt reach the red mark but it goes past the 210 mark and almost to the third line. Car has water and the fans turn on. Any ideas?????

fleetmgr

Do the fans both come on in low togther, and both come on in fast together? Have you checked for a blockage on the radiator, like a plastic bag? When was the last time you cleaned the fins in both the A/C condenser and the radiator?

killagt

iTrader: (3)

if it lt1 its normal since it iron block, but ls1 its not normal i would check for leak. or thermostat stuck

phoenixv8

iTrader: (1)

Im going to change the thremostat and change the fluid. Ill let you guys to know if it fixes it.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

1) Is it getting hotter during stop-and-go traffic driving OR on the highway too?

2) Does it get hotter with or without the A/C "on"....or only when you turn the A/C "on"?

3) Is there any sound at all of coolant boiling or bubbling...or does it get hot and its stays silent?

.

GSus

iTrader: (2)

Just changed and flushed my system today. While in the bay, it started over-heating also. A couple of squeezes on the lower hose, followed by a "belch" at the radiator neck...all cleared up. 210* - 211* as normal.

I know this doesn't really apply to your current situation, just food for thought when you do your flush. Get all the air out.

phoenixv8

iTrader: (1)

Changed the thermostat and coolant. It hasnt heated up yet. hopefully it was that. The old thermostat fell apart when i was taking it out.

killagt

iTrader: (3)

yub sound like thermostat,

LS1WS6dreamer

iTrader: (1)

Is there a sticky or link on how to flush the coolant system properly. I've been wanting to do mine, also what kind of antifreeze is everybody using.

killagt

iTrader: (3)

if you have green in it, use green, if you have dexcool ( orange/brown ) then stick with dexcool, prestone brand is what I recomment. they have 7 dollar rebate on prestone coolant now.

LS1WS6dreamer

iTrader: (1)

Well right now its light green, but it clearly says on the lid to use Dex-Cool, so... should I not switch? will it cause leaks or what? Yeah I downloaded a coupon from O"reillys that gives some kind of rebate on the Prestone.

killagt

iTrader: (3)

stick with prestone green, dont put dex-cool on it.

LS1WS6dreamer

iTrader: (1)

Whats wrong with Dex-Cool?

killagt

iTrader: (3)

dexcool eat thru aluminum, and gunk up the coolant system. I heard horrible story at bob is the oil guy. but I beleive as long I keep it fresh and flush it out at least one a year, Im ok. If I ever take to the shop to flush with the machine, i ask em put green stuff on. You dont want mix dexcool with greenstuff.

fleetmgr

There is nothing at all wrong with DexCool, and hasn't been for about 20 years now. It had some early problems, and GM got sued for it - but the myth from 2 decades ago just won't go away. It DOES NOT eat aluminum. If it did, every single GM on the road today would be dead. It's also factory fill in LS motors, and was factory fill in LT motors. As was mentioned, don't mix the two.

LS1WS6dreamer

iTrader: (1)

Green vs orange. What am I gonna do now? lol
Is it bad to go from green to orange?

fleetmgr

Not bad at all, as long as you completely flush the system with straight water before you switch. The two different types of anti freeze have no compatibility at all, and will cause damage if mixed.

LS1WS6dreamer

iTrader: (1)

I should prolly just go back with whats in there then. The "green" antifreeze.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

My personal sticky:

Best/easiest way to flush and get every drop of old coolant out.

-Cold engine.
-Remove radiator fill cap.
-Remove the t-stat from the housing. Leave the housing attached to the rubber radiator hose, just remove the 2 housing bolts and pull it away from the water to pump to get to the t-stat. (2-3 minute job).
-Put t-stat housing back on. (1 minute) Just put one bolt in, no need to put them both in, there’s no pressure in the system during the flush.
-Take the entire radiator drain valve (petcock) "off" and let it drain, don't just open the valve itself. It'll drain faster with it off and that’s what you want. ((Buy a new petcock valve before starting this flush process, sometimes they break when you remove them all the way just because they're cheap plastic and they get briddle over time, they're like $2.00))
-Take a hose and stick it in the radiator fill cap, running medium to high.
-Start the engine.
-Turn heat on full blast
-Let it run for about 15-20 minutes or until the water is running out the drain CLEAR.
-((If you want to, you can wait till it runs clear, close the drain valve, add a bottle of radiator flush and let it run for 15 minutes, then drain it all again. Then open the drain and put the hose in for about 5 minutes run it all out till its CLEAR. The flush chemical will help break up the crap thats stuck DEEP in there.))
-When it runs clear your entire system is clean.
-Remove the overflow reservoir from the car and clean it out real good. (I had to use gasoline to clean mine out because the sludge and grime was so thick inside. The gas broke it all down and then it flushed right out. I filled it about 1/3 up with gasoline and shook the hell out of it real vigorously, the black stuff kept coming out. I did that like 4 seperate times with gasoline till no more chunks of black crap came out. Make sure the lines that go to the reservoir are also cleaned out. My sludge came from my power steering fluid leaking into my coolant system.)
-Put the t-stat back in.
-Put the overflow reservoir back in.
-Put the drain valve back in. Use the new one, what the hell.
-Put half a jug of Dexcool in the radiator. (Or if you live in very cold places, 1 to 1 ½ jugs of Dexcool)
-Fill the rest with water.
you do not need to use distilled water, clean hose water is just fine, just make sure your city water is clean and not total crap quality.

**Bleeding the system of air:
Start it up and let it run and warm up till the t-stat opens. I rapidly squeeze the upper radiator hose like 20 times while its warming up to help move any air bubbles through the system and by the t-stat on the engine side. You’ll see the level drop as you squeeze it, its sucking the coolant through the system. You wioll soon see the coolant start to flow in the radiator fill neck, once it starts to flow the level should drop down alot, immediately top it off with coolant/water. Then the flow will stop. Wait one more time for the t-stat to open again and start to flow, if it drops down again top it off again. Do it a 3rd time if you want to make sure. I always massage the upper hose during the whole process to keep any air bubbles moving through. Always works like a charm. Just keep checking your temp gauge until the t-stat opens for the first time to make sure it’s not sitting there overheating from a trapped bubble. May take 10-15 minutes for the t-stat to open the first time.
If you do start to get hot while sitting there and the t-stat will not open…..you have an air bubble on the engine side of the t-stat. Shut the engine off and rapidly squeeze the upper and lower radiator hoses again. Then start the engine again and see if the t-stat will open. Sometimes you just have to work those hoses to move the air through. Even after it seems topped off after a couple cycles…check it the next time you have a cold engine…top off if needed.

.

LS1WS6dreamer

iTrader: (1)

Thats a good write up + I really like the idea of cleaning that plastic overflow reservoir, I am embarrassed about how dirty mine is.