New swap, Dirty coolant coming out? Also Fans issues?
12-11-2013, 10:14 AM
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New swap, Dirty coolant coming out? Also Fans issues? I recently got a 2001 LQ4/4L80E swap done in my 54 Ford and long story short it runs great. Before this was fired up I pushed it outside and hooked a garden hose to the top of the water pump outlet and flushed the system, it was pretty dirty but quickly turned clear
Upon first fire up i decided to run just straight water in the block/radiator and now that its had a few heat cycles in it I decided last night to drain it and fill it back up with good antifreeze etc.
I drained it and I'm not kidding it looked like crude oil or black coffee........ no major chunks but nasty...... So I filled it back up with water, let it heat back up and drained it again....... same thing black coffee.... so i repeated this 3 more times and its much better but still looks like brown tea, not clear like the water going in. after i was done for the night i wiped out the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket it was draining into and there was rust looking stuff..... truthfully it looked like coffee grounds actually lol. BTW, I checked the oil and its new amber color and I pressure checked the system and its good so I'm eliminating the bad head gasket idea. This engine has sat for 7 or 8 years outside under a shed so I'm guessing its just tons of rust inside?
Anyway any suggestions whats going on?
2nd part. What are the stock fans supposed to turn on at? it was 210 last night and neither of the fans were coming on so i shut it down as the 100% straight water was boiling..... any suggestions? I'm using the stock PCM and the wires coming from PCM are the Dark green wire and Dark blue wires that send grounds to turn on relays correct?
Upon first fire up i decided to run just straight water in the block/radiator and now that its had a few heat cycles in it I decided last night to drain it and fill it back up with good antifreeze etc.
I drained it and I'm not kidding it looked like crude oil or black coffee........ no major chunks but nasty...... So I filled it back up with water, let it heat back up and drained it again....... same thing black coffee.... so i repeated this 3 more times and its much better but still looks like brown tea, not clear like the water going in. after i was done for the night i wiped out the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket it was draining into and there was rust looking stuff..... truthfully it looked like coffee grounds actually lol. BTW, I checked the oil and its new amber color and I pressure checked the system and its good so I'm eliminating the bad head gasket idea. This engine has sat for 7 or 8 years outside under a shed so I'm guessing its just tons of rust inside?
Anyway any suggestions whats going on?
2nd part. What are the stock fans supposed to turn on at? it was 210 last night and neither of the fans were coming on so i shut it down as the 100% straight water was boiling..... any suggestions? I'm using the stock PCM and the wires coming from PCM are the Dark green wire and Dark blue wires that send grounds to turn on relays correct?
Last edited by Ksths2; 12-11-2013 at 10:22 AM.
12-11-2013, 11:29 AM
#2
OEM setting on Fans are high.. 227/237 or somewhere in the range..
Have you tried using any of the radiator/coolant system flush ? I have heard from a friend that he uses CLR to flush for a short period of time (?!?). .
If you can't find any leaks, I would keep flushing the system till it remains clean.
Good luck on getting the system clean.
BC
Have you tried using any of the radiator/coolant system flush ? I have heard from a friend that he uses CLR to flush for a short period of time (?!?). .
If you can't find any leaks, I would keep flushing the system till it remains clean.
Good luck on getting the system clean.
BC
12-11-2013, 12:37 PM
#3
Even straight water shouldn't have been boiling at 210° if the pressure cap is good. With a 15# cap the boiling point is around 250°. if you are heat cycling it with straight water and no pressure cap (i.e. letting air in) then you are probably the one causing the additional rust.
My guess is just a rusty old iron block. You never know what a PO did. Might have the original antifreeze with 3 cans of stop leak in it. At this point I guess i would flush it a few more times without the heat cycle then put antifreeze in it. Running straight water is not good for the pump or aluminum parts.
When you are done consider adding a tube of stop leak, something like bars aluminum. I bought a new GM crate motor (aluminum block) and was surprised to find they shipped it with a slug of stop leak in one of the water pump passages.
My guess is just a rusty old iron block. You never know what a PO did. Might have the original antifreeze with 3 cans of stop leak in it. At this point I guess i would flush it a few more times without the heat cycle then put antifreeze in it. Running straight water is not good for the pump or aluminum parts.
When you are done consider adding a tube of stop leak, something like bars aluminum. I bought a new GM crate motor (aluminum block) and was surprised to find they shipped it with a slug of stop leak in one of the water pump passages.
12-11-2013, 03:05 PM
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HOLY CRAP!! I knew the factory settings were high but damn! I remember my C5 vette it was super hot like that but dang.....well maybe they do work then lol. I need to get my buddy over here and make them turn on so we can verify the wiring is correct or let it get a hell of alot higher.
There are no leaks anywere. The cap says 18lbs, its a stock Camaro LS radiator/cap. I wondered if i was causing more rust by doing what i was doing but it was a sealed system.
I know it was boiling because i have a clear line coming out of the steam port tube on top of the heads and it was gurgling and you could see the air bubbles going through it.
Either way i agree with you guys, i'm going to add the coolant flush cleaner stuff, cycle it again, drain it then add the antifreeze etc and see how it goes i guess
There are no leaks anywere. The cap says 18lbs, its a stock Camaro LS radiator/cap. I wondered if i was causing more rust by doing what i was doing but it was a sealed system.
I know it was boiling because i have a clear line coming out of the steam port tube on top of the heads and it was gurgling and you could see the air bubbles going through it.
Either way i agree with you guys, i'm going to add the coolant flush cleaner stuff, cycle it again, drain it then add the antifreeze etc and see how it goes i guess
12-12-2013, 08:46 AM
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yep found out thats exactly what the gurggling was, and also a minor brain fart for the electric fans......I forgot to put the fuse in the fuse block, whala, they work like a champ lol
As for the dirty coolant, I bought the Camaro/Firebird radiator and fans from a very used and rolled Camaro and long story short the tanks are full of nasty crap so rather than spend more time trying to clean it out I'm just buying a new $100 one from autoparts store.
Thanks again for all the help!!
As for the dirty coolant, I bought the Camaro/Firebird radiator and fans from a very used and rolled Camaro and long story short the tanks are full of nasty crap so rather than spend more time trying to clean it out I'm just buying a new $100 one from autoparts store.
Thanks again for all the help!!