Overheating 383 LT1
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Overheating 383 LT1
I have a 96' Formula with a 383 stroker that is not tuned. I ran it pretty hard for about a year and a half then it started overheating. It overheats after it has been running about 10 minutes (idling). I have changed the water pump, put two different thermostats in, shot the radiator with a thermal gun, and bypassed the heater core but the problem still exists. I'm wondering if I have blown a head gasket because of not having a tune and running lean. Any thoughts would be appreciated as I don't have the cash to have someone else check it out. Thanks in advance.
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Is it losing water? If the head gasket is blown bad it would be smoking like a freight train. It can also hydraulic the cylinder if water gets in there and that aint good. Does it only overheat when idling or while driving down the road too? Check the fans and make sure they are coming on. When the fan motors get some age on them they tend to blow fuses because the bearings in them start to drag and pull too much current.
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Originally Posted by speedluv
Is it losing water? If the head gasket is blown bad it would be smoking like a freight train. It can also hydraulic the cylinder if water gets in there and that aint good. Does it only overheat when idling or while driving down the road too? Check the fans and make sure they are coming on. When the fan motors get some age on them they tend to blow fuses because the bearings in them start to drag and pull too much current.
*Also, the engine seems to run perfect until it overheats.
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Well the gurgling under the dash I would think would be from the heater core. These cars have bleeder valves on the cooling system, one on the heater hose and the other I think is up around the throttle body. I had a problem with no heat one winter because I forgot to bleed the air out of the system. It could be causing an air pocket in the system if you didn't bleed it and that will cause it to overheat. Did it just start doing it all the sudden?? Are you positive the fans are coming on? Feel in front of them and make sure they are blowing air.
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Originally Posted by speedluv
Well the gurgling under the dash I would think would be from the heater core. These cars have bleeder valves on the cooling system, one on the heater hose and the other I think is up around the throttle body. I had a problem with no heat one winter because I forgot to bleed the air out of the system. It could be causing an air pocket in the system if you didn't bleed it and that will cause it to overheat. Did it just start doing it all the sudden?? Are you positive the fans are coming on? Feel in front of them and make sure they are blowing air.
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I know I had to bleed mine for like 2 hours before I got all the air out. Insane I know but I would get water for a while then air then water, took a while to bleed mine but mine wasn't running hot, I just didnt have any heat. Did you check in front of the radiator for trash? Could be stopped up not letting air flow thru it, like if you ran over a plastic bag or piece of paper on the road and it hot sucked up in front of the radiator, or just dirt and leaves. Check the radiator itself, it might be stopped up internally. Running lean will make it run hot but if it's been doing fine for a year and a half then I doubt that's what it is. Are yer radiator hoses collapsing??
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Originally Posted by speedluv
I know I had to bleed mine for like 2 hours before I got all the air out. Insane I know but I would get water for a while then air then water, took a while to bleed mine but mine wasn't running hot, I just didnt have any heat. Did you check in front of the radiator for trash? Could be stopped up not letting air flow thru it, like if you ran over a plastic bag or piece of paper on the road and it hot sucked up in front of the radiator, or just dirt and leaves. Check the radiator itself, it might be stopped up internally. Running lean will make it run hot but if it's been doing fine for a year and a half then I doubt that's what it is. Are yer radiator hoses collapsing??