LS1 Overheating at Idle - Answered.
08-23-2011, 02:05 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
LS1 Overheating at Idle - Answered. Mod: My bad, please move my thread to the appropriate forum. Thx!
So, I'd thought I'd share a quick tale for others who might be wondering the same thing. I've been troubleshooting this overheating issue with my LS1 for the past month, wasted about 4 gallons of Antifreeze just to discover the quick fix.
What was happening is the symptoms would be that I either had air locked in the block or the thermostat was failing. Well, like any typical person here, I searched and figured a $13 thermostat was worth it if that's really what it was.
Nope.
So the only way to force coolant through the block was to race the engine. Sounds fine right? Well, not good when you're at idle and you see your temps rise past 210, 225 and even go into the red zone.
Checked the hoses, both were hot. Cap was moderately hot. Hear boiling in the block and the radiator. Was constantly losing coolant, but never could find the leak. Compression test holds fine at 18psi.
Well, I recalled I replaced the radiator about eight months previous. Did all my hoses cause it's worth the $20 for peace of mind. Since then, always a little low on coolant and just figured more air pockets were forming.
The answer?
I switched the overflow hose and the TB bypass hose on the top of the rad.
Basically, what was happening as the pressure built up, it was just dumping AF into the recovery bottle and then overflowing onto the ground. Wow. Total newb error and it slipped past me for the past several months.
Switched the hose back, burped the system and topped it off. No leaks. Holds the temps steady between 195 and 210 nicely. Even in rush hour traffic when it's 115F outside and IAT temps of 140.
Just thought I'd share my experience before someone kills their motor like I almost did. (Really, I almost did, computer shut the car off as I was pulling over in the roadway.)
Just curious, any idea how this *just* creeped up as an issue? I made it eight months in AZ without any overheating.
So, I'd thought I'd share a quick tale for others who might be wondering the same thing. I've been troubleshooting this overheating issue with my LS1 for the past month, wasted about 4 gallons of Antifreeze just to discover the quick fix.
What was happening is the symptoms would be that I either had air locked in the block or the thermostat was failing. Well, like any typical person here, I searched and figured a $13 thermostat was worth it if that's really what it was.
Nope.
So the only way to force coolant through the block was to race the engine. Sounds fine right? Well, not good when you're at idle and you see your temps rise past 210, 225 and even go into the red zone.
Checked the hoses, both were hot. Cap was moderately hot. Hear boiling in the block and the radiator. Was constantly losing coolant, but never could find the leak. Compression test holds fine at 18psi.
Well, I recalled I replaced the radiator about eight months previous. Did all my hoses cause it's worth the $20 for peace of mind. Since then, always a little low on coolant and just figured more air pockets were forming.
The answer?
I switched the overflow hose and the TB bypass hose on the top of the rad.
Basically, what was happening as the pressure built up, it was just dumping AF into the recovery bottle and then overflowing onto the ground. Wow. Total newb error and it slipped past me for the past several months.
Switched the hose back, burped the system and topped it off. No leaks. Holds the temps steady between 195 and 210 nicely. Even in rush hour traffic when it's 115F outside and IAT temps of 140.
Just thought I'd share my experience before someone kills their motor like I almost did. (Really, I almost did, computer shut the car off as I was pulling over in the roadway.)
Just curious, any idea how this *just* creeped up as an issue? I made it eight months in AZ without any overheating.
Last edited by 1011011; 08-23-2011 at 02:17 AM.
