kendogg

iTrader: (2)

So, I'm starting to look into what to do about radiator hoses, and I see that my thermostat on my LM4 almost points away from the upper radiator inlet or outlet on my Volvo's radiator. I need to look at it tonight, but I'm pretty sure it points slightly towards the passengers side, and my upper inlet or outlet (don't know which it is really, or if it even matters) is on the drivers side of my radiator. Is there another thermostat cover that either points straight that would fit, or would point towards the drivers side? I'll take and post a picture when I get home from work, but wanted to post now while I was thinking about it. Thanks!!

Andy1

First, be sure which is the inlet and outlet on the motor. The thermostat is on the suction side (cold side), and the top of the water pump is the outlet (hot side). The pump outlet would route to the top of the radiator. I think this might better help you decide what you need. Yes, there are alternative thermostat housings if you indeed need one.

Andy1

46Coupe

iTrader: (5)

I found a straight one on ebay that is NOT the CSR one that uses a stock LS thermostat.

I was very impressed with it. Cost about $60 shipped.

kendogg

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I saw that when I got home from work and started scratching my head for a minute Never seen a thermostat on the lower hose before. Anywho, not sure what to do about this. I had originally just planned on running the radiator hoses to the radiator, with a T in the lower hose to go to my stock Volvo pressurized coolant bottle (with an appropriate 15PSI cap). Now that I'm looking at this, the upper hose is going to be WAY above the top of the steam vents - not so good. I really dislike the idea of venting the steam tube to the upper radiator hose, I had planned on T'ing it into the little hose that comes off the top of the radiator and attaches to the top of my coolant bottle. Not sure what to do now, any suggestions??


OUCH!! That seems expensive for a thermostat cap!

Andy1

What some guys do, is to run the steam vents to a fitting installed to the top of the water pump. It's an easy solution.

When you say coolant bottle, are you refereing to the expansion tank (bottle)? I'm not clear on what you have. Perhaps a diagram would help.

Andy1

kendogg

iTrader: (2)

I've read about that, and while it seems like a good idea - it's still just circulating air bubbles thru the cooling system, instead of venting them out, which is the idea of the whole system in the first place. The idea is to get the air bubbles (if there are infact any) OUT of the system, not just keep recirculating them thru over and over.

Here is my bottle. You can see in the one pic the small hose that comes off the top, that goes to the nipple on the top of my radiator. In the other pic, you can see the hose that comes off the bottom that feeds the cooling system. My cap on this bottle has been replaced with one thats 15 PSI to match what stock cap pressure on the Chevy's are, rather than the 22 PSI the original Volvo one was.

kendogg

iTrader: (2)

And please ignore the ghetto 0 gauge amp power wire install, that was thrown together and is getting ran THRU the car shortly.

MikeJTR

That is the right way to do it.
One thing that you might change, however, is block the small hose coming off the radiator, and then just run the steam vent tube directly to the pressurized Volvo coolant tank.

Andy1

MikeJTR,

Does the Volvo radiator have a cap? If not, then that small hose is necessary to both fill the system and vent any air trapped in the top of the radiator. JTR knows their stuff, so I was just wondering about that.

kendogg,

The prefered routing of the steam vents is into the hot side. If you run the venting into the cold side, you will essentially be bypassing the radiator thus feeding the cold side with hot coolant. Some claim this doesn't have much impact on system temps. Keep in mind that these vents don't just purge air, they also flow coolant.

Andy1

kendogg

iTrader: (2)

The Volvo radiator does NOT have a cap. The small tube at the top of the radiator shouldn't be filling the system - the larger hose at the bottom of the reservoir is what fills the system. It's such a small amount of coolant from those small hoses though, it's really insignificant. If they raise overall coolant temps by as much as 5* I'd be surprised, but I think thats ok, and more acceptable, than continuing to circulate air bubbles or pockets that don't transfer any heat at all.

Andy1

kendogg,

If that's the case, that small tube from the top of the radiator isn't used to fill the system, but rather as a vent while filling the system so you don't trap a big air pocket there (and to keep air from getting trapped there subsequently). I wouldn't disable it, if it were me. Perhaps Tee the vents into that tube close to the tank?

Andy1