over heating problem
ive had a huge problem with my cooling system since ive bought my car, first it was the water pump, i changed that and the thermostat since i was already working in the area. now my car has a milky looking substance in the coolant, and im over heating again... i went to Autozone and had the codes ran, and came back with a ect sensor and i changed that... still over heating...

i have no pressure in my radiator when its hot and i take off the cap...
any ideas on what i should try next??
or any input at all would be greatly appreciated..
and my power steering coolant keeps getting low...
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you need a working cap that will hold pressure to at least 12-14 psi, I think the oem cap is 18psi, a replacement cap should be 15, 16, or 18 psi which is fine.
The other problem with a bad cap not holding pressure is coolant will belch into the overflow tank but not get sucked back when the system cools. The radiator cap is dual purpose, holds pressure but also allows coolant to flow back to the radiator from the overflow tank under vacuum when system cools. With a bad cap or a non functioning overflow tank you'll have air in the system which is bad and can be a cause of overheat.
not saying this is your whole problem, the milky substance in the coolant is not a good sign.
What you may try doing is pressurizing the cooling system and see if it holds pressure, that can help diagnose a bad head gasket or power steering cooler, you'll need an adapter to take the place of the radiator cap and around 15psi of air pressure.
If your power steering fluid is low all the time, you probably have a factory power steering cooler leaking fluid into the coolant system when its cold. Look at the picture below....do you have that metal pipe in your upper rubber radiator hose. If you do....you must NOT replace it, you MUST remove it. Replace it with a complete upper radiator hose. Then add an aftermarket cooler. There's a thread in this section that has all the info you need.
Factory coolers are one of the worst designs GM has ever come up with.
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No reason to replace the radiator either, unless its leaking. Just flush the hell out of the cooling system with a gallon of Formula 88 also. Itll clean that thing out like new.
But if you do....DO NOT get an LS1 radiator, get an LT1 radiator. Installs 100% the same, you just need to cap off an extra port. It cools better than the LS1 does.
Look at the pic below, you see how I capped that port off and you see my aftermarket power steering fluid cooler.
I used a plastic valve on my extra port so I can use it as a great coolant fluid drain when I do a flush. The factory petcock drain is terribly slow.
If you did have a PS fluid leak....you will need to do a serious flush....not just a normal flush. That **** stays in the block and swirls around and does not flow through the entire system.....it takes allot to get it all out.
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Last edited by LS6427; Apr 30, 2011 at 12:19 AM.
and if i do go with a LT1 radiator... what year should i go with, or does it not really matter??
i love my car but im 1 step away from blowing it up lol... (not really) lol
and if i do go with a LT1 radiator... what year should i go with, or does it not really matter??
i love my car but im 1 step away from blowing it up lol... (not really) lol
But you're still overheating...........take the t-stat out and go for a highway drive, see if you overheat. If you run fine, you need a new t-stat.
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http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/br...C-K-Truck.HTML
thats what it looks like...
http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/br...C-K-Truck.HTML
thats what it looks like...
Push it in/downward and turn it, the little tabs will come out from those two wings. Then just bolt the housing back up.
edit: sj beat me to it.......
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