kurosen

So this is a bit embarrassing, but I don't want to take any chances of messing this up. I was told when I bought my 98 Trans Am that it still had the original coolant hoses in it, and they are starting to leak. I bought the following 2 hoses and need to know the procedure for changing them out.

Can someone identify where they are located on the LS1 and what I may need to get out of the way before replacing? (pic appreciated)

How do I drain the coolant before swapping?

What tools will I need? (the hoses seem to use channel lock type clamps)

Thanks in advance!

stilealive

No need to be embarrassed, we were all mechanically DECLINED at one point. There are no hoses anywhere on the car that are like those two hoses. The first hose you have there, the longer one, its in plain site right running across the front of the engine from just under the radiator cap and than goes underneath your air intake bellows (large air intake hose into the TB and intake) and connects to a port coming from the front of the engine. That hose can be changed in 3 minutes.

The lower hose is just that, its the hose that connects to the lower passengers side corner port on the radiator, then runs a short distance upwards and connects to the port on the water pump.

You can clearly see the longer top hose just by opening the hood, the lower hose can be seen by looking straight downward toward the ground near the radiator cap.

I recommend you DO NOT open the petcock drain valve on the bottom of the radiator to flush it as they get very briddle over time and break while turning it. If I were you I would actually replace that valve with a new one, they're like $2.00. I would just drain all your old coolant out when you disconnect the lower (shorter) radiator hose and let the coolant run out from that port. Then put a hose in the top radiator cap to run for awhile to flush the radiator.

((There's a proper way and a whole other procedure to flush the entire coolant system including all lines, engine block/heads, heater core, etc.....))

I would also recommend NOT using Dexcool to refill your radiator. But this will require a full, complete, coolant system flush to get all that crap Dexcool out of the system. You might be lucky and the last owner switched to GREEN coolant. Dexcool is just garbage. One of the many things the factory screwed up on. Literally thousands of Camaros, Vettes and Firebirds and all other LS powered vehicles have switched over to GREEN coolant. I would use the old school GREEN radiator coolant if I were you. My iron block LS runs the same temps as my aluminum block LS did when it had Dexcool in it. And the smallest little issue or leak that you have and the Dexcool turns into a disgusting sludgy mess that you will spend hours trying to clean and unclog from your cooling system. GREEN coolant is mess-free, cannot clog your system no matter what...and you will run cooler. Its a no-brainer....... And its a Chevy......originally designed to use GREEN coolant.....its basically the same V8 Chevy from the 1960's and 1970's......

But if you want to Dexcool again....have fun.

Picture below is NOT a factory stock engine bay.....but you can clearly see the silver colored TOP radiator hose. The other shorter hose is basically straight underneath it towards the bottom of the radiator.

Get yourself 4 new worm clamps to replace the factory clamps.

You should do the two hoses in 15-20 minutes....tops.

NOTE:
Make sure when you are done replacing both hoses and top off the coolant that you start it up and let it idle for a good 15 minutes to make sure you do not overheat due to an air bubble in the system (at the T-stat) causing your t-stat to NOT open all the way. It happens a lot....... Then after the engine cools down COMPLETELY open the radiator cap and top it off again.

Good luck.....

kurosen

Thank you for all the info! I'll take all the advice you gave, but have a few more questions:

How do I remove the existing stock clamps? Is it just squeezing them in with channel locks?

Could you give me model info or a link for a replacement petcock drain valve?

Any idea what size worm clamps I should buy?

Thanks again for all the help!

stilealive

Yes...just squeeze the metal tabs to release the tension....then slide it over to the hose and release it. Then you can grab the old hose and pull and twist at the same time to get it off. Don't crank up/down...side/side.....old radiator plastic can crack. Pull/twist it straight off the port..... If it doesn;t want to budge....use a razor knife to make a few cuts and you'll just have to peel it off little by little. Then take some regular sandpaper and quickly hit the outside of the port and clean it real good so its smooth.

Just bring one of the hoses with you and get 4 clamps that fit the hose perfectly.

Petcock drain valve. But you should be able to get it at the local auto parts store.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...n+petcock,2176

stilealive

I also recommend a new radiator cap......they can last for decades.....but some don't.......its a cheap preventative part.

stilealive

If there still is Dexcool in your system.......let us know how dirty or sludgy it might be. You may need to flush your entire system very good before filling it back up with new coolant. Dexcool literally destroys cooling systems and all of its parts. Probably by design from the factory.

If someone did you the favor of switching to the GREEN coolant....then you are all good and all you need to do is a swap the new hoses on and refill with coolant/water.....50/50. I say 50/50 because there will be a LOT of coolant left in the rest of your coolant system to do its job. Actually.....just refilling the radiator with all water is probably fine.

If you live in a very cold winter location, then you should do the 50/50 refill to top it off.

And regular garden hose water is all you need, you don't need to clown around with distilled water, thats a joke. There's not a dealership, quicky oil change place or mechanic shop in the USA that uses distilled water in customers cars.

Only time I wouldn't use garden hose water is if your town has a known water problem of some sort.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Nothing about the above statement is true at all. This engine (LS1) was not originally designed to use green coolant, nor is it basically the same V8 from the '60s and '70s. Just plain false stuff posted there.

FWIW, my 1998 Z28 has had nothing but Dexcool for 22 years. No leaks, no clogs or sludge, no problems at all. In fact, I haven't had to change a single cooling system component yet (other than the radiator cap, and that was only for cosmetic reasons). This is no miracle, I just keep the coolant changed on a proper interval. You won't have Dexcool issues with an LS1 engine as long as you maintain the system properly in all respects - that is my experience after 22 years and 4 LS1 engines all using Dexcool. You can certainly switch to green if you like, but that's not an extended life coolant so you'll have to change it even more often.

stilealive

I said they are basically the same engines....which is true. It’s a hunk of metal and rubber hoses. Nothing has changed from the 1960’s regarding what the coolant touches....lol

They just tried to make a long lasting coolant and failed with Dexcool because it’s complete crap and trashes the entire cooling system if anything goes wrong with it at all and air gets in...which happens a lot.

You’re an Admin.....how many threads have we seen for many years from people asking why they’re coolant looks and feels like MUD and they have cooling issues. They got screwed by their Dexcool......

Green coolant cannot cause a single problem at all to any engine ever built by any manufacturer...period. Aluminum or iron. It’s cleaner to work with. It keeps the entire cooling system clean like new and with my three LS engines over 23 yrs definitely cooler temps.

That was the takeaway....but you missed it.

I never had issues with Dex until I had a tiny leak and couldn’t find the problem back in 2001....with my 1998 Trans Am. The Dexcool was slowly turning into the **** mud we see so many times happen to people. It’s crap.....compared to Green coolant.

And you’re wrong....it doesn’t need to be changed often. Mine has been in there 5 years now and it’s sparkling clean.....and the inside of the radiator is shiny new......UNLIKE yours with the nasty brown Dexcool. I like to see through my coolant....

You don’t have to change Green fluid often......talk about mis-information.

OP can use whatever he’d like. I’m just telling him Dexcool will destroy the entire cooling system if there’s any hint of a problem and he will have serious flushing job to deal with.......GREEN WILL NOT.
FACT.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

That's still not true, some things that the coolant touches actually have changed since the '60s such as various component materials and gasket compositions (e.g. radiators and heater cores used to be copper/brass and are now aluminum, etc.). It's not really true to say that "nothing has changed" since that era.

No, they got screwed by a poorly maintained cooling system. Dex-mud/sludge doesn't happen in this application when you maintain the system properly. I can say this from personal experience with several LS1s as well as other engines over the last 2+ decades.

Nope, no misinformation here. The old fashioned green antifreeze that you love so much is an IAT type. They have always recommended a more frequent change interval for this antifreeze - it is not an extended life/OAT type (most supplier/manufacturer recommended change intervals for the IAT type are between 2-3 years and 30-50k miles). Now, there have been some companies that have made a green colored antifreeze that is actually an extended life type and indicated for use up to 5 years/150k miles, but that stuff is the same OAT composition as Dexcool (just a different color). The recommended change interval for any traditional "green" IAT type antifreeze has never been in the "long/extended life" range. Period. But you don't have to believe me, all this information is readily available if you care to research it.

If you think that old style green antifreeze can't ever cause problems no matter how you treat it, then you have VERY limited experience with older vehicles. I've owned enough dinosaur cars that came with green (and always had green) over the decades to see what happens to water pumps, radiators, heater cores, overflow bottles, etc., when old green IAT antifreeze is neglected. There is still corrosion, leaks, etc.; it's not some sort of miracle fluid, it still requires system maintenance.

And the Dexcool in my '98 isn't brown at all. It has always stayed a nice orange/pink color because I maintain the system properly. 22 years later, everything works great and there is no sludge/sand/mud.

No, I just disagree with your takeaway about Dexcool being the devil.

But the point of my post is that you made some incorrect assertions. When you make the statement:

...the reasonable assumption is that it came from the factory this way at some point. But that is not the case here. The LS1 was released for service in the 1997 model year, and Dexcool standardization was in the 1996 model year. No LS1 or other Gen III SBC V8 ever came from the factory with green antifreeze, and the claim that it was originally designed to use green coolant is false and could be misleading to some folks who are just learning their way through vehicle maintenance on cars of this era. This distinction might not be important to you, but we should keep the facts straight for folks like the OP who are just learning.

kurosen

Hi everyone, thanks for all the info. I have a quick update. It seems the leak may actually be coming from the pump itself. I actually have a new AC Delco pump and a new thermostat, but have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to installing it. Could anyone guide me or give me a walkthrough video? Also, can anyone recommend a reliable shop near Eatontown, NJ or Brooklyn, NY that I could take it to if I prefer just having someone else handle it for me?

stilealive

See, you have the type of failure that has nothing to do with "Maintaining the system properly".....as "RPM WS6" is talking about. Leaks and failures of parts are exactly what cause this Dexcool garbage to then destroy the entire system, then you have MUD to flush for hours and possibly have to replace parts.

There's nothing anyone can do about a water pump failure that only shows itself AFTER you have shut the engine down and walked into your house for the night. When a water pump starts to leak through the weep hole its extremely hard to detect for awhile. But every time you run the engine and then shut it down to cool....it pisses a lot of coolant OUT.....and as it cools it sucks air IN.......
Bam....now you could be screwed. And you won't know it for many days, sometimes weeks with a tiny slow leak like a weep hole drip. GREEN coolant will not destroy your cooling system if that happens, you just get low and have to refill it.

Now to your fix:
A water pump is actually quite easy, after you have watched, helped or done it once yourself. Its a one hour job if you've done it before. But its not so easy your first go at it, especially if you're unfamiliar with the LS1. Best thing to do is watch a youtube video. I would think a shop would charge 2 hours labor maybe.....

As far as the coolant, let us know whats in there and what it looks like. You might be lucky and if it is Dexcool it hasn't turned to mud yet. If it did, you're in for a LOT of flushing hours, depending on how clean you want to get it. If its not mud yet, then you can just drain the radiator and refill it when you're done with the hoses. If its GREEN coolant, you're all good to go no matter what and you will just refill it after the hoses/water pump are replaced.

stilealive

Can you tell me which parts GM says are not compatible with GREEN coolant? I have yet to come across any writes ups or articles saying that.

I'm at 5 years with GREEN......the coolant looks new. There are no parts in modern LS engines that are not compatible with GREEN or any other coolant that I know of.

And again.....all I was getting at was that Dexcool is the coolant that will totally screw an entire cooling system with MUD if there's any hint of a problem where air gets in.
You have no choice but to agree.

I was also saying that with GREEN coolant......that terrible MUD issue cannot happen.
You have no choice but to agree with that also.

Yes....I assume GREEN can get dirty, over an incredibly LONG time, although I've never seen that happen with any 98+ Fbody or Vette that has switched to GREEN in 23 years. But to get dirty, as you say, it has to be because of a problem that has not been addressed.

Perfectly maintained systems are one thing.......when parts fail and we have issues is another.....like a leaky water pump or hose that we will not about till we overheat from a lot of air having gotten into the system over time.......Dexcool is the devil when that happens. And there are hundreds of members that have been screwed that way by Dexcool and they thought their system was being properly maintained. There's not a single member that has gotten screwed that way by having GREEN coolant. It doesn't turn to MUD, it only runs low.

kurosen

@stilealive I actually spoke to the previous owner - he told me it's the regular red coolant from Autozone, but NOT Dexcool. He warned me to stay far away from Dexcool as well. I don't know much about the generic autozone red coolant, but do you think I'll have a mud problem with that?

Also, I haven't done enough on my LS1 and don't have any experience replacing the pump. If you could link me to a good video, I'd appreciate it. If anyone could recommend a reliable shop to do it for me around Eatontown, NJ or Brooklyn, NY I'd appreciate that too.

stilealive

kurosen,

Here's a plain and simple one....GTO.....but its all the same job. Don't do what he did by leaving the belt sit there and get coolant all over it, take it off and out first...LOL...not sure why he did that.

Here's what Dexcool does to a perfectly maintained cooling system.....all cars have this. There's not a single radiator and entire cooling system after using Dexcool that does not have a dirty film left everywhere throughout the system. What proves that is in this video....it took him weeks to flush all the old Dexcool out. Watch till the end.
With GREEN coolant, if you drain your radiator there is absolutely nothing left behind, the radiator is like new. No film or dirt left anywhere in the system like this guy in the video shows you is left behind. Thats how I like mine. Some people don't mind that film that Dexcool leaves everywhere.

stilealive

How Dexcool destroyed 10's of thousands of engines through 2008 and GM had to settle thousands of claims. He explains how when a little bit of air gets in Dexcool turns into ACID.....and kills gaskets and seals. A complete failure of a product.

So when a leak occurs or a water pump seal fails.....bam....Dexcool starts to turn to acid and it damages gaskets and seals throughout the engine.



This video explains how Dexcool.....as "RPM WS6" mentioned must be a PERFECTLY MAINTAINED system or you will be in trouble. So any failure, like the water pump leaking, or any other leak of any kind like a bad radiator cap......and you can be in for major money in repairs.

All I am saying.....GREEN eliminates ALL possibilities of ALL of the Dexcool issues that can happen. Why risk it...? But each person is free to do so. And if you do a complete flush every 2 years of the GREEN, which is absolutely not needed, its $10.00 and 15 minutes of your time. All to possibly save big money in repairs.

stilealive

kurosen,

Can you take a picture for us of inside your radiator looking down through the radiator fill neck? Also a picture of the underside of the radiator cap itself......

Lets see if you're lucky......or in trouble.

stilealive

oops....I missed this post. If the last owner switched to a different coolant than you’re probably in luck as far as the Dexcool MUD issue.

But let’s see.....remove your radiator cap and look down into the radiator. It should literally be a shiny polished looking metal interior. Underside of your radiator cap and the rubber seal should be spotless and 100% smooth and clean.


Also, pull your overflow tank cap off and check the long plastic strip , it should also be spotless with no crap or junk attached to it.

Let is now. Take pics if you see any junk anywhere.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The thing to understand about Dexcool is that it's just GM's "brand name" (or approved formulation) for an extended life OAT type antifreeze. OAT antifreeze also comes in other colors and under different brands, so if you feel there is an inherent problem with Dexcool then keep in mind that similar concerns would also apply to various other extended life OAT antifreeze of potentially different colors and/or brand names.

When you have some time, you might find it interesting to do some reading on the differences between the various antifreeze types currently on the market (such as IAT, OAT, HOAT). Again, color isn't everything - sometimes a green color can still be an OAT just like Dexcool.

There are some advantages to OAT type antifreeze like Dexcool, such as the longer service interval/extended corrosion protection. The thing about IAT antifreeze (conventional/old style green) is that they simply don't protect for the same duration as OAT types. It's not a matter of mud, but corrosion and system damage can occur when IAT antifreeze is allowed to remain in the system well past its service life. A particularity telling example was a friend's '86 Regal Limited; I started working on this car for him back in '99 so it was 13 years old at the time but only had ~17k miles. At that age/low mileage, nothing in the cooling system should have been worn out, but the factory original green antifreeze was still in the system and the heater core had turned to mush. That was a premature failure in a system that rarely saw any use and never saw anything but traditional green antifreeze (which was left in the system for 13 years - much too long, even though the car was rarely driven). On the other hand, I still occasionally encounter LS1 F-bodies with super low mileage (<10k) that have NEVER had a coolant change - still assembly line original Dexcool after ~20 years - and no leaks or mud or components turned to mush (though the coolant color is usually brown at that point). It seems that OAT type antifreeze (such as Dexcool) is more forgiving when allowed to remain in the system for periods well past its advertised service life when the engine is rarely operated. This might not apply or even matter to you, but it's an example of something that Dex/OAT antifreeze does seem to do better. If you want to use IAT green, I wouldn't recommend leaving it in for longer than 2-3 years as a regular practice. You might be able to get away with going longer, but understand that it wasn't designed to last as long as an OAT type. Again, all of this information is readily available if you really want to spend the time to research antifreeze composition/specification.

I do agree that OAT antifreeze (including Dexcool) doesn't do well in situations where the system is allowed to run low (meaning significant air introduction) for a period of time. But, to me, keeping abreast of leaks is just part of proper cooling system maintenance. I've owned many Dexcool equipped cars, and a couple of them have in fact developed water pump leaks in their old age/high mileage as you have outlined above. Maybe I just tend to check the various fluid levels on my cars more often than some, but I've never let it get to the point that any mud has developed nor any additional damage occurred.

I have read claims that, for a time, GM was using stop-leak pellets in the cooling system of all Dexcool equipped cars on the assembly line. I don't personally know if there is truth to this claim as I have never seen any official GM documents confirming such, but the theory is that there was an adverse reaction between these pellets and the Dexcool over time, leading to such things as the "film" (and possibly other issues) you've mentioned above (not sure if this was mentioned in the videos you posted above, they aren't loading properly for me).

stilealive

Strange, they're just straight off Youtube.