LT1 Coolant Bleeding...
LT1 Coolant Bleeding... So this time last year when i did my Opti, water pump, plugs, wires i filled up with dexcool/water, put in my new thermostat, sealed everything up, fired it up and began to bleed the air out. Theres the 2 bleeder screws, i had both open and kept going back and forth checking the bleeders and the temp gauge inside with the heater on. It kept overheating so i shut it down to cool and tried it again
repeat
repeat
etc
Same results each time, it kept getting hot and there was a good amount of coolant spilling out the bleed screws each time. I also did not get hot air blowing out from the vents, just cool to room temp and back and forth... a couple of seconds of heat here and there though. I had the front of the car up in the air while i did this which should make the air pockets easier to escape
So i went and opened the elbow on the top of the water pump, removed the thermostat and sealed it all back up again, and the air now bled out fine and no overheating. Now thinking that was the problem, i went and heated up a pot of water on the stove and set the t-stat in there, and it did open up around 180deg and closed again when the water cooled, so that tells me the t-stat works fine....
I want to put the t-stat back in there and bleed it correctly, any of yous had a similar experience? any tips & tricks on bleeding these LT1s?
Also, is a 160 worth it or should i stick with the 180? I drive the car mainly in the warm weather but also in the cold too on late fall/early spring nights for example. Without the t-stat at all, its been running a tick above 160 on the highway on a ~40 degree night. So this tells me a 160 t-stat would run open 95% of the time then? I want it to warm up to operating temp and stay there, give or take. On the contrary it actually ran a little hot last summer without the t-stat in stop & go driving
repeat
repeat
etc
Same results each time, it kept getting hot and there was a good amount of coolant spilling out the bleed screws each time. I also did not get hot air blowing out from the vents, just cool to room temp and back and forth... a couple of seconds of heat here and there though. I had the front of the car up in the air while i did this which should make the air pockets easier to escape
So i went and opened the elbow on the top of the water pump, removed the thermostat and sealed it all back up again, and the air now bled out fine and no overheating. Now thinking that was the problem, i went and heated up a pot of water on the stove and set the t-stat in there, and it did open up around 180deg and closed again when the water cooled, so that tells me the t-stat works fine....
I want to put the t-stat back in there and bleed it correctly, any of yous had a similar experience? any tips & tricks on bleeding these LT1s?
Also, is a 160 worth it or should i stick with the 180? I drive the car mainly in the warm weather but also in the cold too on late fall/early spring nights for example. Without the t-stat at all, its been running a tick above 160 on the highway on a ~40 degree night. So this tells me a 160 t-stat would run open 95% of the time then? I want it to warm up to operating temp and stay there, give or take. On the contrary it actually ran a little hot last summer without the t-stat in stop & go driving
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,145
Likes: 61
From: Little Rock, AR
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#radflush
Just replaced a radiator hose yesterday. After having fully drained the radiator, filled it back up with the bleeders open (like you are supposed to) and had absolutely no problem at all.
As far as your heater goes, the core might be clogged.
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#heaterflush
Just replaced a radiator hose yesterday. After having fully drained the radiator, filled it back up with the bleeders open (like you are supposed to) and had absolutely no problem at all.
As far as your heater goes, the core might be clogged.
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#heaterflush
