over heating issues.....?????????
over heating issues.....????????? so for a while now my LT1 has been causing me some issues with overheating. i run a 160* stat and have the fans tuned to come on sooner. Typically the car runs around 160 to 170ish on the guage. well lately its started giving me problems. when i drive it the car heats up to normal operating temps until i make a short stop where i turn the car off for a few moments. after making a short stop, once i restart it the engine will just start heating up rapidly until it is overheating and pushing coolant out of the overflow tank lid. does anyone have any idea what causes this? i just put a brand new thermostat in it and a brand new radiator cap too. any help will be greatly appreciated!
TECH Apprentice
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 333
Likes: 1
From: Arkansas
the boiling over sounds like you've got water in and not 50/50 antifreeze. I used to have that happen to me in my old 235 straight 6. Also did you get your t-stat from a autozone type parts place? their known for giving out sbc thermostats which won't do right with lt1's. I bet it's water.
its not the mix. ive run even closer to 60% coolant with 40% water and have the same issue. fans seem to be coming on as well. also the thermostat was a hypertech that i ordered from summit. both the old one and the new. this might be a crazy question, but i just came from GA with an elevation of like 300ft to el paso, tx with an elevation of like 4000ft above sea level. do higher elevations require a different pressure venting cap for the radiator? maybe im just over thinking it but it did cross my mind so thought id ask.
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Make sure your overflow tank and steam pipe hoses aren't reversed! Look on the neck of the radiator. Steam pipe running to back of engine should be on BOTTOM.
Overflow tank hose on TOP.
Overflow tank hose on TOP.
the boiling over sounds like you've got water in and not 50/50 antifreeze. I used to have that happen to me in my old 235 straight 6. Also did you get your t-stat from a autozone type parts place? their known for giving out sbc thermostats which won't do right with lt1's. I bet it's water.
Straight water cools much better than antifreeze. just replaced radiator cap when it started doing all this and didnt make any difference what so ever. also both hoses are exactly where they need to be. they have also not been removed since ive owned the car (about 4.5 years now), and it just started doing this the past couple months.
Take the cap off and see if it is circulating from the steam pipe consistently. If its not you probably have air in the system. If bleeding the system doesn't correct it and your positive the water pump is sound (impeller not slipping on the shaft, etc) them you need to see if the system will hold consistent pressure. Get a pressure tester.
If it fails the pressure test then you need to pinpoint the source which will likely be a head gasket. You can check for the presence of coolant in the oil and for the presence of combustion gas in the coolant to verify.
If it fails the pressure test then you need to pinpoint the source which will likely be a head gasket. You can check for the presence of coolant in the oil and for the presence of combustion gas in the coolant to verify.
i know its probably going to sound like im just dismissing your ideas, but ive already checked for a possible blown head gasket. also when ive had the cap off with the engine running the steam pipe is still pushing coolant back into the radiator. tomorrow im going to flush the coolant system and make sure there isnt any debree in anything that might be clogging things up. im out of ideas on how to fix this problem.
pulled and inspected my spark plugs. checked my oil for coolant, and even sniffed the exhaust to check for that wonderful sweet smell of coolant. not getting any signs of a blown gasket at al.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 333
Likes: 1
From: Arkansas
Yes, but we don't all run anti-freeze for better cooling, we put it in because it does not boil at 212, and does not freeze at 32. If your vehicle is running a little hot, and you have straight water in it it will boil over every time you turn off the engine if it reaches 212 or so. Thats usually when a engine gets the hottest, right after you turn it off and the fans are not removing heat from the radiator, I learned that the hard way. 