Knowledgeable LT1 guys help please
Knowledgeable LT1 guys help please My turbo car is to the point of getting tuned and im having problems with it getting hot. keeps climping up to 215+ within a few minutes.
To start off the car had a heavy mix of coolant and water in it from over the winter. and the car was getting hot just idling as weel as driving around.
I changed it out to distilled water and DEI radiator relief just to test out a cheap fix first. and its still getting hot, just taking a little longer to do so. also pulled the thermostat to eliminate that.
its a non filled block, stock waterpump (because of downpipe clearance issues i cant fit an EWP), has -16 braided lines for the radiator hoses, radiator is stood vertical with dual electric fans, steam line is ran from the back of the heads and tapped into the top of the thermostat housing
What could be the cause?
a. the -16 lines are too restrictive
b. the top line from the WP to top of radiator is routed up above the downpipe and actually is higher than the heads themselves
c. the waterpump is bad
To start off the car had a heavy mix of coolant and water in it from over the winter. and the car was getting hot just idling as weel as driving around.
I changed it out to distilled water and DEI radiator relief just to test out a cheap fix first. and its still getting hot, just taking a little longer to do so. also pulled the thermostat to eliminate that.
its a non filled block, stock waterpump (because of downpipe clearance issues i cant fit an EWP), has -16 braided lines for the radiator hoses, radiator is stood vertical with dual electric fans, steam line is ran from the back of the heads and tapped into the top of the thermostat housing
What could be the cause?
a. the -16 lines are too restrictive
b. the top line from the WP to top of radiator is routed up above the downpipe and actually is higher than the heads themselves
c. the waterpump is bad
What radiator are you running? I'm betting its not effecient enough for your setup! That and you have the thermostat housing hose going to the wrong inlet on the radiator. On a stock setup the thermostat hose goes to the passenger side inlet. Lt1 are reverse cooling I think that could be your issue from what I see in the pics. just my 2 cent.
edit:after looking at the pics some more the radiator is plenty big and has a large capacity, but I'm willing to put money on the those hoses being the issue. good luck either way!
edit:after looking at the pics some more the radiator is plenty big and has a large capacity, but I'm willing to put money on the those hoses being the issue. good luck either way!
Last edited by 93QWKZEE; Aug 3, 2011 at 02:09 AM.
215+ isn't hot...that's normal. Is this new behavior or has the car always run at that temp? What is the upper echelon of your temps that you see?
I don't really see a problem here. You have an aggressive turbo setup that puts off alot of heat.
I don't really see a problem here. You have an aggressive turbo setup that puts off alot of heat.
Trending Topics
Agreed 215 doesn't seem that hot, your making alot of heat near the WP and radiator! It could be a waterpump but I would first look (1st pic) into that bracket that appears to be holding your hot side of the turbo. It looks to be using the WP bolts as support which means coolant is contacting it as it passes through it. I'm gonna guess that piece of aminimum gets pretty damn hot and you passing "cooled" water over it and into the engine. Just my thoughts!
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Topdon ONE vs. Artidiag 800 BT2: Which is the Diagnostic Tablet For You?
Pouria Savadkouei
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo What radiator are you running? I'm betting its not effecient enough for your setup! That and you have the thermostat housing hose going to the wrong inlet on the radiator. On a stock setup the thermostat hose goes to the passenger side inlet. Lt1 are reverse cooling I think that could be your issue from what I see in the pics. just my 2 cent.
edit:after looking at the pics some more the radiator is plenty big and has a large capacity, but I'm willing to put money on the those hoses being the issue. good luck either way!
edit:after looking at the pics some more the radiator is plenty big and has a large capacity, but I'm willing to put money on the those hoses being the issue. good luck either way!
this is the first time the car has been ran for a period of time. it is a new build that got dropped off at the tuners last week. that is when we figured out it was getting hot. my tuner seems to think if it stayed around 200 it would be ideal. I believe he's been shutting it off when it reaches 215-218 from what i recal him saying
Agreed 215 doesn't seem that hot, your making alot of heat near the WP and radiator! It could be a waterpump but I would first look (1st pic) into that bracket that appears to be holding your hot side of the turbo. It looks to be using the WP bolts as support which means coolant is contacting it as it passes through it. I'm gonna guess that piece of aminimum gets pretty damn hot and you passing "cooled" water over it and into the engine. Just my thoughts!
That shouldn't have any effect on the cooling of the motor.
If you think that the coolant system is correct then I would pull off the water pump and have a good look at it. You already stated that you were messing with the thermostat if that isn't the problem then, it must be in the water pump.
If you think that the coolant system is correct then I would pull off the water pump and have a good look at it. You already stated that you were messing with the thermostat if that isn't the problem then, it must be in the water pump.
What fans are you running I knew a local guy who was running a vertical radiator with dual 11"spal fans on his f1 procharged 383 and they weren't pushing enough air to cool the car. he went back to stock radiator and fans and problem solved. The stock fans and radiator are pretty damn effecient.I can see you don't have enough room for that but maybe your fans aren't pushing enough air to keep the setup cool.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 333
Likes: 1
From: Arkansas
Have you tried a 195 or 160? Mine got hot with a 180 so I swapped in a 160, however on my truck that i pulled a big boat with when i had a 160 in it would not keep it cool, so i swapped in a 180 and it kept it cooler than the 160 did while pulling. Do you have A/C? Also ask an old timer what happens if you run a motor without a thermostat because your trying to keep it cooler.