Coolant flush issues
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Coolant flush issues Hey guys I have 98 Camaro SS v8 and I decided to flush the coolant. I used one of the diy guides on this forum. I flushed the whole system numerous times. I replaced the thermostat as well. Now my issue is that my radiator is full of coolant and it isn't moving when I start the car. I waited about ten mins and my temp read 210 degrees and my thermostat is a 187 degree thermostat so my guess is it isn't opening. The coolant starts to boil in the radiator and over flows. The only thing I could think I'm doing wrong is having filled my reservoir when the intstruction said to do it at the end, but I dont understand how that would cause a problem. Either I'm going to empty the reservoir tomorrow and try it again. What else do you guys think it could be?
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Ya it seems like it's not moving. I read that I was suppose to fill the radiator up to the neck start the car and wait until the thermostat opens and takes in some coolant and I would know it opened up because coolant in the radiator would go down well that didn't happen for me. The coolant in the radiator never went down it just started over flowing and was really hot. My temp gauge was reading 210 (read the 98 Camaro temp gauges were accurate) and my thermostat is a 187 degree thermostat. I'm wondering if it could be air bubbles, but I don't want to run the car longer then 10 minutes cause it might overheat. How would I go about checking the water pump to see if it is working? The water pump isn't leaking though.
You can measure the temperature of the inlet and outlet hoses of the radiator to help determine if the thermostat is opening properly. Always a good idea to have your heat on while doing this to circulate through the heater core as well.
Make sure you arent using to much water.
Make sure you arent using to much water.
Ya it seems like it's not moving. I read that I was suppose to fill the radiator up to the neck start the car and wait until the thermostat opens and takes in some coolant and I would know it opened up because coolant in the radiator would go down well that didn't happen for me. The coolant in the radiator never went down it just started over flowing and was really hot. My temp gauge was reading 210 (read the 98 Camaro temp gauges were accurate) and my thermostat is a 187 degree thermostat. I'm wondering if it could be air bubbles, but I don't want to run the car longer then 10 minutes cause it might overheat. How would I go about checking the water pump to see if it is working? The water pump isn't leaking though.
before refilling did you unhook the top right coolant steam hose from the block?
just to the right of the tb?
then slowly fill until coolant comes out there. rehook it up and keep filling
then before you start the car have the heater full blast on the top and bottom option not defrost
then start the car and squeeze upper and lower hose about 20 times each
keep checking gauges.. my 98 z28 hardly ever gets past 185 on the dash
stop and go traffic it will hit halfway between 185 and 210 sometimes
one time i had a stubborn air bubble
it got up to 210 so i reved it to 4-4.5k the pressure will force any air bubble through(make sure rad cap is on) otherwise coolant will go everywhere
Last edited by Uziguy18; Jun 5, 2015 at 03:15 PM.
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Thread Starter
On The Tree
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before refilling did you unhook the top right coolant steam hose from the block?
just to the right of the tb?
then slowly fill until coolant comes out there. rehook it up and keep filling
then before you start the car have the heater full blast on the top and bottom option not defrost
then start the car and squeeze upper and lower hose about 20 times each
keep checking gauges.. my 98 z28 hardly ever gets past 185 on the dash
stop and go traffic it will hit halfway between 185 and 210 sometimes
one time i had a stubborn air bubble
it got up to 210 so i reved it to 4-4.5k the pressure will force any air bubble through(make sure rad cap is on) otherwise coolant will go everywhere
just to the right of the tb?
then slowly fill until coolant comes out there. rehook it up and keep filling
then before you start the car have the heater full blast on the top and bottom option not defrost
then start the car and squeeze upper and lower hose about 20 times each
keep checking gauges.. my 98 z28 hardly ever gets past 185 on the dash
stop and go traffic it will hit halfway between 185 and 210 sometimes
one time i had a stubborn air bubble
it got up to 210 so i reved it to 4-4.5k the pressure will force any air bubble through(make sure rad cap is on) otherwise coolant will go everywhere
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On The Tree
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Ok I don't think your talking about the coolant crossover pipe, but I didn't do this step. Any chance you can get me a pic of the hose your talking about?
theres a hose under rad cap running to left of tb, then from right of tb to block
or if you have done the tb bypass the hose runs from under rad cap to the block on the right side of your tb..
ill see if my phone has any pics
and can only be done when filling it up from empty,, and has to go slowly,, takes forever to fill the rad that way but it works
That hose under the air intake tube. That's when I first bypassed it and it has the the barbed fitting in the middle with 2 clamps on it. Since then I have ran 1 single hose from rad to the point because I didn't like that clamps being so close to something that spins while engine is on.<br/><br/>Where the hose connects on the right side is where you need to disconnect while filling rad. Only do TB bypass if you live where it doesn't snow a lot.
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OK cool so now I fully drain the radiator again and then unplug that hose in the pic and fill the radiator up slowly until fluid comes out of that hose and then plug the hose back and start the car correct?
start it with heater on
squeeze the hoses and see if it heats up and the coolant drops
or if its getting hot and not opening still rev it to 4-4500rpm
and see if temps drop while driving
that way you arent wasting 30$ of dexcool to drain and refill if air in the system isnt your issue
as long as you arent running the car over 210 you wont hurt anything
also could be the sensor sending wrong temp to your temp gauge
if you can place your hand on your ls1 intake then it isnt running hot
if you place your hand and cant leave it then you have an issue
air in system
bad waterpump
bad tstat
have any leaks? or disappearing coolant?
when i first got my car the coolant wouldnt ever drop after i did my first flush
i then put in a new bigger rad,, in my sig
tstat opened and coolant dropped
then i got another leak(was a rubber seal on the new rad,, on bottom left driverside has another hole incase you put it in a lt1) so i swapped out that crappy rubber piece for a quality rubber cap
then filled and tstat wouldnt open,, only overfill like yours but mine would overflow before 185
so figured it must be my tstat
so i just replaced upper and lower hoses
tstat and tstat housing
and all seems well(other then not tightening the lower hose all the way and it coming off at a gas station 15mins before i had to be at work
)
i then put in a new bigger rad,, in my sig
tstat opened and coolant dropped
then i got another leak(was a rubber seal on the new rad,, on bottom left driverside has another hole incase you put it in a lt1) so i swapped out that crappy rubber piece for a quality rubber cap
then filled and tstat wouldnt open,, only overfill like yours but mine would overflow before 185
so figured it must be my tstat
so i just replaced upper and lower hoses
tstat and tstat housing
and all seems well(other then not tightening the lower hose all the way and it coming off at a gas station 15mins before i had to be at work
) Thread Starter
On The Tree
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Ok so I tried it your way and I believe it worked coolant went down a bit in the radiator and i filled it up. Had the car running for about 20 mins and revved it a good amount of time as well. it mostly stayed at 208-209 degrees and went down time to time. Never went passed 210. Only thing now it says coolant is low even though I maxed out the reservoir. I am going to open up the radiator tomorrow and fill it up and if the low coolant light is still on. Also the car makes whinning noise now, that it didn't make before I figured it was a belt, but my friend thinks its the water pump. If the water pump was going bad would it make noise?
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Ok so I tried the method Uziguy18 posted and I believe it worked. Coolant went down a bit time to time in radiator and I filled it up. the temp never passed 208-209. I revved it a couple times as well. Now I filled up the radiator and the reservoir, but my low coolant light is on. I am going to try to fill up the radiator again tomorrow and see what it says. Also my car makes weird noise it didn't make before. Sounds like a belt to me, but my friend said it could be the water pump. Its like screeching noise. Does water pump make noise when its going bad?
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From: Connecticut SE shore
For the "low coolant" light you'll have to drain a small amount of fluid to uncover that level probe located a few inches under the radiator cap. Clean it up good with light grit sand paper, steel wool, etc. If that doesn't work then a new one will run $40-$60. Many just disconnect the probe and don't worry about it as the last couple years of the LS-1 don't even have this probe. Cleaned the probe on my '99 a couple years ago and no recurrences since. Be careful with that delicate square spring clamp as they are easy to bend out of shape or lose tension on. That clamp is the hardest part of the job, especially getting it back on tight.
Ok so I tried the method Uziguy18 posted and I believe it worked. Coolant went down a bit time to time in radiator and I filled it up. the temp never passed 208-209. I revved it a couple times as well. Now I filled up the radiator and the reservoir, but my low coolant light is on. I am going to try to fill up the radiator again tomorrow and see what it says. Also my car makes weird noise it didn't make before. Sounds like a belt to me, but my friend said it could be the water pump. Its like screeching noise. Does water pump make noise when its going bad?
same part number as autozone
and belt would squeak if coolant got on anything
mine did for 5 mins then went away
make sure all pulleys are spinning thats suppose to
like my picture showing you what hose to unhook.. that giant black one under the hose is for the water pump and spins
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Engine-Coolant-Level-Sensor-for-BUICK-CHEVROLET-OLDSMOBILE-PONTIAC-10096163-/321574511319?fits=Model%3ACamaro%7CSubmodel%3AZ28&hash=item4adf55a2d7&vxp=mtr
united states seller
free shipping
5.74
or here
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...p2045573.m1684
also cheap maintenance
the sensor that tells your gauge in the car how hot the coolant is in the engine
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...fLoc=1&_sop=15
Last edited by Uziguy18; Jun 6, 2015 at 03:38 PM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
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Thanks guys got the coolant all squared away. Stays around 180 when driving and sometimes goes up to 208 at a stop. I'm thinking that's normal right? It hasn't gone over 208 and I had lead foot on it a couple of times. Now to read up on and fix my gas gauge, AC, and turn signals which mysteriously stopped working yesterday. Anyways once again thanks guys.