OK i just finished flushing my coolant untill i saw clear water coming out of the bottom of the radiator. then i poured the green stuff in there untill i saw pure green coolant coming then i plugged the whole in the radiator. I am putting the coolant in the coolant black tank just below the pass side window. (radiator tank) ? so I put a gallon in then got about half a gallon of water in untill it came almost to the top of the opening. Then started the car adding more untill it hit normal temps and again kept filling untill it came towards the top. I tought the 50% coolant and 50% water levels should be 17.8 Q just like the manual says? I barely put in 2 gallons? Do I need more?

 

Your likely ok.

Once you add your 50/50 mix to the overflow tank (by bumper), and add more pure anti-freeze to the pressure tank (by windshield) over the next 2-3 heat-up/full cool-downs, you will likely hit that 9 qt quantity.

Also, be careful how long you leave the radiator-cap off -- once the engine is started, more than 2-3 minutes can allow spot-boiling due to lack of pressure.

BTW, hopefully you also changed the thermostat (always advisable, as they have about a 2-4 year life and always fail at the worst time). If an LT1 engine, be sure to use the special LT1 therermostat -- has the extra plate on the bottom.

Also, be sure to have the heater turned-on to properly burp the coolant in the heater-core.

 

If you didn't pull the knock sensors, at least half of the original coolant was left in the block.

 

well a coolant line blew and blew a tun of the stuff all over so i dont know how much i had in there to begin with. I didnt put the heater on. Can i still take the cap off and turn the heater on? I did not pull the knock sensors either. i dont know where they are. I am just wondering why the manual says 17.8 qts and i only put in maybe 2 gallons of 50/50?? but i did put in a new T-stat. thats why my line blew...

 

You would drain and extra gallon and a half or two by removing the knock sensors/block drains. I've put ~4 gallons in my car after a complete drain.

 

Do 89's have this "pressure tank"?

 

id think. its the black tank that has the shiny metal lid that isnt supposed to be opened unless its cool.....booom

 

Or, use the blower feature of a Shop Vac with a 4 to 6+ peak hp to FORCE the coolant out of the system like I do.

That way, you don't have to remove the knock sensors and it gets the coolant out of the heater core, too.

 

Since you have a 94 LT1 you have to use the bleeder screws and bleed the air out of the block.

The black tank you are referring to is called a surge tank and the overflow tank is forward of the right front tire.

 

lol thanks. hard to call these things what they should be called sometimes. thanks

 

great idea with shop vac!

 

Love this description!!! <\CoffeeSpew\>

 

 

Yoo da man! I was just about to remove my knock sensors this weekend to fully drain her...now I won't have to, Great Idea!

 

50/50 should never to refill a system after a flush. It is impossible to remove the water you used to flush. Therefore the 50/50 will be diluted.

1. Flush the system with tap water several times.

2. Flush the system with distilled or deionized water twice.

3. Drain the system as best you can.

4. This step requires you know the capacity of the system. If it is 16 quarts, add 8 quarts of full strength. Then add water as necessary.


Use 50/50 to top off between changes as necessary.

 

Gives you an idea of what you are dealing with.

 

I know cause im a half tard right. Sorry dr machanic...by the way. its all done and the car runs soo much cooler now. wont go over 187

 

Yes, you can take the cap off and turn the heater on (with the car cooled down first). The reason to turn on the heater during flushing is to assure the heater core is flushed, and after drained, during refilling, to assure no air is trapped in the heater core.

Did you really use a 50/50 anti-freeze pre-mix to refill? If so, there is a problem.

If you did flush the engine as your first post said (either with a hose or drain/fill/run?/drain/fill/run?), then you removed most of your anti-freeze.

THis means you should have added PURE anti-freeze, not a 50/50 pre-mix.

Reasoning: if whole system contains 18 quarts, and the flushing 'exchanged' all the coolant with pure water, and the last draining only took out half (9 quarts), what remained was 9 quarts of pure water. So adding a 8 quarts of 50/50 pre-mix is the equivalent of adding 4 quarts of pure anti-freeze, and 4/18 = 0.22, i.e. ONLY A 22% mix of anti-freeze -- so your risking overheating and freezing problems.

Regarding your 'all done temp of 187', congrats However, that sounds a bit cool -- which gauge are you reading (digital or analog), and what brand/temp thermostat did you use?

Regarding the 'bleeder' screws (thermostat housing and below throttle-body) --- they can be used to help drain coolant from the hoses, but doubtful they will help drain any coolant from the block. However, they should be used (protect the OPTI below) to bleed air from the system during/after refilling.

Lastly, regarding terminology (per the gm parts catalog)--

yes, the black tank by the windshield is called: "tank, rad surge" or 'tank, rad surge hi fill' (depending on year) and was introduced in 1990. I call it a 'pressure tank' to remind everyone what's inside.

And the semi-clear tank by the bumper is called: "Reservoir, rcvy" (recovery).

and the 'shiny metal lid' is called: "Cap, Rad Fil" or "Cap, Rad Surge TK" (depending on year).

 

I've done this on my boat engine's coolant system with great sucess and would love to use this on our LT1 engines -- but wonder how with all the 'ports' high on the engine.

So, to what do you 'connect' the shop-vac, to allow evacuation of all the lower sections of the block?

 

I'm gonna be pulling the throttle body off my 89 to give it a good cleaning. So, that means I'll have to drain the radiator and pop the coolant hoses off the throttle body. If I sprayed water into the coolant hoses that come off the throttle body, where is that water flushing through?