My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!!!
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,581
Likes: 2
From: The Motor City
Re: My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!!! (lead foot 85 vet)
Hi guys,
PeteL: The pressure test I did was on the rad itself only - when it was out of the car. I haven't tried to do a system pressure test (although it was suggested during this discussion string). Sounds like a good idea, I just haven't had the time try it yet.
lead foot 85 vette: Only my upper rad hose has a spring in it - the lower one doesn't. I'm not sure that the lower one is supposed to though. When I bought the hoses new, the upper one came with the spring already installed, and the lower one didn't have one. If the lower one was supposed to, wouldn't it have one already installed (like the upper one did)? I'll check with the dealer on this tomorrow, but I'm getting mixed responses on this question - some people say they only have a spring in the upper, some say in the lower, some say both. I'd really like to know the truth on this. But the old lower rad hose didn't have a spring and the car has only now started giving me this problem, so I don't think it's that big a deal really.
I'm really hoping that it isn't a head gasket problem. I've only had the car for about 3 years and I wasn't planning on a job as complex as removing the cylinder heads for quite a while. Not that I mind doing the work, I just want to be sure before I start tearing things apart.
Thanks for the posts guys. Let me know if you think of anything else.
PeteL: The pressure test I did was on the rad itself only - when it was out of the car. I haven't tried to do a system pressure test (although it was suggested during this discussion string). Sounds like a good idea, I just haven't had the time try it yet.
lead foot 85 vette: Only my upper rad hose has a spring in it - the lower one doesn't. I'm not sure that the lower one is supposed to though. When I bought the hoses new, the upper one came with the spring already installed, and the lower one didn't have one. If the lower one was supposed to, wouldn't it have one already installed (like the upper one did)? I'll check with the dealer on this tomorrow, but I'm getting mixed responses on this question - some people say they only have a spring in the upper, some say in the lower, some say both. I'd really like to know the truth on this. But the old lower rad hose didn't have a spring and the car has only now started giving me this problem, so I don't think it's that big a deal really.
I'm really hoping that it isn't a head gasket problem. I've only had the car for about 3 years and I wasn't planning on a job as complex as removing the cylinder heads for quite a while. Not that I mind doing the work, I just want to be sure before I start tearing things apart.
Thanks for the posts guys. Let me know if you think of anything else.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,767
Likes: 5
From: Jacksonville Fl
Re: My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!!! (TheCorvetteKid)
Ok...An L98 will have the spring in the LOWER hose only. Your 89 is an L98The LT-1 will have the spring in the UPPER hose only. The reason is the LT-1 uses reverse coolant flow.
Ok, now, what YOU have to do is make sure the SUCTION hose from the radiator is in fact the one with the spring in it...or it will collapse and block water flow on the highway...which can directly lead to an overheated engine/cracked head/cracked block or blown head gasket. The SUCTION hose on YOUR car is the LOWER hose. If you have no spring in the lower hose...then it sounds like YOU got hosed! :(
Ok, now, what YOU have to do is make sure the SUCTION hose from the radiator is in fact the one with the spring in it...or it will collapse and block water flow on the highway...which can directly lead to an overheated engine/cracked head/cracked block or blown head gasket. The SUCTION hose on YOUR car is the LOWER hose. If you have no spring in the lower hose...then it sounds like YOU got hosed! :(
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 12,182
Likes: 1
From: Partying with the Cowboys cheerleaders in Mt. Olive, New Jersey
Re: My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!!! (BBA)
Ok...An L98 will have the spring in the LOWER hose only. Your 89 is an L98The LT-1 will have the spring in the UPPER hose only. The reason is the LT-1 uses reverse coolant flow.
Ok, now, what YOU have to do is make sure the SUCTION hose from the radiator is in fact the one with the spring in it...or it will collapse and block water flow on the highway...which can directly lead to an overheated engine/cracked head/cracked block or blown head gasket. The SUCTION hose on YOUR car is the LOWER hose. If you have no spring in the lower hose...then it sounds like YOU got hosed! :(
Ok, now, what YOU have to do is make sure the SUCTION hose from the radiator is in fact the one with the spring in it...or it will collapse and block water flow on the highway...which can directly lead to an overheated engine/cracked head/cracked block or blown head gasket. The SUCTION hose on YOUR car is the LOWER hose. If you have no spring in the lower hose...then it sounds like YOU got hosed! :(
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,581
Likes: 2
From: The Motor City
Re: My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!!! (CoolVette86)
Hi again everyone,
I visited my local dealer today, and asked about the spring in the lower rad hose. As I've come to expect, the dealer was no help - none of the illustrations on their system showed an internal spring, for either the upper or lower coolant hose. So much for buying a spring and installing it myself.
So I've asked a couple of friends at work that have C4s (one has an '84, the other an '87) if they could check their cars to see if they have springs in their lower rad hoses. I guess I'll find out tomorrow...
Don't get me wrong here, I personally think that there SHOULD be a spring in the lower hose, and an external protective braiding on the upper hose. After all, the lower hose experiences the vacuum caused by the water pump, and the upper hose sees the high pressures from the super-heated coolant. But it seems like my car (and others I've seen) have this backwards, with the spring in the upper, and the braiding on the lower. The braiding on the lower hose I can understand - it's cramped down there, and the braiding will help prevent chaffing and/or cutting of the hose. My understanding regarding the spring in the upper hose is a result of the Corvette Challenge days when some teams used to report collapsed upper rad hoses during long pit stops (a sudden change in temperature can cause this condition).
With that said though, I've had the car for about 3 years now, and this is the first time it's given me any problems. The lower rad hose that I just pulled off of the car didn't have a spring in it, and the new one that's on the car now doesn't either. If the overheating problem really is an issue of a missing lower rad hose spring, wouldn't I have seen this problem at least a couple of years ago?
I've been told of a very reputable Corvette-only shop in my area, so I think I'll go pay them a visit tomorrow after work and see what they have to say about everything. Who knows, if I like this place and the people that work there seem knowlegable, I may just have the car flat-bedded out to them and let them fix it for me. I love working on my car, but the summer is here and I'm tired of seeing all these great cars drive by while I'm thinking about the most important one (at least in my mind) sitting in my garage!
I'll let you all know what happens. Thanks again for the responses.
[Modified by TheCorvetteKid, 3:36 AM 5/29/2002]
I visited my local dealer today, and asked about the spring in the lower rad hose. As I've come to expect, the dealer was no help - none of the illustrations on their system showed an internal spring, for either the upper or lower coolant hose. So much for buying a spring and installing it myself.
So I've asked a couple of friends at work that have C4s (one has an '84, the other an '87) if they could check their cars to see if they have springs in their lower rad hoses. I guess I'll find out tomorrow...
Don't get me wrong here, I personally think that there SHOULD be a spring in the lower hose, and an external protective braiding on the upper hose. After all, the lower hose experiences the vacuum caused by the water pump, and the upper hose sees the high pressures from the super-heated coolant. But it seems like my car (and others I've seen) have this backwards, with the spring in the upper, and the braiding on the lower. The braiding on the lower hose I can understand - it's cramped down there, and the braiding will help prevent chaffing and/or cutting of the hose. My understanding regarding the spring in the upper hose is a result of the Corvette Challenge days when some teams used to report collapsed upper rad hoses during long pit stops (a sudden change in temperature can cause this condition).
With that said though, I've had the car for about 3 years now, and this is the first time it's given me any problems. The lower rad hose that I just pulled off of the car didn't have a spring in it, and the new one that's on the car now doesn't either. If the overheating problem really is an issue of a missing lower rad hose spring, wouldn't I have seen this problem at least a couple of years ago?
I've been told of a very reputable Corvette-only shop in my area, so I think I'll go pay them a visit tomorrow after work and see what they have to say about everything. Who knows, if I like this place and the people that work there seem knowlegable, I may just have the car flat-bedded out to them and let them fix it for me. I love working on my car, but the summer is here and I'm tired of seeing all these great cars drive by while I'm thinking about the most important one (at least in my mind) sitting in my garage!
I'll let you all know what happens. Thanks again for the responses.
[Modified by TheCorvetteKid, 3:36 AM 5/29/2002]
