Overheat solution
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Overheat solution
The thermostat on the right is my old thermostat. The one on the left is new and was installed along with a new water pump and a new high capacity radiator. Car ran hotter with new thermostat. Obviously, some parts are not as good as others. My bad for not catching this before I installed it. I must apologize, however. I am not sure of the brand or where I got it, but if you are going to replace your thermostat, ya might wanna watch out for this...
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,842
Likes: 230
From: SANTA CRUZ CA
Tell us a little more......... assuming you are running an LT1 engine:
Is the tstat the correct one for the LT1? The LT1 tstat is specific to that engine, not just the pressure rating.
When refilling the coolant, did you add more when the tstat opened, or was the block filled through the tstat port?
The LT1 is self bleeding..... just leave the surge tank cap off, idle the engine, add more coolant when the coolant level drops when the engine reaches operating temp (tstat opens).
You will find that most tstats are made by STANT, and boxed in various names, including ACDelco.
Is the tstat the correct one for the LT1? The LT1 tstat is specific to that engine, not just the pressure rating.
When refilling the coolant, did you add more when the tstat opened, or was the block filled through the tstat port?
The LT1 is self bleeding..... just leave the surge tank cap off, idle the engine, add more coolant when the coolant level drops when the engine reaches operating temp (tstat opens).
You will find that most tstats are made by STANT, and boxed in various names, including ACDelco.
Last edited by don hall; Jun 11, 2013 at 12:03 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Tell us a little more......... assuming you are running an LT1 engine:
Is the tstat the correct one for the LT1? The LT1 tstat is specific to that engine, not just the pressure rating.
When refilling the coolant, did you add more when the tstat opened, or was the block filled through the tstat port?
The LT1 is self bleeding..... just leave the surge tank cap off, idle the engine, add more coolant when the coolant level drops when the engine reaches operating temp (tstat opens).
You will find that most tstats are made by STANT, and boxed in various names, including ACDelco.
Is the tstat the correct one for the LT1? The LT1 tstat is specific to that engine, not just the pressure rating.
When refilling the coolant, did you add more when the tstat opened, or was the block filled through the tstat port?
The LT1 is self bleeding..... just leave the surge tank cap off, idle the engine, add more coolant when the coolant level drops when the engine reaches operating temp (tstat opens).
You will find that most tstats are made by STANT, and boxed in various names, including ACDelco.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Tell us a little more......... assuming you are running an LT1 engine:
Is the tstat the correct one for the LT1? The LT1 tstat is specific to that engine, not just the pressure rating.
When refilling the coolant, did you add more when the tstat opened, or was the block filled through the tstat port?
The LT1 is self bleeding..... just leave the surge tank cap off, idle the engine, add more coolant when the coolant level drops when the engine reaches operating temp (tstat opens).
You will find that most tstats are made by STANT, and boxed in various names, including ACDelco.
Is the tstat the correct one for the LT1? The LT1 tstat is specific to that engine, not just the pressure rating.
When refilling the coolant, did you add more when the tstat opened, or was the block filled through the tstat port?
The LT1 is self bleeding..... just leave the surge tank cap off, idle the engine, add more coolant when the coolant level drops when the engine reaches operating temp (tstat opens).
You will find that most tstats are made by STANT, and boxed in various names, including ACDelco.
Not sure about the pressure rating of the tstat, but both ones pictured are 180*, and I have a new 16# cap in the surge tank.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,842
Likes: 230
From: SANTA CRUZ CA
Yes, it is indeed an LT1, however, mine is not quite self bleeding. There is a bleed screw on the tstat housing, and another on the bottom of the throttle body. Yes, topped it back off. Ran it a couple of days. Last time I got back home, as I was pulling in the garage, it was showing 207*. I left it running, put my hand near the engine side of the fan, cool air coming out of the radiator.
Not sure about the pressure rating of the tstat, but both ones pictured are 180*, and I have a new 16# cap in the surge tank.
Not sure about the pressure rating of the tstat, but both ones pictured are 180*, and I have a new 16# cap in the surge tank.
207 temp is fine.
Fan blowing cool air is fine (at 207 deg., is activating at a lower temp than normal).
Tstat is heat rated.... 180 deg is fine.
Surge tank cap is pressure rated.... 16lbs is fine.
There is no reason from the info provided why your temps should be higher, unless the tstat is faulty (not opening fully). You can test the tstat in boiling water to see if it opens completely.
Good link for understanding LT1 cooling:
http://www.theherd.com/articles/lt1_cool.html
Last edited by don hall; Jun 11, 2013 at 01:13 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 9,758
Likes: 49
From: Houston Texas
Yes, it is indeed an LT1, however, mine is not quite self bleeding. There is a bleed screw on the tstat housing, and another on the bottom of the throttle body. Yes, topped it back off. Ran it a couple of days. Last time I got back home, as I was pulling in the garage, it was showing 207*. I left it running, put my hand near the engine side of the fan, cool air coming out of the radiator.
Not sure about the pressure rating of the tstat, but both ones pictured are 180*, and I have a new 16# cap in the surge tank.
Not sure about the pressure rating of the tstat, but both ones pictured are 180*, and I have a new 16# cap in the surge tank.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 127
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Yes. It is LT1 specific, it's just not made very well, which is the point of the picture. The tstat opens at 180*, but because of how it's made, it doesn't open very far. It cannot flow as much coolant as the engine needs, which is why I had cool air coming out of the radiator of a 207* engine.
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Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,842
Likes: 230
From: SANTA CRUZ CA
The primary fan is not programmed to activate until the temp reaches about 225 deg, the secondary fan at about 235 deg.
Your fan is operating at about 207 deg, which means it has been reprogrammed to activate at a lower temp.
Is the faulty tstat (that doesn't open completely) the one you removed, or is it the replacement tstat?
Your fan is operating at about 207 deg, which means it has been reprogrammed to activate at a lower temp.
Is the faulty tstat (that doesn't open completely) the one you removed, or is it the replacement tstat?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 127
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The primary fan is not programmed to activate until the temp reaches about 225 deg, the secondary fan at about 235 deg.
Your fan is operating at about 207 deg, which means it has been reprogrammed to activate at a lower temp.
Is the faulty tstat (that doesn't open completely) the one you removed, or is it the replacement tstat?
Your fan is operating at about 207 deg, which means it has been reprogrammed to activate at a lower temp.
Is the faulty tstat (that doesn't open completely) the one you removed, or is it the replacement tstat?
The fan was on at 207* because I have a manual override, not reprogrammed.