I think I may have a air bubble in my system but I dunno. This is what happened last week my temps were dropping down to 124 so I changed the thermo because it was stuck open. Well I did that on sunday after getting coolant EVERYWHERE because guess what it was stuck open... Anyways I run it up the the garage for a while and the temps lock in at 198ish. I think they were locked there but then again the car wasn't moving and the hood was open.

I know now I should have drove it around a bit but I didn't want to miss the Skins get beaten I just put it off. Well this morning I drove to work and the temps got up to 219 at one point. It really fluctuated between 219 and 210 once it got up to temp. The weird thing is that it should have been a lot lower I think. The fan temps are 180 and 195 I "think" because they have been reprogrammed and on top of that it was 55 degrees this morning and I never got below 60 mph. I am just not sure what to think of all of this any one got some insight?

 

When you were putting coolant back in the engine, did you have any of the coolant hoses loose at the top of the engine (like around the throttle body) to see if coolant came out when you were filling? Did that with mine when I replaced the radiator and once I saw coolant coming out of that whole I knew there would almost be no place that an air pocket could be stuck. We also had the front of the car in the air at the time, so that ensured that the throttle body coolant lines were just about at the highest point on the engine.

I also had a dead low speed fan motor. They're easy enough to check if you have a spare battery around that has a charge on it.

 

No I didn't think to check or loosen the coolant lines... Is there a way to bleed the lines?

 

I don't recall seeing any bleed screws in the lines like LT1/LT4 engines have on them. I'm not sure if someone makes them or not. Since we had all of the coolant lines disconnected for my radiator swap anyway, it was simple enough to bleed them just by pouring in coolant and watching the top most line for coolant to come out of it.

 

Ok I found some instructions on how to bleed but I have a question... This is the cap right? If so when I remove that at 210 degrees thats going to blow up in my face won't it? Yes I know this is a dumb question but I want to ask BEFORE I get third degree burns all over my face...



this is the instructions I found:
If you follow the shop manual process, you don't need a bleeder valve. After draining , fill to base of overflow tank cap, run engine at idle for one minute, install cap, alternate reving engine to 3,000 for 30 seconds or until temperature gets to 210 F. Shut off engine, remove cap, idle engine for one minute and fill to 1/2 inch above cold full mark, put on cap, alternate reving engine to 3,000 rpm and idling for 30 seconds or until engine reaches 210 F. Sut off engine, fill to 1/2 inch over cold full mark, put on top, Your done.

 

Yes, that it the fill cap, and yes there is the potential for hot fluid to spray out of it when opening it. Your best bet is to wear gloves when opening it and use a rag to cover the cap to avoid any initial spray.

 

If you still are running hot after you get the coolent in....Have you checked or blown out the raditor cores yet both air and engine ? you would be supprised how much S%*T..gets up there.... My temp changed 15 deg...after clean out ...By the way you have to have it on some kind of lift...and go at it from the bottom...with an air hose good luck

 

If you turn the cap counter clock wise gradually, you will ear a hissing sound. When this is finished, you can remove the cap completely.

As it was said previously, you can disconnect the hose below the throttle body. Here is the procedure from the manual.

Drain and Fill procedure

1. Park the vehicle on a level surface.

2. Follow the steps below to remove the radiator sure tank fill cap :
a. Slowly rotate the cap counterclockwise.
b. Stop and allow the hissing to stop.
c. After all hissing stop, continue turning counterclockwise to remove the cap.

3. Opens the radiator drain ****. (It looks like a white plastic plug below the lower radiator hose. You can see it if your car is jack and you are under it). note. There are two types of drain plugs. On my 97 I can turn it with pliers. But on most recent vettes, there is a square hole in the middle. You need a ¼ ratchet extension to turn it. I found it out on changing the dexcool on my friend 2004 Z06. If this is the case, do not turn more than ¼ of a turn or you will break the plug. When I changed his, I turned for ¼ and the dexcool did not leak. I used a flat bled screw driver to gently pull the plug.

4. Allow the system to drain completely.

5. Inspect the engine coolant:
-Discolored – Follow the flush procedure below
-Normal in appearance –continue the next step

6. Close the radiator drain ****.

7. Fill the system through the radiator surge tank opening up to the base of the neck.

8. Start the engine.

9. Idle engine for 1 minute.

10. Install radiator surge tank cap.

11. Cycle the RPM, idle to 3000 for 30 seconds intervals until engine coolant reaches 210 F.

12. Shut off the engine.

13. Refer to step 3 above to remove the radiator surge tank cap.

14. Start the engine.

15. Idle engine for 1 minute and fill surge tank to ½ above COLD Full mark on the radiator surge tank.

16. Install the radiator surge tank cap.

17. Cycle the RMP, idle to 3000 in 30 seconds intervals until engine coolant reaches 210 F.

18. Shut off the engine.

19. Top off coolant as necessary, to ½ above COLD Full mark on the radiator surge tank.

20. Rinse away any excess coolant from the engine and the compartment.

21. Inspect the concentration of the coolant.

Flush Procedure.
1. Block the drive wheels.
2. Place the transmission in Park or Neutral
3. Press the parking brake.
4. Run the engine until the thermostat opens.
5. Stop the engine
6. Follow the drain and fill procedure using water until the fluid is nearly colorless. Refer to Draining and Filling Cooling System.
7. Fill the cooling system. Refer to Draining and filling cooling system.

 

The thing that gets me is that it was running just fine BEFORE the thermo change???