I am getting ready to change my thermostat. My question is... if i was to catch all of the coolant that spills out in a clean drain pan, could I just put it right back in and not worry so I know i didnt lose a drop?

 

Yes. But, you need to reprogram your PCM to turn on the cooling fans at lower temp's to enable your thermostat to keep the temp's lower than factory. It is a package tweek including the PCM.

:smash: :smash:

 

Yeah, ordered the thermo from vinci and along with it I got the fan controller.

 

Yes

 

I must have a freak car because I put a 170 degree in the car and she runs at 172 consistantly with no reprogramming. Got to love it! :yesnod:

 

You will loose a small amount! You will wash out some sand and dirt during the drain. You can pour just about all of it back in except tha last few OZ's.
Just top it off with distilled water. If your coolant is 3-4 years old it would be a good time to change it out!

BC

 

yes you certainly have a freak, because a thermostat only controls how cold your car gets not how hot... and C5 have the worst cooling sytems of any car.. they constantly run hot..designed in for emissions... fans are designed to come on at 220... its part of the engine engineering.. so to say your car doesnt waver from 172.. is about the tallest story Ive heard on this forum in 4 years.. ,,,, and you live in Florida... you must have a lot of nose to blow.....

 

You don't have a freak.. it depends on when you measured the temp.. If your car was sitting idling in the driveway and she maintained a 172 temp then I'd say not possible..If you were moving then it's quite normal.

When the car is moving you don't use the fans for cooling and the only thing that determines your highest temp is the T-Stat...

Here is what I'd do. Find out the "Static" temp of the car by driving at highway speed long enough for the Temp to show it's lowest point. That is the static temp.

Set your Programmable temps to a few degrees higher than that temp. If you don't then your fans will never turn off while driving.

Fans are meant to cool when the vehicle is not moving..

 

Exactly.. Sometimes I think our CF members try to make these cars out to be more complicated than they really are.. The fans (hopefully) should not enter into the equation unless you are idling in traffic.

 

Evil-Twin, your comments were rude and un-called-for! I hope your other 2890 posts had a better tone! I plan on taking my car to Norris Motorsports for the LS-1 Edit this spring and have the fans adjusted to the thermostat. My car has had no programming other than what she came with. I changed the thermostat to what I beleived to be a 160 degree but beleive it is a 170 because when the car is moving I'm running 171 to 172. I also run the A/C most of the time since I do live in Florida and that would kick the fans on also but sitting still I have not seen it climb over 180 since the change. The only readings I have taken are from what the computer displays. The temp here in Florida has not been above 80 degrees since I installed the thermostat if that could help the situation. Anyway, have a great Corvette day my friend! :flag

 

Flush the coolant down the toilet and replace the lost fluid with new stuff.

Joel

 

How do I know how much I lost or how much to add? Im omly supposed to fill in the overflow bottle right? And I bought some Prestone Dexcool approved. Is that good stuff? An do I mix the stuff I add 50/50?

and by the way...isn't flushing it down the toilet seriously illegal?? :skep:

 

Well,,,,,,,,,,,lets see. I normally fill the radiator as full as I can get it with the engine cold! I start it up and the level normally goes down as the coolant starts to circulate through the block. Then I poor in more until it is full and put the cap back on! Then I fill the expansion tank to the full mark. As the engine heats up to normal operating temperature the trapped air in the coolant system leaks out into the expansion tank.
When you shut the car off and the engine cools down, the cooling system will siphon coolant from the expansion tank back into the engine. This cycle will continue until all of the air has been purged out. During this period, Keep an eye on the expansion tank level.

Dexcool is the recommended coolant and is what most of us use.

If you flush the system with water and purge out all of the old antifreeze, it is difficult to get a 50/50% add mixture to the correct mixture inside the cooling system. You have to add the fill coolant in a concentration strong enough to get the water in the block to 50/50% If you drain the old stuff out, just replace it with a 50/50% mixture. The ideal coolant is water but if you live in a place where it freeses that will be a BAD idea!!!
Antifreeze in quanties greater than 60% does not transfer heat as good as it would it it were only 50% I have seen cars have problems and overheat with 100% antifreeze as coolant!!!
I live in CT and have NEVER seen the temperature get below -10 degrees. Why would I want protection down to -50??

I normally mix mine to cover -20 just to be safe. This concentration also allows me to add water if I need to.
Antifreeze also extends the boiling point of water beyond what the pressurized system will support.

Try to get your block mixture to at-least 50-50% and you should be all set! Make sure to use a good antifreeze tester to check your mixture!
BC


[Modified by Bill Curlee, 9:36 PM 1/12/2004]

 

****** WHAT!?! ************ :nono:

 

Thanks for the info. I wasnt going to flush the system just replace what spills out. To flush it I would need some sort of drainage system wouldnt I. And how many gallons coolant?? Doesnt it hols like 12.5 quarts of coolant?

Does anyone have any links or info on how to flush the coolant system?


[Modified by DelMonteZO6, 3:45 AM 1/13/2004]

 

Quote...
because a thermostat only controls how cold your car gets not how hot...
UNQUOTE
Evil,,,,, is the glass half full,,,,,,, or is it half empty!!! :eek: :skep: It all depends on how you look at it! The thermostat is there to maintain the coolant at a certain temperature. If the coolant gets too hot the stat opens to allow cooler coolant to enter the block. When the coolant get cooler than the set temp it closes to recirculate coolant. You cant say it only controls hot OR cold.

BC