thanks steve, but the only point of those nipples is for the heater, one is the outlet to the core, the other is the inlet from the core, so they would be doing exactly what they are right now, just recirculating through the system.

today, I pulled the heads back off, checked them and the block for straightness, any signs of blow by, anything. nothing at all. even checked the thermostat, opened early at about 175. this makes asolutely no feakin sense. its really pissing me off, it seems like there is nothing else it could be.

 

At this point I would take it to a mechanic and say "fix it". You've done all that you can do and for the sake of your well being (mentally) and the cars well being (both from overheating and getting driven into a lake ), I would say it's time to call it quits and have someone else deal with this problem.

 

thats what Im about to do. the only problem is, we've already dumped over $2K into this damn problem and it still isnt fixed. theres no telling how much more it would cost to have someone else work on it. besides, Im leaving for school in 2 weeks. I dont want it to still be in the shop when I leave. the signs are pointing more and more to the block, but I just cant see how that can be with only about 50K miles on it. if I get it back together and it still overheats, then it has to be the block, and Im parking the car till I come home in December. then I guess I'll get a new short block, hopefully a Vette one. we'll just have see how things go.

 

I know that it would seem to be the same as running a heater but the heater is accually a restriction in the system and when not in use there is no flow at all thru the hoses unless it has a bypass built into it. It still seems like a coolant flow problem that could be pump related. I wish this was an easy fix for you but it looks like it's time to call on a professional ( radiator shop or trust worthy repair shop ). Hope you get it fixed before school starts.

Steve

 

well, I might try reconnecting those hoses just for the hell of it while the heads are still off, Ive needed to anyway because I know I'll need my heater in New Mexico. also, Im going to get a 4th gen radiator from a friend tomorrow and see if that helps any, if not, then its going to a shop.

 

well, I feel like a complete and total jackass now. while I was putting the heads back on, my dad took the radiator to a shop just for $hits and giggles. anyone heard of a 2 year old radiator getting nearly completely clogged with something that not even 3 radiator flushes wouldnt get rid of? so now, almost $2000 later in a set of heads, about 4 sets of gaskets, a waterpump, hoses, about 5 thermostats, and who knows how much antifreeze, it turns out it was the friggen radiator!!!! AAAHHHHHH!!!! I just want to break something!



ok, Im calm now. I know one thing is for sure though, Im going to drive the hell out of my car before I leave, if it breaks again in 2 weeks, so beit, as long as its not overheating. to everyone that helped out on here, thanks alot, I know I wasnt the only one scratching my head. we get the radiator back tomorrow morning so I'll post an update on it then.

 

oh, wow dude, that's harsh. it was the radiator all along. what a bummer. I thought you'd already swapped rads.
When you do fill it, don't use tap water, go to the store and buy a couple gallons of the cheap spring water. City water has so much stuff in it (especially my city) that the inside of your radiator will look like the Great Barrier Reef before you can say 'mineral deposits.' Bottled water in the radiator sounds snooty, but i'ts the only way to avoid changing radiators every summer.

 

Im definitly doing that, Im not taking any chances. Ive got the engine nearly back together now, but like I said, I wont get the radiator back till tomorrow. Im going to be so pissed and so relieved if it is in fact the radiator. like I said, neither of us expected it to be that, its not even two years old, it always had good antifreeze in it, and the top looked aboslutely perfect. guess we'll find out.

 

well, I finally got everything back together and running.....wow, what a difference. the guy said the bottom half of the radiator was almost completely clogged with something that wasnt normal buildup and looked suspiciously like stop leak. funny thing is, Ive never once put stop leak in this engine.....so I dont know. I let it idle in the driveway for about 10 minutes, temperature never rose about 160. I took it out on the road a couple of miles from the shop, the temperature actually dropped down to 155 on the way there! I couldnt believe it. Today I took it out and ran the 1/4 in it, temp got to about 190 at the end of the run, slowed down, turned around, got back to the start, it was right back at 160. this is friggen great! I cant believe it was the damn radiator this whole time. once again, thanks to everyone that helped out, you all had a bunch of good ideas.

 

:lala: I just finihed this swap a few months ago. Im not sure if you replaed your radiator or not ,but I found out that the motor pulls coolant from the top drivers side hose which means when you give the car gas the coolant drops causing the motor to pull air.All you have to is replace the drivers side composite plastic tank on the radiator with a new one for a lt1.The lt1 style tank puts the inlet hose halfway down the tank so that it will always pull coolant.

 

DOH! Guys, I have a cooling problem. I have an 88 camaro. It had an L98 5.7 L block. I got a new 350 late model long block with vortec heads. I was just driving around trying to break it in and doh! Temp rose to 240! My old motor used to run 220 all the time, but 240 is too high, when I turned it off and left the fan on it went up to 250! DOH! I wonder what the problem is. Water is flowing in the radiator, but I'm sure the damn thing is old as hell. Could this be the problem? I think the water pump is new, I bought it last year. I hope I didn't crack a head or the block or anything. It gets hot even when idleing. New hoses and everything, oil cooler too, auto tranny. Umm.........I don't want this motor to break because I'm poor. Give me suggestions Please.

 

Nope.

LT1's are reverse flow in the engine (heads before block) yet they run the same direction through the radiator as any other L98 or LS1. They still pull water from the PS radiator tank, so whoever told you this is full of .

Unless of course you have the radiator hoses completely wrong.

I'm really surprised 2 years clogged it up. I agree w/ the above - go w/ filtered water. In TX, I would personally go w/ distilled (I have reverse osmosis filter in the kitchen) & water wetter (or 40 below) and change it yearly. You'll be good for a long time to come. Enjoy the LT1.

Matthew

 

:lala: I'm not sure if you have access to a service manual but if you do you will see that it pulls coolant from the drivers side.There is no way that it pulls coolant through the thermostat.Which is on the ps side.On all camaros coolant comes out through the themostat.

 

memphis is right, if you use the stock 3rd gen hose setup, and you run low on water, you're screwed because it pulls the water right off the top of the radiator. thats why we got the Goodyear flex-steel-hose-stuff, so that we could bend it around and get them hooked up like they're supposed to be.

 

TexasLT1....

Congrats on solving the overheating problem.........sorry it took so much of you $$$$ to get the car the way you want it.... just a small question though.

Was your rad the stock aluminum 7/8ths / plastic tank rad that needed flushing, or a more custom item, and what exactly did they use to flush the rad with.

I've been to 3 rad shops with my car, it has the 7/8th's rad, and no one here seems to be intrested in flushing the rad...even though it's just over a year old. I think I'm experiencing some of what you were, because I know that there is stop leak in my cooling system ( car bought as a write off and saved from the crusher) but I've had three rads put in the car : original, one from a second car I bought and parted out to get this one going, and finally my brand new OEM, and the first two split the tank on the passenger's side, I'm guessing from pressure build up from the crap that they guy that had the car, put in the tank.
I'll get a new rad if I have to..... but as a solution, I'd rather flush mine and stay stock, cause I have a $350 CDN price tag for a new 2 7/8ths 3 core rad custom installed as well

Anyd why I would pay $350 for a custom rad?... because my new OEM cost me $250 up here, and it's not half the rad of the custom one.

Any info would really be helpful.

Thanks - maro

 

I do have access to one.

On all LT1's, coolant comes through the 'stat. The water flowing through the stat is not the water that determines thermostat opening temp. Hence the length of the LT1 thermostat.

Go start your cold car & grab both hoses 'til 1 is warm.

Matthew

 

Actually, Try Checking your air damn there is no grille on these cars and the air dam is needed to get air through the radiator i took the airdam off my car when it broke and it heated up just like what your saying if you dont know what an airdamn is its the black thing on the bottom of your car see if it looks in tact. if it is intact buy a lower one and your car will cool right down

 

I wouldnt be surprised if it overheats while letting it idle in the driveway but it will cool down when you drive