82 Z28 CFI. fresh rebuild empty block. Edelbrock water pump 88114 stock radiator and hoses. coolant wont circulate yet the block stays around 170. im using a temp gun by the way. is the thermostat just not kicking in? not sure how to do this any help would work

 

i put a bigger cam btw so it should be running warmer

 

Why do you say it won't circulate?

 

You probably have an air bubble. There should be some sort of bleeder on the thermostat housing.

 

the level in the radiator didnt go down at all

 

i dont have bleeders in the system but i drilled 2 small holes on the thermostat

 

Did it start to go up?

 

If you have the radiator cap off & the water in the radiator is moving, then it is circulating. Possibly your gauge or sending unit is giving you a false reading.

 

I don't think that's necessarily true. At least that's not how I would decide if there is a problem. He is using a temp gun, that would have nothing to do with a sending unit or the gauge. He said the level never went down. It should have dropped a bunch after the initial fill with a fresh (dry) motor.

 

If the upper hose gets hot (your hand is a good enough tool for this, no need for a temp gun) for checking the hose. And WHERE is he getting the 170 reading? Is there a thermostat in it at all? I know he mentioned drilling the bypass holes in one, but you never know either.

I'd like to see another 10-15 degrees higher, but the 170 isn't all that bad. What temp thermostat is he running? A 160? Not really a good choice in a computer controlled 3rd gen.

 

I had a problem like that and I had to remove thermostat housing and fill block with anti freeze and then every thing was alright.

 

using the right intake gaskets?-on a crossfire,the intake
gaskets are supposed to have the rear head coolant
ports blocked so coolant flows from the front head ports,
around the thermostat,through the channel under the
intake,and to the heater core.with those rear ports open,
heated coolant will mostly go straight to the heater
and you might not have much circulation around the
thermostat to heat it and open it.Do the heater hoses
get good and hot?If you let it run long enough,should
get hot enough to open thermostat and begin radiator
circulation.

 

Well the upper heater hose wasn't getting hot but I replaced the thermostat and started her up again. The water level in the radiator dropped. I think I'm good now. I'm running a 180 thermostat and I have a fel pro gasket kit for the intake that has the rear block offs

 

Well after a complete testing period let us know how she is.

 

Me too