When I start my car, it seems there is now coolant flowing around. I know the coolant system is pressurized, and normally you can feel/see that pressure in the radiator hoses. However, on my car these hoses are not pressurized, instead they feel filled with air. Any input would be awesome.

One more thing, Can a thermostat be installed upside down, and does it make a difference in the flow?

 

The Thermostat can only go in one way. That is with the bi-metalic spring facing down into the intake. That way when you get to operating temp it will open. As for the hoses, They generally start to pressurize when you get up to temp.

 

sounds like you didnt burp your car to get the air out of the cooling system.

 

So whats the best way to "burp" your car???

 

When the car is cold take off the radiator cap and start it up. Let it run until it's at operating temp and watch down in the radiator for flowing coolant. It should be raising and falling, and spilling on the driveway as the thermostat gets up to temp. Once it's fully open the level of coolant should drop for a second or two.

What is the issue though, is the motor over heating? If you didn't have any coolant going through the upper radiator hose you would certainly know about it from the way it was running.

 

yes, the car has overheated several times. Im afraid to run it now b/c the temp sensor doesnt work, so I cant tell how hot it is. I checked the orientation of the thermostat, it is in the with the spring down, and the pointy part up. The upper hose was also full of coolant when i checked the thermostat.

 

When you cold start the car you won't notice any flow. The thermostat stops that.
Pull the thermostat out, and start the car. You should now be able to feel flow in the hoses.
If not, and better yet, the car still overheats, then your waterpump is likely not pumping.
What kind of fan do you have? mechanical, electric, etc? Air dam?
Does it only overheat in traffic, or on the highway, etc?

 

When I start it cold, the top radiator hose should be pressurized, correct? Should be pressurized if the waterpump is working correctly, since its pumping water against the thermostat.

Currently, the car only sits in the driveway, but when i run it i keep the AC switched on (ac pump removed) which keeps the electric fan on.

 

Your chevy waterpump draws water from the bottom of the rad, and pushes it up through the engine, and OUT the thermostat, back into the top of the rad. The rad flows downwards, the engine upwards.
So no, your top hose will be unpressurized when the t-stat is plugged off. Once you remove the t-stat, you'll feel it flowing INTO the rad on top.

 

Ah, ok, had the flow path reversed in my head. Ok, ill check it out later.