LS cooling question..

[randy]

fans wired backwards so its pushing instead of pulling?
Air in the system would be my guess if the fans are operating the correct way.

[Z06vette]

What temp is the car running at when standing still? What are your fan on/off temps set at? I find that air gets trapped in these setups often when firt installing everything or when the system has been drained. If one hose is cold, its not circulating,obviously. Doubt 3 thermostats are bad. Do you recall how much coolant you poured in? If the motor was bone dry initially, it will take 2.5-3 gallons to fill. To help purge the system, I found that driving the car to get it up to temp- maybe a couple miles. Then park it overnight, removing the cap after it cools. Most times, the next morning I can add anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 gal of coolant. Keep us posted

[yukio]

Fans are controlled by ECU and they are pulling the right way. If i dont remeber correctly they are set to start at 185 and turn off at 180.
The 160 thermostat was just an attempt to get it to open earlier and therefore run cooler. I have a 180 thermostat laying around, wich i will use if i get it to run normal.
When the temp is passing 210 i am stopping the engine. With a 160 or even a 180 thermostat it should be running cooler than that?
Steam vent is connect to the cross between the heads.

I have been running the car for a week or so now. Running several rpm pulls and several heat cycles, so it find it strange that air in the system is giving me these problems. I have topped the radiator several times, and now it cooolant level does not decrease anymore. I have probably about 3 gal in it.

The wierd part is that the cold side of the thermostat is "ice cold".
The thermostat is definitely not opening as it should, and when touching the radiator only 10% of it is actually hot.

I might be trying one of my other thermostat an see what that gives me.

[yukio]

I am not cencerned about the temperature right now, since it is cold. But it annoys me that i can not make it run at the temp i want it to.
When it gets 115 outside, i think i will have a problem with a thermostat that is not opening...

[dhutton]

Where is the other end of the steam vent hose connected?

Pretty sure you have air trapped in your system. Have you removed the cap and burped the system by squeezing the hoses etc while the car is running and hot? Other trick is to raise the front of the car while it is hot and running.

Get one of those low cost IR temperature meters to measure the temperature of your coolant system. One like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Non-Contact-...QAAOSw241Ya7C0

Don

[71RS/SS396]

Originally Posted by yukio

Fans are controlled by ECU and they are pulling the right way. If i dont remeber correctly they are set to start at 185 and turn off at 180.
The 160 thermostat was just an attempt to get it to open earlier and therefore run cooler. I have a 180 thermostat laying around, wich i will use if i get it to run normal.
When the temp is passing 210 i am stopping the engine. With a 160 or even a 180 thermostat it should be running cooler than that?
Steam vent is connect to the cross between the heads.

I have been running the car for a week or so now. Running several rpm pulls and several heat cycles, so it find it strange that air in the system is giving me these problems. I have topped the radiator several times, and now it cooolant level does not decrease anymore. I have probably about 3 gal in it.

The wierd part is that the cold side of the thermostat is "ice cold".
The thermostat is definitely not opening as it should, and when touching the radiator only 10% of it is actually hot.

I might be trying one of my other thermostat an see what that gives me.

210 is not too hot for these engines, GM runs them that warm. These aren't gen 1 small blocks. Running them too cool has no benefit whatsoever, you want to keep the engine relatively warm so your oil temps will get up to at least 212* to burn off the moisture in it under normal driving conditions. Running your steam line low like that and then back up is asking to trap air.

[MrElectric03]

Looking at your steam vent tube it looks pretty wonky. It's probably got a loop on the motor side and looks like it runs down along the lower radiator hose then up to the port under the upper. I would start by running it straight forward from the vent and along the bottom of the intake tube then along the upper so it can properly vent. That vent can really cause some grief. Also with the angle of the filler cap you may try jacking the front the the car when you fill it just to be sure you are getting all the air out.

I also agree 210 is normal temp. All of my LS motors run around 210*

[randy]

Don't be afraid. I was afraid when my car went up to 210 but eventually thr thermostat opened up. Just the frnot of the csr up only and bleed the system. This would allow the radiator to be higher Where do you live? Squeeze the radiator hoses to to help blurp the system