1672 replies to this topic

[grumpy xu1]

& i just noticed about your thermostat, if you still need 1 i can post the part number tomorrow or something when i go to the car, & check it, i would run the tridon 30% more flow 82 degree, but 82 won't effect the management & will keep it a little cooler, Gary.

[grumpy xu1]

Grant I'm just meaning to drop the temp a little mate, hence the 82 as compared to 86 by memory, warming up any engine is a good idea mate. Probably more so with the aluminum engine, I'm assuming that you're only the talking about the cooling system in your question ? It's a 4 degree difference mate, yes to cool Will Basically change the fuel ratio mimicking a choke system being on, in a nutshell, but the 82 is fine in them, just about to fit 1 in the ss, we did a friend's ls patrol last year with 1, went well, biggest issue was before he fitted brand name oxygen sensors, got some ntk's for him, & surprise the computer now works properly & fuel consumption almost halved Gary.

[ozyozyozy]

Little tip for people, i dont know of a nascar or v8 supercar engine that runs lighter than a 15/40 oil when circuit racing.
Some v8 supercar motors were using a straight 40w and pre heated before started.
Only time nascar run lighter than 15 is qualifying, it gets swapped out for heavier oil for the race.
There are optimal temps for oils too.
Too cold can be just as bad as too hot.

[grumpy xu1]

& they get rebuilt after every race by a team with a 6 million $ budget, not a forum member. It holds 17 litres of oil so i think 5-40 to 10-40 will be fine honestly, a blown engine only holds around 10 litres. It's an ls crate engine it's not going around a circle in top gear doing 12,000 rpms either! No comparison i think. You'll soon smell what the oils like on a hot day anyway, i steped up from 30 to 40 because of the smell from the catch can in summer only, no smell now. & That's only holding 5.6 litres & the catch can is behind the head light, so you would only smell it out the front of car, my cooler should add like 1.4 litres roughly too. So with his cooler fitted it'll have about 20 litres of oil to be cooled. Can't see a problem. Gary.

[grumpy xu1]

Tridon tt456-180 is the part number for the ls 82o thermostat mate, tt456-187 is the standard 86o ls thermostat. 82o will not affect the cars running in anyway that i have ever seen & the v6 can be dropped down to the lower 1 as well, i do believe that 91 or 92o is v6 ecotec temp by memory, so if you had 1 of those could be what you're thinking mate. Gary.

[Bigfella237]

My water boils at 373 but I'm with Kelvin on that one

 

I run a 186 degree in mine, which is the OE temp for the Camaro, Corvette etc from memory. No issues at all..

 

So that's almost 86 in C which agrees with what Gary said is standard for LS engines.

[eyepeeler]

For Gary
GrumpyXU1

[Bigfella237]

Earls do some nice LS steam port adapters in -3AN & -4AN with either single or dual outlets for US$40 a pair, which would save you a couple of T-pieces and a few fittings...

 

 

They also have more of a racing application kit complete with braided stainless lines that's US$200...

 

 

See here: https://www.holley.c...ine_components/

[grumpy xu1]

Hi mate, the steam lines look good apart from that they're higher than the radiator position. Not being a smarty but where they enter the radiator should be the highest point reason being to get rid of steam pockets, obviously containing air. You could try filling the radiator ect, with the front raised as high as possible so to push it out. Failing that if you are able to fit a new fitting point above the top radiator hose would be preferable. But that is totally my thoughts on what has been researched in the USA! That's the way i'll go again in the ss, if you need photos pm me & i'll text you some mate, appart from that it looks great & yes we've all thought you can get all the fittings high appart from the throttle body is in the road ! Nice 1 gm ! & the steam ports make a huge difference & help the ls out with the air pocket problem, very smart of you to incorporate the vents, Gary.

[Bigfella237]

This is just my understanding but I don't think it matters that much, these vent lines should always have some coolant flow in parallel with the top radiator hose anyway, so as long as any air/steam enters the vent ports it should be expelled into the radiator whether the line runs uphill all the way or not?

 

The only strange thing is that with a crossflow radiator in this configuration, any air would need to travel across the radiator core before it can be expelled by the cap, so I would expect that there would always be a tiny amount of air trapped in the hot side of the radiator above the level of the top row of fins, but there isn't much you can do about that unless you evacuate the air from the system prior to filling?

 

Bits and shits.
Got radiator hose and oil filter sorted.
Also got the stepper sensor in on the throttle body.
Pretty boring items, but another step closer.

 

 

[eyepeeler]

Maybe I'm getting mixed up between my thermostat and when my fans turn on and off.
I know they turn on at 99 and off at 91 or 92.
That may be my mix up.
Oh well, I know mine works ok and never had issue so for now I won't be removing anytime soon.
Sorry for the partial hyjack Craig.
Car coming along fantastic, I wish I could view the videos but I can't for some reason.
Have you had a chance to re dyno and drive it yet?

Not yet Grant, he has been really busy the last 2 weeks and I really haven't had much of a chance myself.
I really didn't think the thermostat would have been a issue, but it seems to be.
I ran the car yesterday in neutral to get engine temps up and at 95 degree on the display the top hose was really hot and the bottom hose cold.
I was wondering if there would be heat soak from the housing keeping it closed. The housing is pretty cold compared to water temp.

[Bigfella237]

I can't see in any of your photos Craig, but are you using a bypass hose between the two heater pipes or do you have them blocked off?

 

If you just block them there will be no coolant flow whatsoever until the thermostat opens, that means the thermostat would need to wait for heat to be conducted along the static coolant, which means it will be significantly delayed in opening. (By which time the coolant in the cylinder heads is already boiling) You need some coolant flow (normally through the heater circuit) to activate the thermostat.

 

Apparently Dayco make a bypass hose that will do the job, part #87629

 

 Dayco 87629.jpg   27.03K   3 downloads

[Bigfella237]

Car coming along fantastic, I wish I could view the videos but I can't for some reason.

 

I had the same problem Grant so I hope Craig doesn't mind but I've ported them across to Youtube, I set them to "Unlisted" so you need the URL to view them and they shouldn't show up in general population (any problems just let me know and I'll remove them)...

 

 

(you'll have to crank up the volume on this one, sorry but that's how the original was)

Edited by Bigfella237, 09 September 2016 - 12:25 PM.

[Bigfella237]

And one more...
 

Edited by Bigfella237, 09 September 2016 - 12:28 PM.

[eyepeeler]

No problem with me having it on youtube Andrew, was considering doing that later on as some were having drama's getting access to it.

 

I was told that blocking them off is the best option, I got told that by a couple other people who had done that to their engines.

I might grab one of those bypass tubes and see what difference it makes.

Thanks for that one mate, appreciate it.

[grumpy xu1]

If you have a look at commodore theoretically with the heater tap in place you're sort of blanking the system if you never used it. If you notice as well that hose is directional as in 1 end is slightly larger, the larger hose is the 1 that gets the t piece that goes underneath the engine and into the overflow tank ! & the other side goes to the heater tap. You could run hoses up to a heater & just not turn it on, obviously you have heaps of braid so it'd still look nice. Sorry i haven't checked if you deleted the heater. Gary.

[grumpy xu1]

Hi Grant, to answer your question from before the temp that the fans go on & off are usually determined by the tune mate, so your tuner could alter that for you, if need be. Where as there thermostat is the dictator of coolant temp & flow, related i know but different if that makes sense to you. As for the steam vents, yes they must have coolant in them. You could try putting an extension on the radiator filling point to remove air as well. These engines can be a pain to get rid of the air. But with the front of the car raised as high as possible you could undo the steam line & holding it up make sure it has coolant going through it.