1672 replies to this topic

[eyepeeler]

I was talking to the engine bloke today and he said that it will be fine to leave it blanked off and run a 76 degree Mr Gasket thermostat.
All the race cars he tunes that run LS engines are blanked off and run the 76 degree or no thermostat at all.
The one which run no thermostat have a restrictor in the outlet to set the flow rate.
He said not to worry about the steam port being lower into the radiator, it certainly not ideal but with all 4 connected it will be ok.
He doesn't seem to think that I will have a problem with the Penrite oil, but I will keep and eye on it for sure after Gary's comments.

Thanks to Andrew for YouTube posting the video's, I hope you all liked it.
The car sounds tough, so looking forward to getting it on the circuit and seeing what I have built.

[grumpy xu1]

The thermostat & those lines run like right next to each other & how would that hose be any different in operation compared to just bocking the ends ? Although i would not fit those blanking bungs and i think we've all seen them burst the top. My thoughts would be the advantage of having a heater is more water capicity. 1st thing check for air mate . Gary

[grumpy xu1]

Hey mate, i have been trying to remember what thermostat we put in the patrol it was a mr gasket, worked well. If the 76o isn't good id go up to the 82o myself. I would change to at least the nulon 10-40 full syn oil if it was mine, but it is your call. It comes in 6 litre bottles but you'd easily get a 20, which is about exactly what your car takes. I don't think that your steam lines are bad, the only thing with these engine's is to remove all the air. Should work, pay attention to any hot smells from it id only give a couple of hot laps & then check it. It should be a great little ride mate. Enjoy it Gary.

[Bigfella237]

I was talking to the engine bloke today and he said that it will be fine to leave it blanked off and run a 76 degree Mr Gasket thermostat.

 

I'm not going to argue the point, I'll just say that one of those bypass hoses no doubt costs a lot less than a Mr Gasket thermostat so why not try that first? I'm almost certain that will fix the problem with your current thermostat?

[grumpy xu1]

& he's right about the fact that it's a good thing you fitted the 4 steam vents. This would definitely be my recommendation to anyone playing with a ls engine, you can make them very cheaply if $ is a problem & you aren't concerned with looks, Gary.

[ls2lxhatch]

A thermostat bypass circuit usually has two functions.
 
1. To allow water the circulate near the thermostat to heat and open the thermostat.
2. To allow water to circulate when the thermostat is closed to mix the hot coolant in the heads with the cooler coolant in the rest of the block.
 
 
No bypass circuit can cause the thermostat to open late. The lack of coolant flow through the heads can cause the heads to overheat when the rest of the engine is cold. 
 
One method is to have a bypass hole in the thermostat itself.

The wax pellet in the LS thermostat is more insulated than the typical thermostat when the thermostat is closed and you don't have the bypass.

 
 
When the VZ factory heater tap is closed it works like the loop hose. When open the loop includes the heater core. 

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 10 September 2016 - 03:22 AM.

[grumpy xu1]

Jeff, the reason gm changed from 4 working steam vents to 2 was, simply because on the ls1, they changed from the ls1 intake manifold which had the clearance under it for the steam lines from the rear & around 2000 the ls6 intake manifold was used & it doesn't have the clearance for the lines from the rear of the engine ! & there's a lot of research in the us basically determining the blocking of the rear ports is the cause of the issues with piston number 8 & 7 extremely common knowledge over there i thought. & yes I've seen the lines vented into the water pump, & as i stated the thought patterns are to have it higher for the easier removal of air, i would suggest at least tapping the other rear 2 into the system. Your call though. Gary.

[grumpy xu1]

Bomber, years ago i had a 308 & i had deleted anything that it didn't need in the name of things looking very clean, all wiring hidden, ran grub screws in all the heater fittings ect, real proud of the job blah blah, biggest mistake, thought it was a great idea to remove the bypass hose ! Polished & painted everything & i didn't drive it much & then 1 day the thermostat stuck, no bypass remember the gauge started to climb i was popping & then bang no temp, not cool, fitted bypass hoses on next car, tidied wiring didn't hide lessons learned almost killed engine! Had bungs explode as well, so have plenty of friends, Gary.

[Bigfella237]

So now you're saying we SHOULD run a bypass hose??

[grumpy xu1]

Andrew, i really hardly drove that car, hence why the thermostat stuck, if it had a bypass it would have kept some water circulating, i was just lucky enough that my friend who was in the car at the time, we were about 50 meters from her driveway which sloped down at the time so we shut it off & rolled down & then cooled it down gently & then fixed it. But myself if you're not worried about looks why not run an entire heater system in braid, with the 82o thermostat. You don't have to turn heater on. It's just an extra messure for the engine really. Or yes i suppose you could just run the bypass if you really want, but avoid the bungs, they're not a good idea. Gary.

[grumpy xu1]

Hi Andrew, I've re read your posts, i hope you didn't id been a smart@rse ? The mr gasket thermostats "if" you buy them in the states are pretty cheap actually mate. I know what the ls patrol 1 was & after we fitted it & he told me what it cost i thought. Hmm should've got a few of these. He got 1 of their housings as well very well priced too. As for the bypass hose i thought you were trying to say that the thermostat would function better with it, but i think i read that wrong. The thermostat if working correctly will operate with or without the bypass, in saying that if the thermostat sticks then yes you're correct about the advantage of the bypass hose, i would think that the complete heater system plumbed in would be better still. & when i spoke of the temp of the thermostat i should state in a "street driven" car the 82o seems optimal for a modified engine, to low & the ecu with fuel monitoring can run the car to rich. The 86o is probably fine in a stock ls i think i still have 1 in the cluby. I have used the tridon & like them, but if i was getting things from the us at the time i would get mr gasket 82o hope that makes sense to you all. Gary.

[Shiney005]

 
Thanks Dave. I spoke to Shiney the other day, we should all catch up when he is up in town next.
 

 

Are we all still on for a couple of coldies this Saturday arvo?

[eyepeeler]

Are we all still on for a couple of coldies this Saturday arvo?

Hey Shiney, I can't do Saturday as I am in Adelaide for the funeral of my Granny, she died last night aged 94. Pretty sad time.
This is the last photo I had with her earlier this year.

[grumpy xu1]

Funerals, never a good time. I'm sure plenty of people are thinking about you and your family at this time mate. I have been to 3 this year, very sad. My condolences, Gary.

[Shiney005]

We'll make it a week or two after the school holidays.

[a9x868]

sad to hear of your loss craig

condolences

thinkin of ya mate!

[Ice]

Sad news Craig sorry for your loss

[eyepeeler]

Just found out that the trans tunnel is not legal for IPRA even though I did what I thought was was within the rules.
It's a bit of a bugger that it's the class I was building it for and its not eligible.
Not to worry, in WA they have street cars and Sports Sedan I can enter in.
I will have to change the name of the build thread now.

[Potta]

That sucks the big one.

 

Would it take much to fix it or do you just want to get out there and race now?

[eyepeeler]

That sucks the big one.

Would it take much to fix it or do you just want to get out there and race now?

Will get out there in street cars and sports sedan.
I have already touched base with a bloke who has been down this path already.
Will look at IP again later on.

[ozyozyozy]

That is a shit.
They are getting crazy on the way they apply the rules to cars.

[eyepeeler]

That is a shit.
They are getting crazy on the way they apply the rules to cars.

I have got to cop it on the chin non the less and move on. I spoke to Mark and looks like I'll line up against him.
Rules are rules even if they make no difference to the performance of the car.
I guess some people have taken the piss is the past for them to be tightening up.

Either way and what ever class I drive in the car will be a shit load of fun to drive.