Coolant change. Does this matter?

[joegr]

... Is this car supposed to have a trans cooler thefrom the factory?

Yes. All automatics do. Some only have a cooler in the radiator, others have a cooler in the radiator and an air cooler in front of the radiator, and still others (like the LS) have only an air cooler in front of the radiator. It's a combination cooler for the transmission, the power steering, and the gen I cooling fan (I assume).

 

[fudge12]

do fluids from the power steering, transmission, and fan mix in the combination cooler?

 

[joegr]

do fluids from the power steering, transmission, and fan mix in the combination cooler?

No.

 

[fudge12]

We'll the fan is working again, but only begins spinning when it nears 3/4. Other than that it's not spinning. The mechanic noticed the radiator is not getting hot unless it starts over heating and the fan comes on. He said the thermostat is bad. Does it sound like a reasonable explanation?

 

[joegr]

... Does it sound like a reasonable explanation?

No.
The hydraulic fan should spin all the time that the engine is on. It's speed is controlled by the PCM from low to high, but it is always spinning. You have a problem with your fan system. You may also have other cooling system problems, but this "mechanic" does not understand your LS. He's just going to cost you money.

 

[fudge12]

No.
The hydraulic fan should spin all the time that the engine is on. It's speed is controlled by the PCM from low to high, but it is always spinning. You have a problem with your fan system. You may also have other cooling system problems, but this "mechanic" does not understand your LS. He's just going to cost you money.

Well that seems to be very well the case around my area. The guy took out the thermostat and looked at it and said it looked good. My instincts tell me there is probably some air in the fans hydraulic system when we took out the fan the first time and the only time it is able to spin is if it receives sufficient pressure. But I know very little about how it works.

UPDATE: I noticed the fan does not turn back off and returns to normal operation after it is forced to turn on due to overheating. The needle does fluctuate a little bit but does not go anywhere near to the 3/4th mark anymore.

Here's a little insight of what happened from the beginning:
1) We removed all the freon from the dryer (still does not have any at the moment)
2) The little incident with the tranny fluid lines.

 

[fudge12]

Is there any diagrams for the 2000 electrical connectors for the fan solenoid? I'd rather jump the pins and have the fan run on high till someone can figure it out.

 

[fudge12]

Ok just when I thought things couldn't get any more weird, the gauge goes a little above the middle (the fan comes on high) for a little bit then drops down to between the 1/4 and 2/4 mark. I'm officially stumped.