Another overheating problem

Grrrrr...So I started it up. Turned on the AC (its hot as fuck here) and drove about 5 minutes up the road, no problem. Sat in a church parking lot for 5 minutes, no problem. No joke, I'm watching the temp gauge and right before my hand touches the shift knob (to put in drive and leave, thinking everything is good), the fucking temp starts to creep up. Came home. Let it cool for a little and re bleed it. This is super fucking annoying.
 
I think (from your other comments) that you have (had) two problems going on. The biggest being that the cooling system was air locked from the micro pores in the plastic parts. Presumably, you have corrected that. (You did replace all of the old plastic, right? Not just the degas and the thermostat housing...)
The second problem, the one you probably just saw, would be the hydraulic cooling fan. Drive it around for a while at 40MPH +, uphill as much as possible. If it doesn't overheat doing that, but does overheat idling, then it's very probably the fan.
 
Are we talking about the upper and lower hoses? I replaced the degas, water inlet pipe, thermostat, and converted to metal thermostat housing. Yes, it seemed while driving I was fine, sitting idle is when it went up. The crazy thing is, after I changed the degas and was letting it warm up the first go around for the bleeding, I could hear the fan more audibly then I could earlier in the week when we had first talked about the fan. But as you said before, probably the actuator?
 
Probably, but be warned, it is hard for me to tell from here. I can't even hear the fan...

Anyway, yes you really should replace that upper hose, the crossover tube, and inspect the radiator tank. If you really insist on not doing it all, then you can possibly leave the lower radiator hose. It doesn't get as hot as the rest of the plastic. I think that not doing it all, you are just setting yourself up for more frustration and more hating on your car.
 
Ok I'm going to check the front top passenger side of the radiator. I'm looking for leaks, right?
Also, I'm going to find a couple links in regards to locating and removing the actuator to check it out. Ordering upper hose tonight..
 
This is why we always recommend to rebuild the entire system as a whole all at once using OEM parts. This one part here and another later does not work. Simple as that. It all ages at the same rate and all begins to deteriorate, causing weak brittle plastics to either let air in or coolant out.

I'd test the fan some more before tearing into it. Be sure the cooling system can maintain pressure first.

Told ya about the degas bottle micro cracks. Now think of what the rest if the insides of the plastics might look like.


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Yes, the Degas didn't look too great..
I understand the importance of those parts and how they're prone to break.
I suspect my fan isn't operating correctly either. It really seems as if it's only operating at one speed
 
Little update..
While waiting for some new hoses, and researching more about the fan actuator, I have driven my car to and from work Thurs-Sat (today). I have had no issues with over heating UNLESS I put the AC on. I haven't had to put the heat on to keep the temp down. Friday, it heated up a little past the mid way mark, but remained there.
Today, I drove to work, with no problems. As I was pulling into my spot (backing in to my spot) apparently my car started leaking coolant. I noticed this as I was getting out of my car and walking past a trail of liquid which led right to my front end. Upon inspection, I heard what sounded like a leak/hiss; I popped the hood and right around where the thermostat housing was, it seemed like there was some pressure being released and/or overspray. I couldn't pin point an exact location though. But ALL of my coolant fell out right there.
After it cooled down, I put in some coolant and water and filled it up. I then bleed the system. Mind you, it never overheated up to this point, and still hasn't overheated. Followed this up with cleaning up the coolant that was sprayed on the hoses, thermostat housing, etc...
I let it sit for about 7 hours before attempting to leave for work. I had even moved into a different spot so I could more easily identify if more had leaked out while I was working. Nothing had leaked out. I added a little more to the degas tank and off I went, on my drive home.
No heat, no AC. Little highway driving and a little driving thru town, 25 minutes in total. Still hasn't overheated. I got home and inspected the area where it was sprayed on earlier, still clean. I put the AC on for shits and giggles while in my driveway; started to overheat..fucker. I can't wait to get the new hoses and more then likely a fan actuator..here's to hoping to see light at the end of the tunnel.
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Ps - Sorry for the long ass post
Pps - I couldn't see any leaks or cracks in the radiator, Joe. And all the hoses still looked good, from what I was able to see...
 
The only pressure relief is the degas cap. That's the only place it can vent from. You have a leak!
 
Yes definitely! I just find it super weird that I can't replicate the problem. I can't pinpoint where it was coming from, as it was leaking. It's not still leaking. It hasn't over heated. Literally all of the coolant drained right there in my parking spot at one time. It's got me scratching my head. We will see what happens with the hoses
 
I'm so terribly sorry but I must laugh out loud. We keep telling folks, it needs to all be rebuild at the same time.

These plastics eventually begin to look like this on the insides.

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It simply rots away over time. Unfortunately this time is around 100K mi or +/- 10yrs.

No sense nagging you about it any further, like all of use, you simply have to replace all plastics, put it together properly, bled it and be done with it.

Good luck, you'll get it ... just could have done it all at once and done. One piece here and there just means spending a month on this headache as apposed to one or two days.

From looking at those pictures, I'd dare to suggest your inlet pipe is leaking from micro-cracks on the underneath side ... just a wild guess.



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I'm thinking maybe the hose (KM492, bypass hose) may be leaking currently. I am going to just take the dive and purchase all the parts and be done with them instead of guessing. I am trying to find a full list of everything. I found a shopping list from Gen 1 V8 Plastic Cooling Parts Shopping List
but that doesn't seem like it is everything...or is it?

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That/those leak(s) has/have been going for way longer than a day or three.
 
I would say that's a pretty damn good call, Joe! Althought, maybe it just finally got WORSE and now I am able to see the spray more visually. The pictures that look like old spray were kind of hidden, as I had to snake my phone down and around to snap a photo.

So the upper hose should be here tomorrow, and I am going to order this lower https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C5FPFS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
It says excludes oil cooler hoses, which my LS doesn't have those two hoses coming off the lower radiator hose, so I believe that is the correct part to order?
I am currently looking at a diagram to figure out part #s for some of the other hoses running off of the main ones, like the bypass hose, the hose that comes off the left side of tstat housing and runs under the upper rad hose ( the one with the metal in the middle and the rubber that looks very worn in my previous picture(s) ). If I am going to do EVERYTHING, then I want to do EVERYTHING. I'm going to follow you, and everyone else's, suggestions. I just want to make sure I cover all the bases, and order today to have ASAP.

Thanks again for all the help and know-how, guys!
 
Nick, have you replaced that Coolant Outlet Pipe ?

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It's tough to see after the fact as it sprays and stains everywhere.

You pretty much have to replace all the parts that make up the cooling system.
o-ring gaskets at the outlet pipe have to sit clean, flush and bolted down firmly.

I'm unsure what you've replaced to date on this.
 
Outlet pipe (replaced in mid May), upgraded to metal thermostat housing and new thermostat (both replaced last week), and Degas tank (replaced earlier this week).
 
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So I just tried adding coolant and heard it immediately leaking...

Please watch this video

I have no idea...
 
Take your wipers off and the cowl the hose going into the bottle follow it back there is a double clip on the line mine was loose and had a leek
 
T0ny said:
Take your wipers off and the cowl the hose going into the bottle follow it back there is a double clip on the line mine was loose and had a leek
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I thought it was. So I took everything off and looked at the Degas hoses, but they were all fine. Then I remembered, gravity! The front end was up on ramps still. Duh.
Put the car on level ground and went for a quick ride. When I came home and turned the car off, all the coolant came out. It's was the water pump. Which I originally had suspected a problem with. I'm not heating the crazy noise some have mentioned about, but the seal, atleast, is leaking. Pump should be here this afternoon.
 
I got my 02 ls third hand and been replacing parts ever since t stat housing went, then the engines head went. I bought water pump,2 dagas bottles, hoses, t stat housings yes 2 i didn't know about the uro part until a lil whle ago. I got a used engine with 71k on it pulled all the new parts i got for the engine that crapped out off such as coils, fuel injectors, the rack and pinion just went last weekend along with the power steering pressure switch
 
Update:
I'm doing this from my phone, so please bare with me..

So I pulled the water pump and replaced it with ACDelco 252-800 pump from amazon. $54.99

This stopped my coolant leak!
But we were still overheating :(

Bought the fan actuator to replace, as my research showed that was more than likely the culprit.
So I pulled the fluid tank and disconnected the hoses that fed the fan. What I did was take my shop vac and made a custom attachment with a smaller diameter rubber hose that I snaked down into the fan fluid tank as far as I could. I sucked all the old ATF fluid out. It was definitely dirty. I disconnected the hoses and proceeded to do my actuator swap. Problem was, I was having a hard time getting my ratchet to move in the tight space. So I reconnected the hoses and refilled the tank with new mercon-v ATF fluid. Drove to harbor freight to buy some new goodies.
Car did not over heat. Although not totally flushing the fluid, but definitely getting most of it out, I think the detergents in the new fluid might have temporarily fixed the fan actuator.
I'm typing this about 5 days after I changed the fluid. Still same old actuator in there. Still no overheating. Currently sitting in my daughter's pick up line at her school, 20+ minutes, AC on. I'm contemplating if I should wait to put the new fan actuator in since the hot months are basically over? Or go ahead and just get it over with. Either way, car isn't over heating or leaking fluid.

All together, I changed:
Tube assembly (1/2" crack right in middle top/backside)
upgraded thermostat housing to URO(fill cap cracked, leaking)
Thermostat
Coolant bypass hose
Upper radiator hose(inside still looked really good still, nothing like some of the pictures I've seen on here where they wrte all corroded)
Degas tank (cracked all to hell on the back side)
Water pump(cracked seal)

Thank you to everyone who helped me thru this issue!!

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