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One more question, Joe. Would I be able to tell if the water pump is circulating the coolant by taking the thermostat housing fill cap off and starting the car up for a second or two? Would the coolant come out if working and not come out if it isn't?
Ok. That did work. When I started is for a second with the cap off the coolant shot up so I'm guessing the water pump is working just fine. Hopefully I'm not assuming wrong.
Next step to try getting it bled well........
 
I don't think that would tell you. It the system is air locked, the water pump won't be pumping, but there wouldn't be anything wrong with the water pump.
 
I don't think that would tell you. It the system is air locked, the water pump won't be pumping, but there wouldn't be anything wrong with the water pump.
Ok but the coolant shot up out of the thermostat fill since I had the cap off. That wouldn't happen unless the pump was working, right?
 
Might depend on how much coolant the water pump was sitting in.

IF the impeller were bad... the pump could still pump water out the housing... but seal the system up and it might not pump/circulate the coolant through the whole system while keeping everything pressurized.
 
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Might depend on how much coolant the water pump was sitting in.

IF the impeller were bad... the pump could still pump water out the housing... but seal the system up and it might not pump/circulate the coolant through the whole system while keeping everything pressurized.
Damnit. Well I'm still gonna bleed it tomorrow but I'd really like a way to tell if the water pump is still working without having to pull it out and check. Because if bleeding it doesn't work then besides another leak, the pump being bad is still a possibility.
 
Does it make a difference if the pressure is a little higher? My cap is 16 psi but tested at 18. Just curious how critical the pressure is.
 
Damnit. Well I'm still gonna bleed it tomorrow but I'd really like a way to tell if the water pump is still working without having to pull it out and check. Because if bleeding it doesn't work then besides another leak, the pump being bad is still a possibility.I’ve been I’ve been
You actually answered your own question in the first post and as long as I’ve been doing Ls stuff over 22 years that’s what they do so just order all the parts and stop confusing yourself any further .

It Is What It Is.
 
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I get that but first I need to know what and where each of these damn pieces are. But that's irrelevant to my question to Joe on which possible issue my specific problem of rapid temp rise only when in gear driving might be. I'm going to replace all the plastic anyway as soon as I find all of them and am able to source them but it seems odd to me that it would be just plastic pieces since there seems to be no leak left to be found and I don't understand how air in the system could make it only overheat when in gear driving and not when idling in park. I would think if air in it is causing problems it would do it all the time.

Let's start over. This all started with a fan replacement. Are you sure the electric fan has enough flow (CFM).

You know the plastics are failing... but there are also multiple O-rings that are probably bad too.

You can't get the system to bleed properly, because there is air in the system... and the heater cores can be a bear to get the air out of.

That's why Joe suggested nose of the car up, to get the air out. (or was it nose down)

Time to call the dealer and see if they have any of the plastic parts in stock. Whatever OEM parts the dealer doesn't have... need to be sourced from a local auto parts store.

Once you have everything, then it's time to assemble, fill, and bleed the system.

This is the only way you can be sure the cooling system is operating properly.
 
Seems Smokes, Joe, and I are coming to the same conclusion.
I haven't bled it myself yet. The shit mechanic I had it at said he did. Which I doubt was done right since I had to fix the fill cap leak on the thermostat housing he apparently didn't notice.
 
Does it make a difference if the pressure is a little higher? My cap is 16 psi but tested at 18. Just curious how critical the pressure is.
The degas cap regulates the pressure. Mine were always dead on 16 PSI. 18 PSI should be okay, but I would be concerned that the cap might be failing and might go higher. It might be time to replace it.
 
Well I don't think it's there yet. I bled the system exactly the way it's supposed to be and also had the car on an incline. When I was done and went to top up the reservoir it was at 197 and when I pulled the cap off I heard pressure escaping so I guess it is building pressure though I don't know if it's the right amount. Anyway, I took it for a test drive and noticed it creeping up at a fair rate to the top end of operating temp and decided to turn the heat on to see if it was still cooling it and it did. To a point. So I left it on, kept driving and it still climbed. I'm afraid to get too far or let it get too high because I don't want to be not able to make it back home. But I would think with the heat on full and the fan at full and in 70 degree weather with a cool wind that it shouldn't still keep climbing but it was. I turned around when it got to 200 and when I got back it was at 208.Nothing's leaking and after I turned it off there was pressure again.
I guess I'll try bleeding it again even though I had a steady stream coming out of the bleed before.
Maybe I'll try to drain the green coolant out first if I can find a pan and pump to get it out of the reservoir. Though it will be on a gravel driveway. I'll have to figure that out.
 
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Ok I'm putting the antifreeze in now and am using the Zerex G05 I was told to get but I just noticed on the jug that it says 2004 and up LS
Oreailly where I got it shows it for 2000 up vinA which mine has an A in it but I don't know if it's what they refer to.
Will the Zerex G05 work in the 02 LS v8 Sport or will I have to get a different antifreeze and change it again?
 
That’s fine I switched my 01 from green to gold and make sure to bleed it exactly to the letter of the instructions and the car will tell you the rest no need for anymore hypotheticals, and that’s if you really want to know because it is what it is. lol
 
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Ok, Joe & Sport, I noticed when I drained the coolant at the petcock on the radiator that the little nipple to connect a hose to drain was filled with some kinda gunk and the coolant wouldn't come out of the nipple part until I cleaned it out. Which makes me wonder would my radiator being clogged make it act like it is with the quick temp climbing when driving but heater is able to cool it somewhat? That would make sense to me since the coolant is restricted in the radiator but the heater core can cool some but not enough for normal driving.
 
Or dark brown? Yes... a plugged radiator will cause overheating.
I myself have never drained it. And the gunk was kind of a tannish brown maybe? It came out of the bottom of the petcock fine but wouldn't out of the nipple part until I cleared it out.
I guess that could also explain why the heater circuit was able to cool it rather quickly but only to a point since it's not meant to cool the whole engine?
 
Sounds like someone put some stop leak in the cooling system previous to you getting the car... or maybe your shade tree mechanic did that... trying to seal the cooling system.

You don't wanna know my last thought on this .
 
Sounds like someone put some stop leak in the cooling system previous to you getting the car... or maybe your shade tree mechanic did that... trying to seal the cooling system.

You don't wanna know my last thought on this .
Let me guess...... teardown and rebuild? I'm thinking I should get a new radiator and see if that does it since they aren't too damn expensive. The car WAS working ok before that night on the way home from work.
 
Well let's just say that I think Joe was right about flushing out the system.
I'm not sure how to even do a flush on a system like these. I know how you do them on old style cooling systems. I think I should still get another radiator first.
 

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