LS-coupe cooling saga continues :(

[dville_gt]

are the lines to the condenser correct, from compressor to top of condenser, from bottom of condenser to orifice tube\liquid line.

that is not how the f-body condenser is from the factory.

the upper line comes from the orifice tube, the lower line goes to the compressor

if you look at the picture below you can see on the left side the high side port coming from the top of port of the condenser, this then goes straight back to the orifice tube then the evap. the lower line goes straight to the compressor, then the other hose on the compressor goes to the accumulator then back to the evap.

[dville_gt]

here is a look at all the factory ls1 a/c stuff, you'll notice the upper line that goes from evap->orifice->top of condenser (just look for the highside port cap)

[shumpertdavid]

ok, I assume then that your setup follows factory configuration then, just wanted to make sure they weren't backwards as it could affect performance and possible add extra heat.

[71chevellejohn]

Maybe pickup a Radiator cap with the Thermometer built in -


Or an analog gauge for the intake/thermostat housing area(I'm not sure if there is a suitable place to put something like this):


Just something to get a better idea of what the temp really looks like.

[kingjason]

Maybe pickup a Radiator cap with the Thermometer built in -


Or an analog gauge for the intake/thermostat housing area(I'm not sure if there is a suitable place to put something like this):


Just something to get a better idea of what the temp really looks like.

Now that is cool. I have never seen that before in all my tinkering.

[dville_gt]

Switched water pumps back to my original, drained the coolant, filled with straight water and one bottle of some "pump lube/super coolant" stuff. It was about about 7:30 and probably just at/under 100*, let it warm up in the garage with the nose up in the air and burped the system. Then I took it on a 15-20 minute drive around, only got to 210* via the ect sensor (less according to the auto meter).

This might be my ticket, run water during the hottest parts of the year, then back to coolant when the heat breaks. I guess the other advantage is if I ever have a leak at the track they won't have to mop up coolant.

[kingjason]

Switched water pumps back to my original, drained the coolant, filled with straight water and one bottle of some "pump lube/super coolant" stuff. It was about about 7:30 and probably just at/under 100*, let it warm up in the garage with the nose up in the air and burped the system. Then I took it on a 15-20 minute drive around, only got to 210* via the ect sensor (less according to the auto meter).

This might be my ticket, run water during the hottest parts of the year, then back to coolant when the heat breaks. I guess the other advantage is if I ever have a leak at the track they won't have to mop up coolant.

Nice. You could also add a little reverse flow fan to the front of the condensor. They are cheap and might just be the little extra you need.

[dville_gt]

Nice. You could also add a little reverse flow fan to the front of the condensor. They are cheap and might just be the little extra you need.

i've read (i know, don't believe all you read) that a pusher fan in front of a high powered fan like the taurus fan actually inhibits flow by way of messing up the static pressure that the shrouded fan in the rear of the radiator has created. i guess the logic is that the shrouded fan in the back pulls air through all of the radiator and by blowing air in through the front you relieve the puller of the need to suck air from anywhere else since it is being fed by the pusher.

not sure if my explanation makes sense, and I know that some oem's use both a pusher/puller (z51 c6 vette for example), but some folks claim they've tested and seen no gain/loss in cooling. on my 3 series i ditched the oem mechanical fan for a large spal electric fan coupled with the oem pusher and that baby stays cool so maybe the theory is bunk?

[2165 Turbo Rail]

glad you found something that will get you by but still can't be 100% right because noone else has to do that during the summer.

but at least you can drive it with out worrying about it for now...

now that you have that fixed how about you come help me pull the GTO apart so i can get it running again haha

[dville_gt]

glad you found something that will get you by but still can't be 100% right because noone else has to do that during the summer.

but at least you can drive it with out worrying about it for now...

now that you have that fixed how about you come help me pull the GTO apart so i can get it running again haha

Ya, I figure I'll come back next year with a high volume edelbrock lsx pump. They are supposed to move 20% more water. Just too much money for one right now, hopefully if I keep my eyes open I'll find one used before next summer.

I'd be game to come up and help turn a wrench, I have become all to familiar with these motors, did the pump swap, drain, refill, on the road in 15 minutes last night

[2165 Turbo Rail]

haha nice... I have it down to the long block. just need to pull the drive shaft, unbolt the tranny and pull it back, unbolt the exhaust then pull it out.

just haven't wanted to because its so damn hot.

[dville_gt]

haha nice... I have it down to the long block. just need to pull the drive shaft, unbolt the tranny and pull it back, unbolt the exhaust then pull it out.

just haven't wanted to because its so damn hot.

ya, this weather SUCKS!

i bought one of these:


so much nicer then my old box fan, especially when i am working inside the car, just point it up into the car and this thing moves a lot of air. (humm, maybe i should just bolt it to the front of the coupe

quick question, when you give temp readings are you getting them from the ect sensor or from your auto meter gauge? if i go by the auto meter my car runs around 195* most of the time, but my ect through the pcm/hp tuners shows 210. per some reading i've seen where some folks say that the ect is actually less accurate because the reading goes through a few calculations and then is being interpreted by both the pcm, the hptuners module, and your laptop before you see it, whereas the auto meter is simply a resistance reading done via the gauge. just wondering how you were looking at your temps.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

When we first got the car running we had the laptop hooked up so we were seeing temps from there but it matched my dash gauge spot on. My dash gauge is a factory gauge with a marking sending unit tapped into my water pump. it's tapped in where the forward facing pump outlet normally is

[71chevellejohn]

Now that is cool. I have never seen that before in all my tinkering.

Mooneyes used to make a thermostat housing with the gauge built in too. I'm not sure if they still do- can't find a pic, but it was really cool.

EDIT - Found a pic