94 caprice question

hey, my buddy has a 94 caprice with a lt1. on his overflow there are 2 outlets. one used 2 go thru the throttle body, now its bypassed. the other goes 2 the radiator. witch i dont have on my 96 ss. he got a 96 overflow, can he delete the small hose goin 2 the ratiator and cap it??



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If you run an updated radiator without the nipple then you should also get a '96 overflow tank to go with it. I tried capping mine and the cap kept blowing off from the pressure. When I clamped it down tighter it would just rip the cap open.

ok. i wasent thinkin of the pressure in the ratiator. so his best bet would be 2 update 2 a 96 ratiator..

If the radiator has a nipple then the overflow should too. If the radiator doesn't have one then the overflow shouldn't either. If he did the throttle body bypass then there's still a hose running to the overflow so don't assume you can just unplug it and use that nipple for the radiator because it won't work.

Just cut the hose back enough to put a bolt into it and clamp it.

I've got a single line out on the overflow tank. Radialor has the second spot for the hose. Its just capped/clammep off. No issues.

alright cool thanks. thats what were goin 2 try were still having a issue with it overheating. thats what were trying to figure out now

Where's the car with the issues? Maybe someone could swing by and give a fresh set of eyes. I know I've figured out the lt1 cooling system pretty well over the years

the car is at his house in bridgewater on rt.18.

I used to live in Bridgewater Got a degree there too

If either of you guys need a bit of a hand or a fresh set of eyes to look at something then drop me a line. I'm out that way a fair bit.

ya deff. pm me if ur in the area this weekend iam sure well be workin on it. he has no problem with u stopping by.. nothin wrong with a third opinion

I was just down that way this morning. Went to Woods and Chuckrans on a parts hunt. I would have stopped by but I don't know where you guys are

right on 18 by peaceful meadows. give me a ring if ur around sunday. we'll be in his garage

So is that one Mike's? Or Mike's?

Glad you got that phucker on the road! Woot! Now it's time for a ROAD TRIP!!!!!!

ya he'll be bringin it 2 the south shore meet in easton on the 18th. but before then i need 2 paint his impala trunk lip and we need 2 clean it. its been slowly gettin worked on and sitting in the garage for 2-3 years

alright. we got the bugs out of the caprice about a week ago. he was headin home from work the other day and the temp started 2 climb again.and the upper hose is smokin hot and the lower half of the lower hose is cold. also the pass. side of the radiator is cold. could it be a clogged radiator? i topped off the coolent and blead the system again but didnt get much air we are lost now..

96slowss wrote:

alright. we got the bugs out of the caprice about a week ago. he was headin home from work the other day and the temp started 2 climb again.and the upper hose is smokin hot and the lower half of the lower hose is cold. also the pass. side of the radiator is cold. could it be a clogged radiator? i topped off the coolent and blead the system again but didnt get much air we are lost now..

Thermostat or waterpump?

t stat is a 1 week old 160 stat and the waterpump is about 50 miles on it..

sounds like the thermostat isnt opening...

Is the line just HOT or is it filled with pressure (if you squeeze it with a rag).

Sure sounds like the t-stat isnt popping open an allowing the colder coolant to pass through.

theres deff pressure in the upper hose. and there is coolent comin out the bleeder screw on the tstat housing. the tstat is a mr gasket 160 stat. and for the last week the cars been runnin at 150 it has a aftermarket auto meter gauge so thats workin correct

You sure it's a gen2 thermostat? I've heard tell of folks sticking a regular chevy 350 t-stat in their engine and having some interesting issues.

Your discription is exactly what happened with my car when the t-stat failed. I could drive it about 10 miles and the temp would reach the red and I'd have to pull over and wait 20 minutes before I could drive it another 5. One hose was too hot to touch and the other was luke warm from the engine heat.

I'd test the t-stat (hot water in a pan trick) and back flush the radiator and hope for the best.

I have had horrible luck with those mr gasket high flow t-stats. throw that thing in the trash and pop a regular stant in her.

its weird cause we got both stats at the same time. i have mine in my 96 ss and it runs so cool all the time. and his just started acting up after a week..

How hot is the car running? Is it straight up overheating or is it just running warmer (say 190-200)?

Pop the t-stat out and inspect it. I have seen the inner o-ring style seal come apart and jam the stat closed.

If you are getting super hot within a few minutes and the upper hose is hot as hell and feels like its ready to burst, by guess would be that the t stat isnt opening.

Another thing you could do....with the car cooled down, take off the rad cap, start the car up and let it reach low operating temp and see if the coolant is moving across the inside of the core. (obviously dont get too close, and as the car builds temp a little overflow will most likely slosh out, but there wont be any extreme pressure such as cracking the cap at 200* lol).

does Mr Gasket make an LT1 thermostat ?

we pulled the tstat last night and it seemed like it wasent working right so we put it back 2gether without the tstat 2 see if thats what it was and it was running alot cooler..

Remember that mr gasket is just like bosch and a few other chinese companies. They make some nice parts and some not so nice parts. When in doubt just buy ac-delco or duralast gold