Ls cooling

Beerj · Oct 8, 2019

I have a 160° -20 fitting coming off of my truck pump that gave me hell for months whenever it would collect a bubble there. Drilled a hole and added a bleeder there and has been ok since. Plus, it makes filling the system simple. Open the bleeder and fill the rad until it runs out. Close the bleeder and top off. Doesn't even need to burp anymore.

redneckengineered · Oct 8, 2019

Nughuffer said:
I went from a 180ish stock stat to an LS2 160F thermostat hoping to help cool my shitbox down some. My avg operating temps dropped about 10F at best. I saw no noticeable improvement during a beatdown session. 215-220F is common and I've seen 230F. I'm running an LS1 vette water pump, 31" 2-row rear-mounted radiator w/ dual 16" PCM controlled fans. I saw more improvement by having my fans come on earlier for longer and running 75% water, 25% green. I highly recommend using a vac filler tool to fill the system. **** makes life much easier w/an LS & rear-mounted radiator.

It's not a panacea. Just a piece of the puzzle. If your cooling is adequate already it will help. If it is below adequate/overheating you won't notice much if anything.

zsavage81 said:
Which 160 thermostat are you running? Is it the Lingenfelter i listed above? You got a truck pump?

LPE-L310015204. I am running the WOD thermostat housing.

Sawzall · Oct 8, 2019

I never had any problem at all with the stock LQ4 but the new 402 would get to 230 idling. Fans ran constantly, passenger tank would get cold and the system had no air in it. Thrillbilly on here said a 160 degree thermostat fixed his buggy so I gave it a try. It fixed mine too. Fans cycle and passenger tank doesn't get cold. Both engines had 190 thermostats but the LQ4 had the 150k mile original.

zsavage81 · Oct 9, 2019

redneckengineered said:
LPE-L310015204. I am running the WOD thermostat housing.

Thermostat is on the way and I borrowed a vaccum filler from a buddy to ensure there's no air trapped inside when I fill it back up. AOP will be the test! I'm not going to swap AN hoses right yet just because I don't think I have time to do it properly this week. Thermostat, oil accumulator, oil cooler, and new winch will be the only upgrades I think I can manage between now and then.

Get one of those buggy's running and come on, we need someone to show us where to yard sale our junk!

vogelj · Oct 11, 2019

zsavage81 said:
Thermostat is on the way and I borrowed a vaccum filler from a buddy to ensure there's no air trapped inside when I fill it back up. AOP will be the test! I'm not going to swap AN hoses right yet just because I don't think I have time to do it properly this week. Thermostat, oil accumulator, oil cooler, and new winch will be the only upgrades I think I can manage between now and then.

Get one of those buggy's running and come on, we need someone to show us where to yard sale our junk!

I have had a lot of problems with bleeding my rear mounted radiator as well. after talking with Wide Open Design they gave me some good tips that made it way easier.

- Drill two small 1/8" holes in the thermostat.
- Fill the engine full of coolant through the top fitting on the water pump.
- Only fill the radiator about 3/4 full to let it burp out.

I followed this and it bleed out great. I have always had to use a vacuum bleeder in the past. I think the holes in the thermostat make the biggest difference.

redneckengineered · Oct 18, 2019

zsavage81 said:
Thermostat is on the way and I borrowed a vaccum filler from a buddy to ensure there's no air trapped inside when I fill it back up. AOP will be the test! I'm not going to swap AN hoses right yet just because I don't think I have time to do it properly this week. Thermostat, oil accumulator, oil cooler, and new winch will be the only upgrades I think I can manage between now and then.

Get one of those buggy's running and come on, we need someone to show us where to yard sale our junk!

Axle is here but shafts won't be until next week. Ya'll have fun, tell Zach to text me if you need any trail recommendations. And post back with a report on the cooling.

zsavage81 · Oct 22, 2019

redneckengineered said:
Axle is here but shafts won't be until next week. Ya'll have fun, tell Zach to text me if you need any trail recommendations. And post back with a report on the cooling.

Temps were much much better! Spent most of the trip around 180-185 and it seemed like it took a while to even get up there. I never saw anything over 205 even when beating on it for prolonged periods. I'll have to wait a while to see what it does with elevated summer temps, but as of now I'm pretty confident the problem is solved!

We had a hell of a great trip. Creampie and Little Caesers are bad ass and definitely a couple of my new favorites!