Low Coolant! - PLEASE Help

[Dub]

Hey Dub... Sorry to hear that your car will be laid up for a bit but sounds like there is a definite speed of light at the end of the tunnel...

Thanks. Yes I am disappointed, and somewhat excited at the same time!

 

[Dub]

Dub sorry to hear of your problems, frustrating for sure. However the project sounds like a very interesting follow along story and I look forward to what you are going to do with it.

N20Vette and Dub is there any way of hooking up a mechanical gauge to see if the temperatures you are seeing are real? Has there been any history of inaccurate readings from electronic gauges?

Best of luck to both of you.

I actually took mine into the shop yesterday to get them to check the actual temps vs the gauges and do a complete check of the entire system, and although I did flush the system last year, I'm having them do that now as well. I'm literally grasping at straws here, because I really don't want to park the car this year, and if I can just get through this year with all of our plans, I'll be ok with parking for a couple years after this summer. Obviously if I don't get a miracle, it will be parked, sooner rather than later.

 

[Dub]

Hey Dub.
My car always seemed to run warm - 220 and I could keep the temps down ok by running the a/c.
First thing to always check on a C5 is that there is not a bag or debris blocking the radiator as our cars are bottom breathers and have a habit of picking up crap off the streets.
Mine was fine and it turned out that my coolant tank (surge tank) had a small crack in the nipple where the rubber tube attaches to. It was a small leak. I never saw coolant on the ground or leaking down the side of the tank.
However, I knew it was cracked due to the coolant getting darker and I could see just a bit of dried residue on the outside.
I replaced the tank and had the fans tuned to come on at 180 for stage 1 and 200 for stage 2. It's been great ever since.
Long story long, do you have any small cracks or pin holes in the system? Is the coolant still super clean or is it a bit brown like oxygen is getting in it?
Lastly, as another person interesting in getting twin turbos for my car, I'm interested to hear what other mods you are considering (may have to start a new thread). But my thoughts were for starters, new clutch, tunnel plate, DTE brace, and trans brace. Then down the line if needed, motor mounts, new bushings in the torque tube, hardened half shaft in the diff, and rebuilt transmission.
What have you thought of? My goal would be 500 rwhp so not quite as high as your 7-8 hundred.

Hey Riley! I actually had the shroud and air intake off, and used a wheel brush and tooth brush to clean all the debris from the rad and ac condenser, while using the shop vac to collect it all. I was super shocked to see how much crap gets stuck in there, that you can't clean if you don't take it all apart! I did check the reservoir tank, but after reading your response and details on your prior experience, it sounds very familiar and I have just called the shop to ask them to check that tank over really well, as I may have missed it if it was a small enough crack. And I was losing a small amount of coolant like you, and didn't notice it anywhere, which made me lean towards a head gasket problem but now I'm hoping it could be something simple like a small crack or pin hole somewhere. Where did you get the fans tuned to come on 180 & 200? This should have been the way they came imo.
As far as what mods I'm looking at, I haven't dug much further than the engine mods, and figured I would upgrade clutch to a Centerforce twin disc, and get a Z06 torq tube. As for induction, I'm actually torn between a Procharger or an intercooled twin (57mm) turbo system. As for heads it will be either a set of Trick Flow CNC ported LS1 heads or a set of AFR 205 heads, and a FAST LSX intake, and I'm thinking a mild cam, maybe a Voodoo?? I realize that my goal of 700-800hp might be a little aggressive, or hopeful with either combination, but hey I have high hopes. Speaking of which, I HOPE I don't have to start this project until next year, but I'll update this thread as soon as the shop contacts me.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Dub, any idea of what the cost would be if for some reason the head gaskets needed to be replaced? Still hoping for you that it is something simple, stuck thermostat, collapsing upper or lower rad hose who knows.

The reason I wonder is if you can get it fixed with minimal cost, (I know that is a relative term) then maybe you could continue driving the car and enjoying it. In the interim you you start the process of collecting parts maybe even an entirely new motor (GM Crate) as the budget allows for your build to terrorize the nation.

Good luck Dub

 

[Dub]

Dub, any idea of what the cost would be if for some reason the head gaskets needed to be replaced? Still hoping for you that it is something simple, stuck thermostat, collapsing upper or lower rad hose who knows.

The reason I wonder is if you can get it fixed with minimal cost, (I know that is a relative term) then maybe you could continue driving the car and enjoying it. In the interim you you start the process of collecting parts maybe even an entirely new motor (GM Crate) as the budget allows for your build to terrorize the nation.

Good luck Dub

Funny you mentioned that. I'm currently dealing on an LS1 6.0 truck block from a friend of mine, but I would be trading one of my old project vehicles for it, and he hasn't decided if he's interested or not. If I do make a deal on it, I will drive my car for now, as long as it doesn't cost too much to repair it, if it is indeed a head gasket. I don't want to damage my block though, because it would be a great donor motor for my '70 GMC 1/2 ton.(but it needs a ton of work itself, so who knows???)

 

[Riley P]

Hey Dub! I had Russ Kemp in Regina adjust the settings for the fans using HP Tuners while he changed over the intake and fixed one of my knock sensors (the sensor actually fell into the engine ). In the future, I'll just take the car to my friends shop in martensville if anything else needs to be done.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your build!.....but not until next summer.