guest74777

I have recently finished my Heads/cam Lt-1 project, its been only ran for about 30-40 minutes, no driving time yet due to the weather. my problem is that im not sure if I have all the air worked out of the system. I will let it run for 10-15 minutes then turn it off and take the cap off and the coolant will go down 1-2 inchs. I tested the system with a pressure checker and it seemed to hold pressure fine. I also do not have white smoke upon start up which makes me think it is not head gasket realated. Also they are brand new felpro 1074's and brand new ARP head bolts torqued to the exact spec it says in the manuel, so i just dont understand how it could be a head gasket, also it runs cold, no overheating and the fans work. Plugs were dry, and oil does not get milky. Im still just worried because it seems to lose coolant but i think it could be air. Anyone have any ideas im confused and just hoping it isnt a head gasket.

ss.slp.ls1

Did you fill the system throught the water pump before putting the thermostat and radiator hose on? If you didn't then there will be a lot of air in the system, and as soon as the car reaches temperature and the thermostat opens the water will drop alot. Just keep cycling it and toping it off and see if it stops. Good luck.

2000GTP

Did you try releasing any possible trapped air from the bleeder screws?

ssbowtie1

Make sure you purged all the air in the system.

Also, order a new GM cap. My coolant was always a few inches low until I replaced the radiator cap it was never low after that.

guest74777

no, I did not fill it up through the water pump, I just filled it through the radiator. I tried bleeding the system with the bleeder screws but was not sure how. also the level does not really drop much while its running but goes down when off and no cap on, do you guys think it could be a head gasket already with no driving time on it?

ss.slp.ls1

This should explain how to bleed the system (courtesy of shoebox):
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#radflush

You probably just had a lot of air in the system, bleed it as it says above, and if it continues to be low after the engine has cycled a couple of times from hot to cold, then I would start to look for leaks.

guest74777

thank you sir

guest74777

do you guys think it is just air in the system or a head gasket after 30min of running time

Paulster2

Remember something about how liquid gets with it gets hot ... it expands. When the coolant gets warm it expands, then when there is a total of 18psi in the system, it pushes the excess through the radiator cap and into the overflow reservoir. Then when you shut your engine off and the coolant cools down, it goes back to an original state (contracting somewhat), then will draw coolant out of the overflow back into the radiator. This is the whole reason there are overflow tanks in first place, so that a bunch of air doesn't get reintroduced into the coolant system. Use the directions on Rob's site (Shoebox) to bleed the system. I would bet that you aren't having any issues at all, it just seems that way.

guest74777

yea i think im am scaring myself about the head gaskets because its the first time they have been off the car. I put everything back together perfect, i am extremely ocd about the cleanliness and perfection, I re-did the intake twice because i felt it was not good enough. I guess ill just have to wait until we get some decent weather here and can drive it.