I'm leaking coolant from my thermostat housing and need to clean up the seal. Do I need to drain coolant before I open it up or is it enough just to let the block cool?

Thanks in advance.

 

On most cars you would just let it cool down, loosen the bolts and let the excess coolant dribble out. But that's not a good idea on an LT1.... the Opti doesn't like the coolant. I would recommend draining the radiator enough to get the level below the housing, and still packing some rags around the Opti so it doesn't get wet.

 

I just drained mine the other day (replaced the thermostat). You will definately need to drain it. I let it drain for a little bit and thought it was good, then when i opened the housing coolant started gushing out. So i let it drain more. I ended up draining about a half gallon just to be sure. I dont mind payign a couple of bucks to have a bottle of coolant thats going to last awhile. Although....thats the 2nd time ive had coolant spill out of the housing and nothign happended to the opti....
Bill