DEXCOOL & T-stat noises-ANYONE???

it could be a lot of things and you just feel it through the tstat housing. it could be the tensioner since it sits right there anyways. or check to see if any of the posts on the underside of the distributor cap have come loose and are turned. my buddy had that happen on his spitfire and it made a tapping noise everytime the rotor hit that post. just a few suggestions
 
I will check the distributor cap tonight. i didnt think of that. thanks. Dude-the sound comes directly from the T-stat houing though, its weird.
crazy thing is, Once you put pressure on the radiator, ths noise vanishes, remove the pressure-Boooooooom-Its ocmes back immediatiely. Think of smacking 2 spoons together, thats the noise-very metallic, tink-tink and its like sounding through the lower manifold.
Once we took the belt off, noise was gone. Obviously-It must be somehting rotating or circulating-correct?
Question-If the heater core is on its way out, and its letting air into the system-can that cause this noise? because-You can actually see on the Rad pressure tester the pressure drop-whenever you hear the noise-So its something in the system...
 
im wondering if it is the water pump. maybe the blades on the impeller are slipping and not attached all the way to the impeller. but that wouldnt cause a drop in pressure. the pressure comes from the expansion of coolant and water when it heats up. hmm....very interesting. you got me stumped
 
Not to say-It cant be the pump, But the water pump is only 1 years old and its an Edelbrock. But i did think the impeller a swell. or something after the AFR head install was stcuk in one fo the water jackets in the head and moving around insdie, but after flushuing the ****er for 2 1/2 hours-everything that might be stuck-Shouldve came out by now-right?
 
I use Prestone long life coolant,which say`s Dexcool approved on the jug,but I don`t know if it`s the exact GM Dexcool formulation.

Never had an issue using it in my 5.0 and in a 97 Accord.
 
I would be careful running the car wihtout the t-stat. Too low of a coolant temp can lead to faster engine wear. Now that you have eliminated the Tstat as the source of the noise, I would put it back in.

I assume you don't have an engine stethescope? They look pretty much like what a doctor uses, except the probe end is just a metal rod.
Probably less than $10 at the local parts store.

Good Luck

jason
 
vristang said:
I would be careful running the car wihtout the t-stat. Too low of a coolant temp can lead to faster engine wear. Now that you have eliminated the Tstat as the source of the noise, I would put it back in.

I assume you don't have an engine stethescope? They look pretty much like what a doctor uses, except the probe end is just a metal rod.
Probably less than $10 at the local parts store.

Good Luck

jason

Dude-

I used the stethoscope from my buddy's exhaust shop and a long ass screw driver-and came up with the same location for the noise-T-stat housing. Im not gonna run without a T-stat forveer, Just dont feel like-taking it all apart again for now. i doubt it'll do much damage nor speed up engine wear for 2 days, so im cool with that. the car is not a daily driver and gets taken out-Only on the weekends. But thanks-for the heads up.

And as for DEXCOOl goes-IT SUCKS, period and end of story. Thanks to it now-i have a leaky heater core, because that ****er wasnt leaking until-I switched over. Just my 2 cents from this experince.

Ant:bang:
 
Well-Guys I have come to a theoretcial standpoint,

This is my thoughts-I have a leaky heater core now, which is obviosuly leaking insdie my passenger side carpet, so i will be bypassing it temporarily until summer is over. and this is the root of my losing pressure in the system while testing it, Im thinking maybe-Its sucking in air via the heater core and relasing it into the system to the heater core tubes and into the water pump via the small bypass hose into the T-stat housing-creating air pockets and this dreaded noise which is only in the T-stat housing. I also have an Edlelbrock WP-which is high flow-maybe that has something to do with the high pressure/volume and possibley blowing out my heater core combined with the Dex-crap. Whatta ya guys think? Can air getting inside wreak this type of havoc making these noises?
I mean everytime we watched the pressure gauge on the rad. neck while pumping air into the Rad-it held pressure and stopped making the noises... WTF!!!!!! When the pressure dropped-I noticed the noise, pump it up-and it would dissapear....
Or do you think-it can be a blown head gasket??????????? I mean the anti-freeze inside the rad is alwasy seeming unstable with lots of bubbles, but im also thinking-If air inside from the heater core-It may cause it as well.

Im lost..... Anthony
P.S. when i took the belt off, noise was totally goine....
 
Sorry, I didn't read any of the 3 pages here.

Dexcool is uncool.

You will have to replace every part of your cooling system in 3 years if you use it. Water pumps, freeze plugs, intake gaskets, head gaskets, heater cores, radiators, ect.... As soon as every GM is out of warranty I put ethylene glycol antifreeze in them.

GM made me tons of money repairing leaks caused by dexcool, so I like the crap.
 
5.0tbirdguy said:
Sorry, I didn't read any of the 3 pages here.

Dexcool is uncool.

You will have to replace every part of your cooling system in 3 years if you use it. Water pumps, freeze plugs, intake gaskets, head gaskets, heater cores, radiators, ect.... As soon as every GM is out of warranty I put ethylene glycol antifreeze in them.

GM made me tons of money repairing leaks caused by dexcool, so I like the crap.

ITS BEEN FLUSHED OUT ALREADY...... Thank God... it was only in for about 1 month, and i now-already have a leaky heater core now. :( And that dayuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum Noise coming form the T-stat housing.