radiator swap question

[michael bustamante]

so after doing my LS swap ( haven't started up the motor yet) I was able to hook up the 4 core radiator I already had ( from my SBC) to the LS hoses. ugly but they worked. upper on passenger side lower on the driver. this radiator has the port on the diver side to hook up the vapor line as well. I went to a shop the other day that recommended me to use a cross flow radiator, where the holes are on the same side because LS motors don t cool well with the one I have now. is this a known fact or was he trying to get me to buy his 400$ radiator?

[ls1nova71]

I wouldn't take that as fact. I have personally put over 250k miles on swaps using SBC radiators with no problems at all.

[mongocanfly]

I cant match Eric's mileage but mines been going fine for about 10yrs on a sb radiator...

[cebra]

Pretty sure they are trying to sell you something you don't need. Piece of advice, fill the motor with coolant through the upper radiator hose (take the hose off the radiator) then fill the radiator. With my hose setup (stock Silverado hose) it is above the radiator and since the t-stat is on the bottom, well the engine was empty and I roasted it. I don't know why this isn't posted all over the board that you will have no water in the motor if you just fill the radiator as the cold water sits against the t-stat and won't get into the motor. $1K lesson learned.

[michael bustamante]

Originally Posted by cebra

Pretty sure they are trying to sell you something you don't need. Piece of advice, fill the motor with coolant through the upper radiator hose (take the hose off the radiator) then fill the radiator. With my hose setup (stock Silverado hose) it is above the radiator and since the t-stat is on the bottom, well the engine was empty and I roasted it. I don't know why this isn't posted all over the board that you will have no water in the motor if you just fill the radiator as the cold water sits against the t-stat and won't get into the motor. $1K lesson learned.

that I had no idea of!! man im glad you told me. hate to take off that hose though as it was a pain to get it on the small black rad! lol. ( different neck size) but im gonna do that tonight..
and thank you guys for your input.. I was wondering.... an aluminum radiator looks nice but my big copper/brass 4 core looks mean and beefy!. lol

[mongocanfly]

well cebra its been covered many many times in a bunch of posts about filling the engine thru the top hose,,maybe you just missed it..

[First c10]

Another trick is to drill a small hole in the thermostat itself. This way fluid will flow both directions. I just filled my radiator and topped it off a few times before starting the motor.

[sprint_9]

First time Ive seen it mentioned and I consider myself to be on here a decent amount.

[ls1nova71]

I know I've posted about filling them through the upper hose several times over the years. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=504797 And it was mentioned in 3 consecutive posts in this thread. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=8001589 I guess it depends on how far back you search.

[ls1nova71]

Originally Posted by michael bustamante

that I had no idea of!! man im glad you told me. hate to take off that hose though as it was a pain to get it on the small black rad! lol. ( different neck size) but im gonna do that tonight..
and thank you guys for your input.. I was wondering.... an aluminum radiator looks nice but my big copper/brass 4 core looks mean and beefy!. lol

Just take the hose off the water pump and fill through that. you don't have to get every bit of air out of the block, you just need to have coolant in it so when it gets hot it will open the thermostat.

[Rich84]

It's important to keep an eye on it as well. I am using the LS tank so it was easy to see that it needed a small amount of coolant added a couple of times as it bleed the air out.

[Wildkarde]

The factory radiator for the 67 should have been crossflow, all that means is that the water flows from side to side instead of vertically like the really early stuff. What they probably meant was a 2 pass radiator which does cool slightly better, but not enough to matter unless you are makingcrazy power. The factory ls radiators are all single pass, and I believe the c5 camaros are vertical flow as well.

[michael bustamante]

ok no mine is a copper brass 4 core radiator with the upper neck on the driver side and the lower in the passenger side. yeah he might have been thinking of a older top fill design... dummy LOL