Where does this go?

[JrdnsEdu]

Okay, maybe I'm an idiot, but it just dangles down the side of the car. It has to go somewhere. Help!!

 

[Chas]

Coolant overflow

in my 73 there is a plastic jug on the wheel well that this connects to.....imnot sure how it is in yours but it's the overflow for the radiator.

 

[JrdnsEdu]

I was just out in the garage and there is a plastic jug down there. THX! Haven't figured out how it connects but its there.

 

[Chas]

there should be a connection on the cap of the jug....just slide it onto the end...there is 2 lines for the jug...one comes from the radiator....and one from ther jug to the ground....this is the one that kinda hangs there.....you should see 2 places for lines on the jug cap.

 

[Eric]

Does your car have A/C or an automatic trans? If it does, then you should not have an overflow tank. I have no documentation for anything past 72 but up until then, this was the case for base small block sharks with A/C and/or an automatic.

Expansion tanks were only present if a small block car had a 4-speed and no A/C. All BB cars had tanks.

 

[jmp]

Expansion tanks were only present if a small block car had a 4-speed and no A/C. All BB cars had tanks.

This is true of 72 LT-1s too? Great! Another thing my car is missing -- my drain hose just empties onto the road. (I've got a 4spd with no A/C.)

 

[Eric]

This is true of 72 LT-1s too? Great! Another thing my car is missing -- my drain hose just empties onto the road. (I've got a 4spd with no A/C.)

Sorry, actually the statement I made above applies to base engines. LT1 cars should not have an overflow regadless of transmission unless it's a ZR1. The ZR1 had an aluminum tank.

- Eric

 

[BLACKDOG]

Hey Eric .... you still looking to hook up for the run to Auburn ???

 

[WayneLBurnham]

A little trick for that overflow line.....

For a little last ditch emergency cooling, lengthen that dump hose long enough that it goes to the front of the radiator and dumps there. That way if you are overheating, the lost coolant from the overflow tank will at least have one last purpose of making the radiator have a little added efficiency from getting wetted. Don't do that if you are allergic to antifreeze.

You won't get a mess but you WILL smell any lost coolant. I have a fairly bad allergy to conventional antifreeze I discovered when a heater core blew, so I use the less efficient propylene glycol stuff like Sierra.

Oh, and make sure your main line from the radiator cap to the overflow is a good, new line of a large diameter and has no leaks (I'd use hose clamps on both ends). This is important so there is no vacuum leak as the radiator is sitting there cooling after driving and can pull the fluid back in to the radiator.

The same thing is true of the line inside the cap running to just off the botttom of the tank. It is also nice to have a screen on that.

The overflow tank on later vettes or better expansion tanks on earlier ones is CRITICAL to the vette's cooling system. I think it's the tilted radiator, but mine REALLY seems to like to play with a LOT of coolant during warmup and fills that bottle better than half of it's volume going from cold to hot and then pulling it back in when the system cools down. This fluid exchange is also a built in way to attack the vette's classic problem of getting air in the cooling system - the more it is used the more air is purged.

 

[72Mako]

'72, 4-speed, L48 and A/C here. No overflow tank. Tubing just runs down side of radiator and is open ended. Radiator level normally runs a couple of inches down from the rad neck when cool. Have to jury rig a catch can (empty quart oil jug) to pass inspection when running the car at the dragstrip. Charles