What Should I do

[papachino]

I just purchased a '96 Grand Am Gt from my niece. Runs great and looks good; but she messed up......she blew out the radiator....replaced it and couldn't afford antifreeze so she put straight water in and she pulled the thermostat out. It has only been a month or so since she did this. Everything was checked out and no damage done to the motor.

My question is with the exception of replacing the coolant and the thermostat is there anything else I should do like flushing the entire system?

Also I know there is and argument as to which coolant to use but any opinion is appreciated.

[coupe]

I wouldnt, just replace the stat and coolant, call it a day.

[rixGAphx]

I agree with coupe.

Except that I would flush the system with PrestoneSuper flush or such.
Reason?
It's an old system, prolly wasn't well-cared for, prolly has a bunch of minerals deposited on the walls of the engine/heads.
And though her radiator *might* have 'blown' from simple old age, I'll bet that the removal of the t'stat was a last-ditch effort to solve an underlying overheating problem.

So now's the time to do everything right, including check/replace the reservoir pressure cap and check the entire system for leakage. Especially at the heater core.
And do all the other things associated with the GA's coolaing system.

I prefer to use Sierra environmentally-friendly coolant in the GA's cooling system.
Afterall, sooner or later something's going to break on this damned car, and you're gonna spill it all on the driveway or highway.
At least with the Sierra, you don't risk poisoning dogs or killing fish.

Finally, if you check the top of the engine, I believe you'll see it's actually the 3100, not the 3400 indicated in your profile.
If it actually IS the 3400, then she had a swap done and you need to update yourself on that

Hope this helps, and :welcome: to GAOC!!
-Rick

PS: Don't forget to 'bleed' the air from the cooling system after filling, and don't overtighten the reservoir pressure cap.
And of course, check those battery cables. :D :D

[papachino]

Finally, if you check the top of the engine, I believe you'll see it's actually the 3100, not the 3400 indicated in your profile.

Your right....i have no idea why i put 3400....:banghead:

[messiveian]

there is no problem running the car with straight water for the summer. Alot of people do it when they flush their system. It doesnt hurt anything. just make sure you get a t-stat and coolant in there before it gets cold out. Running without the t-stat is just like running the car the entire time with the t-stat open.It just takes longer for the car to heat up and if i recall doesnt the car run slightly rich when its cold?

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by messiveian
there is no problem running the car with straight water for the summer.
Alot of people do it when they flush their system.
It doesnt hurt anything. It DOES hurt something to run plain water.

The bearing on the waterpump shaft requires the lubricating properties of glycol antifreeze to prevent wear and failure.
Driving a week or two doesn't hurt much, since the lubricating molecules are lightly 'embedded' into microscopic pores of the bronze bearing.
After that, you have a steel shaft spinning in water against a bronze bearing, water corrodes the steel and makes a lousy lubrican, and thus the metals start to wear very quickly.
The shaft starts to wobble in the bearing, and the wobble destroys the seal. Voila! Waterpump failure in short order.

Use straight water in your own system if you want to, since it's you who will be paying for the new waterpumps.

Running without the t-stat is just like running the car the entire time with the t-stat open.Not at all.

The t'stat, when open, is still a formidable obstruction that slows the flowing coolant.
This is a GOOD thing, engineered into the system to make everything run as well as possible.

The coolant will always pick-up heat from the metal walls of the block and heads, whether it's moving fast or slow.
But as it passes thru the radiator, it must travel at just the right speed to give-up as much heat as possible to the air passing thru rad core.
Very slow isn't good.
Neither is very fast: The coolant just doesn't spend enough time (in seconds) to give-up enough heat; so it returns to the engine too hot, and you end up OVERHEATING.

Keep in mind, that the 'coolant speed of flow' varies tremendously: the waterpump obviously pushes more water when the engine's running 4000 rpm tahn when it's idling at 800.
And the air moving thru the rad also varies tremendously, depending on road speed and effectiveness of the fan.

Point being, the t'stat is a necessary component of the cooling system for many reasons, and papachino's niece was ill-advised to have ever removed it.
'Tis an erroneous old-wives tale that removing the t'stat helps an overheating car run cooler.
It had some basis-in-fact in the days of Model T's and MGA's, but not so for modern cars.

My '56 MGA actually had a factory-issed t'stat substitute for summer use in hot climates.
It flowed more water than the stock t'stat, but still provided restriction for optimum heat transfer.
We've come a long way since then :eek:

It just takes longer for the car to heat up and if i recall doesnt the car run slightly rich when its cold? Correct.
Running cold is bad for the environment and for the wallet.

[messiveian]

thanks for the clarification rick i was 1 for 3 lol and when i said running straight water is ok, isnt water wetter supposed to lube the bearings?

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by messiveian
thanks for the clarification rick i was 1 for 3 lol and when i said running straight water is ok, isnt water wetter supposed to lube the bearings? 'Watter Wetter' is a product of Red Line Oil, and it is well-respected as an agent to transfer heat better than water alone and much better than water+glycol antifreezes.

It aids in reducing corrosion in a cooling system.
It cleans and lubricates the seal on waterpumps.

But it makes NO claim regarding lubricating the waterpump shaft bearing.

Red Line specifically markets this stuff to the automotive racing world, where it allows you to build a smaller, lighter, faster, more aerodynamic, MORE WINNING car because the radiator, and cooling system overall, can be smaller and lighter.
Racing machines aren't generally concerned with the longevity of the waterpump bearing, as long as it makes it to the end of the race. They can install a new WP for next race, along with the complete engine internals.

For normal everyday use, Red Line recommends that Water Wetter be mixed with traditional antifreeze.
The even offer their own prodcut, SuperCool, which is premixed WW + Antifreeze.
this offers all the advantages of WW, + the necessary attributes of antifreeze (antifreeze, andti-boilover, greater corrosion protection, plus WP bearing lubrication).