Bypassing heater core

[1slow96]

As a percentage of the coolant circulating within the engine itself,it's a significant amount. That being said,I ran without the heater core for quite a while. An electric pump,along with a higher capacity (BeCool) radiator helped a lot.

[The Lazy Destroyer]

Originally Posted by 1slow96

As a percentage of the coolant circulating within the engine itself,it's a significant amount. That being said,I ran without the heater core for quite a while. An electric pump,along with a higher capacity (BeCool) radiator helped a lot.

Sounds good. I plan on a new radiator in the near future.
I'll keep an eye on the temps and if anything is abnormal I'll re-assess the setup.
Surely the F-body crowd must be doing something similar for the track duty cars at least.

[95wagon]

If you are cleaning house , so to speak,

I would plug the heater out line on the water pump, run the bottom hose off the factory expansion tank to the "in" line of the pump. (same place it goes now)

Keep the head bleeds going to the tank.

With a proper bypass type thermostat, you do not need the coolant flow path through the heater lines.

All they would be doing is taking hot coolant as it leaves the engine and putting it right back in.

That's my two bits.

[The Lazy Destroyer]

Originally Posted by 95wagon

If you are cleaning house , so to speak,

I would plug the heater out line on the water pump, run the bottom hose off the factory expansion tank to the "in" line of the pump. (same place it goes now)

Keep the head bleeds going to the tank.

Hmm, I like this, even cleaner look than simply running a "loop".
Less points of failure as well (say the "T" or restrictor become cracked).
Would it be okay to just run a short section of hose and use a barbed cap at the end of it, to plug the outlet line? Or maybe a rubber cap if I can find one?
Or should I do it "properly" and remove the tube somehow and tap the WP body for a NPT cap thread?
I want to do it right but would like to keep the WP body stock if possible.

EDIT: Actually I seem to recall that lower connection points "up", so not sure how I could bleed the air from that area if I just capped as is. Maybe I would have to remove the connection from the body. Are those tubes just pressed in? Does anyone know how hard they are to pop out?

[95wagon]

You could cap the one pipe with a short length of hose and slug of aluminum bar, or one of those molded caps
BUT , the molded caps have been known to fail , and the short hose will look unfinished.
That said the caps are used by many without issue.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-02252/overview/

Removing the tube would be more work and makes it hard to go back but would be the cleanest.

[The Lazy Destroyer]

Ya, I would like to keep the WP body stock if possible.
I guess my only concern now is if I just used a barbed cap on a short heater hose on the outlet, can air get trapped there?

[Gacob]

Originally Posted by The Lazy Destroyer

Are those tubes just pressed in? Does anyone know how hard they are to pop out?

Yes, they're pressed in and extremely difficult to get out in my experience...but they do come out

[1slow96]

Do not "cap",or "plug" either of the tubes. That is how the coolant inside the engine circulates.

[95wagon]

Originally Posted by 1slow96

Do not "cap",or "plug" either of the tubes. That is how the coolant inside the engine circulates.

Oh really??? go and take a LONG look at the passages of the water pump and get back to us.

You really have to watch the path as one passage goes forward and around the other in the casting.

Here's a preview,,,,,,,,,,, the path the coolant takes through the heater core parallels others and
IS NOT NESSASARY

As long as the reservoir bottom is connected to the suction side and the head bleeds go to the top , it works.

[1slow96]

My experience is that engine coolant temps were far more stable with the heater hoses/core in use,than they were with the heater hoses/core bypassed. So,I fail to see the advantage of doing this.