After 5 years off the road (and just about everything replaced) it came time to get a tune on the weekend, however the tuner had some issues with the cooling system getting very hot. I bought a second hand radiator setup from a member of this site a few years ago which was made by aussie desert coolers with a nice thick core, 2 thermo fans and a custom shroud.
Now here is what seems to be happening... the end tank on the same side as the radiator hoses is becoming red hot when the car reaches temperature and the end tank on the other side is still virtually cold. Also the thermo fan on the side the radiator hoses are is extracting hot air where as the one on the other side doesnt seem like the air that it is extracting is anywhere near as hot.
I am thinking there is possibly a blockage in the radiator somewhere (however the radiator was virtually new when I got it) or the person that made the radiator didn't weld a plate in the end tank to force the coolant to flow through the radiator and is just flowing through the end tank.
Has anybody else had this happen and what was the root of the problem? Does anybody have any ideas as to what it may be before I take the radiator out and take it somewhere?
Cheers
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Originally Posted by Wkd_Vl
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id replace the radiator and piss the thermos off and put the clutch fan back in.
Not an option... Spent heaps on dressing the engine bay up to have an ugly clutch fan back in there. The thermos are working fine and aren't an issue.
What is the best way to remove any airlocks in the radiator core?
Cut a 2l bottle top off jam in in radiator or funnel and fill it with water up to top of bottle or funnel and start car let it run for a while add water if needed once its a running temp still let it run for abit to push air lock out
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Originally Posted by madrex
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Cut a 2l bottle top off jam in in radiator or funnel and fill it with water up to top of bottle or funnel and start car let it run for a while add water if needed once its a running temp still let it run for abit to push air lock out
Yep that's what I did... so its gotta be thermostat or blockage...
The thermostat won't cause the radiator to have different temps from one side too the other. It will have a blockage mate pull it out and take it to a proper radiator joint.
I got mine fully flushed out, both end tanks re welded and re painted black for $170.00
Remember also once thermostat and sender as well as radator cap has been over heated they are no longer reliable.
Cheers Marty
have you got a Hand held thermo laser to check temp to see how hot it is getting?
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Originally Posted by ss nut
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Remember also once thermostat and sender as well as radator cap has been over heated they are no longer reliable.
Cheers Marty
have you got a Hand held thermo laser to check temp to see how hot it is getting?
Yep the tuner had all the info (including temp) on the laptop in front of him, so he didn't let it get too hot.
Ok so after pulling the radiator out and placing it on the ground with the inlet and outlets on the ground and the radiator cap off and up the top, I then ran water through the inlet and it came out of the outlet before it came out of the filler at the top. So I am thinking the baffle inside the end tank is not sealed or possibly not in there at all.
It is an aluminium radiator... what are my options as natrad said they are unable to cut off the end tank, fix the baffle and weld the end tank back on...
A mate from work bought a used desert cooler for his SBC Torana and he had the same issue. He took his to City Radiators on port road and they fixed it but they had to sublet welding the tank back on.
COR cooling at wingfield used to be named south state radiators, they do good work also ive had dozens of radiators and intercoolers fixed there for worth a phone call to see how much
I have the same radiator and had the same problem. when i first got it it worked really well and engine temp didn't get over 82 deg. It had been sitting around for the last year while my motor had been getting built and once i put it back in i had the same exact same problem your having. One side of radiator is hot and the other is cold. I got the end tank cut off and the baffle was still there but was not welded all the way around. got the radiator flushed at the same time. Got it back in the car now and both sides heat up and works better but car still runs hot (around 90 to 95) even with new genuine thermostat in it. Thinking of changing to PWR radiator now.
Cheers Antman, will definitely give them a call...
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Originally Posted by MADVLT1
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I have the same radiator and had the same problem. when i first got it it worked really well and engine temp didn't get over 82 deg. It had been sitting around for the last year while my motor had been getting built and once i put it back in i had the same exact same problem your having. One side of radiator is hot and the other is cold. I got the end tank cut off and the baffle was still there but was not welded all the way around. got the radiator flushed at the same time. Got it back in the car now and both sides heat up and works better but car still runs hot (around 90 to 95) even with new genuine thermostat in it. Thinking of changing to PWR radiator now.
Where did you get the end tank cut off and the baffle fixed? What was the rough cost involved if you remember?
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Originally Posted by VLCT88
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Cheers Antman, will definitely give them a call...
Where did you get the end tank cut off and the baffle fixed? What was the rough cost involved if you remember?
Dr bolt cut it off and rewelded it for me and i took it to city radiators to get a flush while the tank was off. as for cost i don't know. i got heaps of things done by him and it just got put on my bill.
