Okay, took it out for a 30 minute drive and came back. Shut off the car. Felt the upper hose (hot) the top of the radiator tank (hot) the upper part of the radiator grills (what are those called?) warm. Lower hose (cool) lower tank where the lower hose is attached to (cool, maybe even cold?) lower radiator grills(?) (cool). Any ideas?

Regards, Brenden.

 

If hot and cool hoses would look at radiator being partially plugged up.

If this is the original radiator find out if a radiator shop can flow test it then clean it if required. The original radiator is always much better then aftermarket.

If the shop needs to remove the upper and lower radiator tanks have them replaced. The upper tank tends to crack with age.

 

Well, I flushed the system out again. Seemed to get good flow out the bottom drain, as well as the bottom hose disconnected at Tstat end. I wanted to keep the Tstat out to see what would happen, but the rubber gasket wraps around the rim of the tstat, so, can I just take that rubber gasket off and stick it in there? Will there be enough "girth" to provide a proper seal without having the thermostat in? Could any of this be water pump related? I would think if the pump weren't working there would be some serious overheating.

Thanks, Brenden.

 

Just bumping. Any ideas for running without tstat? Will the rubber gasket give enough girth to fill the void? Are there any ways to give the radiator a good cleaning off of the car? Any suggestions?

Regards, Brenden.

 

Drain enough coolant out to view the radiator via the filler port tops, determine if they are clogged.

Lots of post about adding things like vinegar to dissolve calcium build up.

Don't add any chemicals to the radiator still on the car such as radiator cleaner or coolant system cleaner as these can plug the radiator up.

You can use Permatex 82180 black silicone gasket maker for a gasket.