A
Arnold Hite
Guest
O.K. I am ready to report about a question I posted back in August. The
original message was:
For years I've been nursing a poorly performing radiator. In the hot
summer months the car slowly heats up. When the temperature needle
finally edges up to the hot zone, I slow down to 45-50 and she begins to
slowly cool. If I stop and idle, she cools faster. I have flushed the
radiator, replaced the antifreeze, changed the thermostat, and added a
liquid to the radiator claiming to make it work better. None of this
seems to make a difference. I am convinced the problem is a clogged up
radiator.
Many of you were kind enough to send me suggestions. John
(minnow@amohicar.net) suggested pulling the radiator and having it flow
tested and boiled. I did that although I ?m not sure if the radiator
shop boiled it out. They reported it easily passed the flow test. They
also repaired a small leak and repainted it gloss black. Too bad the
rest of my engine compartment doesn?t look as nice. Mike I. identified
the oil cooler fins as a possible culprit. I checked them. They were
about 80% clogged, even though I had attempted to clean them many times
while installed in the car. I guess that doesn?t work too well. While it
was out, I cleaned it really well. I did not have the oil cooler checked
for flow, nor did I have the insides cleaned. I would have done it
except I just forgot. It?s re-installed now.
Many folks including Ron in PA and Marc suggested I replace all of the
rubber seals that help direct outside air through the radiator fins. The
ones on top seemed o.k. so I left them. I did replace the ones on the
sides and underneath the radiator housing.
Tommy in Tampa warned about removing the oil cooler hoses from the
cooler. Yes, as suggested, I removed them from the oil filter housing.
My car is a great example of what can happen if one attempts to remove
the hoses from the oil cooler. Evidently, a previous owner attempted
that. Now those nuts are nicely rounded. Perhaps I should polish them.
While doing all of that, I managed to destroy a couple of the vibration
isolators that mount the radiator to its frame. I ordered substitute
parts from with McMaster-Carr at Mcmaster.com. They work great. The part
number was 9217K49. The description was:
Metric Natural Rubber,
$1.84 each,
Cylindrical Sandwich Mount,
Male to Male, M8 X 1.25 thread.
I should post that to the club web site.
After all that, I was eager to test drive the car. Today I did. THERE IS
ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE. The car still over heats. Today?s high was
only in the 70s. I was so upset I yanked out the thermostat hoping it
was bad even though it was only three years old. Without the thermostat
the car still overheats.
Now I?m down to only two remaining theories. 1) The car is running
correctly and the sender unit is defective. And 2) The top rubber that I
judged to be o.k. is really bad.
So, how good does the rubber at the top of the radiator shroud have to
be to be effective? Mine is not torn. It leans inward about 45 degrees
especially around the corners. It does not touch against the engine
hood. Should it? I measure about ? inch space between the top of the
rubber and the engine cover. It seems to be the same for the entire top
of the shroud. Is that bad?
Getting hot in Charleston,
Arnold
original message was:
For years I've been nursing a poorly performing radiator. In the hot
summer months the car slowly heats up. When the temperature needle
finally edges up to the hot zone, I slow down to 45-50 and she begins to
slowly cool. If I stop and idle, she cools faster. I have flushed the
radiator, replaced the antifreeze, changed the thermostat, and added a
liquid to the radiator claiming to make it work better. None of this
seems to make a difference. I am convinced the problem is a clogged up
radiator.
Many of you were kind enough to send me suggestions. John
(minnow@amohicar.net) suggested pulling the radiator and having it flow
tested and boiled. I did that although I ?m not sure if the radiator
shop boiled it out. They reported it easily passed the flow test. They
also repaired a small leak and repainted it gloss black. Too bad the
rest of my engine compartment doesn?t look as nice. Mike I. identified
the oil cooler fins as a possible culprit. I checked them. They were
about 80% clogged, even though I had attempted to clean them many times
while installed in the car. I guess that doesn?t work too well. While it
was out, I cleaned it really well. I did not have the oil cooler checked
for flow, nor did I have the insides cleaned. I would have done it
except I just forgot. It?s re-installed now.
Many folks including Ron in PA and Marc suggested I replace all of the
rubber seals that help direct outside air through the radiator fins. The
ones on top seemed o.k. so I left them. I did replace the ones on the
sides and underneath the radiator housing.
Tommy in Tampa warned about removing the oil cooler hoses from the
cooler. Yes, as suggested, I removed them from the oil filter housing.
My car is a great example of what can happen if one attempts to remove
the hoses from the oil cooler. Evidently, a previous owner attempted
that. Now those nuts are nicely rounded. Perhaps I should polish them.
While doing all of that, I managed to destroy a couple of the vibration
isolators that mount the radiator to its frame. I ordered substitute
parts from with McMaster-Carr at Mcmaster.com. They work great. The part
number was 9217K49. The description was:
Metric Natural Rubber,
$1.84 each,
Cylindrical Sandwich Mount,
Male to Male, M8 X 1.25 thread.
I should post that to the club web site.
After all that, I was eager to test drive the car. Today I did. THERE IS
ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE. The car still over heats. Today?s high was
only in the 70s. I was so upset I yanked out the thermostat hoping it
was bad even though it was only three years old. Without the thermostat
the car still overheats.
Now I?m down to only two remaining theories. 1) The car is running
correctly and the sender unit is defective. And 2) The top rubber that I
judged to be o.k. is really bad.
So, how good does the rubber at the top of the radiator shroud have to
be to be effective? Mine is not torn. It leans inward about 45 degrees
especially around the corners. It does not touch against the engine
hood. Should it? I measure about ? inch space between the top of the
rubber and the engine cover. It seems to be the same for the entire top
of the shroud. Is that bad?
Getting hot in Charleston,
Arnold