Determine clog in Radiator

[bgd73]

Just when I thought I was done.....

I had a mysterious overheat with no fluid consumption, after putting in a/c condensor.familiar with this very-long-run-to-overheat prob, I flushed radiator after finding metallic granular shiny sand stuff (very small granular). Someone along the way thought they could stop a leak with this crap. Anyway, overheats didn't stop. So I took a bottom fin (useless) off the condensor except for the very middle of cooling channel to maintain structural integrity, figuring the bottom of condensor is always under the least heat/pressure. It helped but didn't fix. Now here is my big Q--

After placing my hand on bottom 3-4 rows of radiator, it is same temperature as air going through it, after engine is at full temp. Are the most important rows clogged? by reason it should be the hottoest rows, right out of hot engine, and they aren't. Any ideas? I did run a garden hose through with petcock open, I may have made it worse. How much pressure can I apply to the radiator before I break it, to get the grains of crud out?

Also, My old dl had a monster radiator in comparison to this loyale. Anybody have a part# So I can shop around? The DL was an icebox to the point of needing cardboard on the rad in the winter, with a thermostat installed.Would love that kind of cooling again with this loyale and Hot A/C condensor. Thanks for help- this place and advice has literally kept my car going.

[NorthWet]

All tubes in the radiator are of same importance. Radiators can plug at the bottom, at the top, in the middle, and in various combinations. When you feel the radiator for temp, a properly flowing radiator should feel fairly consitant from top to bottom. Cold bands are plugged rows (or if they are near the top, possibly low coolant level). All of the "L" body (EA82-style) sedans and wagons (and 3-door, I believe) share interchangeable radiators.

[rllywgn]

http://www.radiatorbarn.com/s7.asp?ac=Y&year=1987&make=SUBARU&model=DL%2C+FE%2C+GF%2C+GL%2C+RS+OR+RX&submodel=ALL+MODELS&engine_size=H4%2C1.8L

 

 

there ya go... 2row radiator brand new..

 

135. to your door

 

 

rllywgn

[bgd73]

http://www.radiatorbarn.com/s7.asp?ac=Y&year=1987&make=SUBARU&model=DL%2C+FE%2C+GF%2C+GL%2C+RS+OR+RX&submodel=ALL+MODELS&engine_size=H4%2C1.8L

 

 

there ya go... 2row radiator brand new..

 

135. to your door

 

 

rllywgn

 

Excellent! That is the same type of rad I had. Half full even in summer, that car wasn't going to overheat. The radiator you found is no doubt similar -- it is even all metal. Thanks alot! I seached and get vague picture , description and part #'s non-oem to sit there and scratch my head.all except the price (go figure). It is no doubt a clog I have got. The channels exposed to aitr get cooler, shrink, then get bunged up first. The middle of old rad is still hot, not quite enough after 20 miles at 70mph(the overheat is that slow....) Thanks again.

[bgd73]

http://www.radiatorbarn.com/s7.asp?ac=Y&year=1987&make=SUBARU&model=DL%2C+FE%2C+GF%2C+GL%2C+RS+OR+RX&submodel=ALL+MODELS&engine_size=H4%2C1.8L

 

 

there ya go... 2row radiator brand new..

 

135. to your door

 

 

rllywgn

 

I will be purchasing from that place soon, thanks Rllywgn for the link.

Hey some more radiator Q's

I figured out the one in my DL was a single row all metal. The side tanks must have been the tremendous benefit of cooling. Remembering a problem with old v8's and 4-core vs. 2core where 2 core actually prevailed, is my old loyale going to be in the same predicament? Has anyone upgraded to the 2 core?

I thought of the following

Pros for 2 core heavy duty:

The DL had 4 headlights that leaked alot of air by them, hitting the top of radiator and side tanks unlike the loyale.. this makes it a plus to add one more row of core for the loyale.

The DL had no a/c ... again making it a plus for the loyale to have 2 core with condensor installed.

My loyale is low to the ground, sitting level or nose down slightly,with a front skirt. a full load in trunk /back seat makes for an even tighter air flow for engine, the slower 2 core to increase cooling is yet another plus for 2 core in my 2wd loyale.The wagon sat up higher all the way around, with plenty of room for more air due to this.

Cons:

It is a tight fit. The only thing I really need to move is some wiring by a/c fan (luckily)

Is the fans enough to suck through the 2-cores hard enough to be beneficial ?(this was the old v8 4core 2core problem). It is quite guided with fan shrouds tight, and water pump fan will be even tighter towards the cooling fins of 2 core.

 

I just want to be certain before ordering. Also, is there a chance for waterpump to create the grains I found that clogged radiator in first place? In some of my older cars this was a true event at any given time to self-destruct the cooling system like my loyale is doing now. I am hoping I just churned some sealer of some kind all around on a long trip (24 hours run time) to clog cooling fins. If it is a possibility, I will throw in a water pump at the same time, and really flush the system good

[NorthWet]

The 2-row radiator is standard equipment in turbo vehicles. Airflow is not really a concern/issue with this body-style, so don't obsess about it. A properly functioning 1-row works fine under most conditions. Any multi-row radiator is a tradeoff, as each additional row offers less additional cooling than a similar increase in frontal area but adds drag, but a 2-row has minimal trade-off. There may be clearance issues in front of the water pump/mechanical fan (sounds like you have one due to A/C) which may require you getting the slightly shorter-shaft waterpump. Without seeing the metal particles that came out I can't comment on those other than it might have been cooling system sealer-in-a-can debris.