Hi Guys,

 

A peculiar little development in my Soob. The other day while waiting "patiently" in a drive thru, I noticed that my temp gauge was slowly climbing. Not really worried, I heard my fans come on, so I waited another few minutes. It finally got near the red, so I shut it off while I still waited for my food. Since then, I've paid close attention to the temp gauge and that fan sound. I keep hearing the fans turn on, if I sit at a light for a minute, but the temp gauge does not rise. I'm thinking of just doing a coolant change, and maybe mixing about 70% H20 / 30% AF to boost the cooling properties of the mixture (Water can absorb more heat energy than antifreeze). Besides that and possibly a new thermostat, any other ideas??? Thanks in advance!

 

ScoobySchmitty:banana:

first thing to check is that the radiator fins are not blocked with dirt, bugs, etc. run a hose through it to deslodge some of the external crud.

 

chances are, if you have the original radiator, it is probably getting old and plugged internally. while the radiator is warm, you can feel around it with your hand to see if there are any cool spots relative to the surrounding area. this can indicate a blocked or restricted passage. you can also have it flow tested at a radiator shop, but your best bet is to probably just change it if changing the coolant doesn't help.

I am pretty sure it is the original radiator. It does not leak at all, so I don't really think a new one is necessary. Though, I have been wrong before. <---(same guy who thought a cracked and bending clutch fork was a bad pressure plate! :-p) Once I flush and refill the radiator, AND clean out the fins, I'll post back. thanks for the quick reply!

 

ScoobySchmitty:banana:

'91 and the original radiator? Take a close look to the front side of the right plastic cap. Across the upper hose connection. I bet there is a vertical crack leaking coolant.

Fill up with water and let the engine warm up and you will see.

 

Urban.

a leaking radiator is not the only way a radiator goes bad. if the cooling systems has been neglected (or even treated well), the passages become blocked with corrosion and crud. the only way to really check for this is to either use a spot thermometer or flow test it. a radiator shop should be able to do either/both to tell you the internal condition of the radiator.

I fully agree (other) Skip, but there is no reason to test, flush and/or coolant change if there is a crack. Dose it?

And i know the radiators from Legacy of that building years ('90-'91) do crack there. I'd be surprised if thisone should not be.

your car is also at the age where the thermostat goes to heaven so while your changing stuff do it as well!

UPDATE:

 

Ok, I checked the radiator. It looks in good shape, and is NOT LEAKING near the small plastic plug on the passenger side (whew) though I did need to clean it out. (damn Michigan skeeters) My fluid was a bit on the low side (forgot to mention that, sorry ). When I get some extra time I am going to flush the system and put in new coolant, but she has been running fairly cool now that I cleaned out the radiator fins. Thanks for all the advice, guys!

 

ScoobySchmitty