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Overheating problem solved

mikeyfrano

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Location
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I finally got a 4 core for my car from CI, went to put it in and it wouldn't fit past my fan clutch. I sent it back and told them it what happened. They just sent back the same radiator and said it's not any wider. Well I got a fan clutch (HD) with a shorter arm and the new radiator fit. when I went to put on the tabs for the shroud I noticed that the morons who attached the mounts to the radiator did so with the front of the mounts right against the radiator, where as the 3 core I had it was an 1/8th inch in front of it. Anyway the car still runs 195-200 down the HW but 185 in town just cruising around
 
Hi
There are "BASIC" rules when troubleshooting overheating issues...
1. If the car overheats in town, suspect FAN, water pump or related issues
2. If the car overheats at "speed" suspect: radiator or water pump impeller


WHY?
At speed, the Radiator does not NEED a fan to direct air flow, simply because the radiator is benifiting from the force of air at speed.
At "in-town" traffic the car NEEDS the fan
 
How wide are the tubes in the radiator? Larger tubes are generally better than smaller ones...ie, a 2 or 3 row radiator with large tubes (1" wide or larger) can perform better than a 4 row that has smaller tubes. Also, by the time the air gets to the 4th row, it's hot and isn't doing much cooling if anything for the 4th row so it could be only as good as a 3 row with small tubes. Years ago I installed a single row large tube radiator in my Dakota that originally had a 2 row small tube rad and it's never ran cooler even when it was new! A buddy of mine recently pulled a 4 row small tube rad out of his car with a stroker big block and installed a 3 row large tube rad and his overheating problems went away. Also, your engine/car combination could be contributing to the overheating problem at speed and without knowing the particulars of the car, it's hard to help with what might be making it run hotter on the HW.
 
195 to 200 or 205 is a great temp for older engines
Many car manufacturers made the specs for cars to run a 195
 
Not sure when higher temps T-stats went into the cars (thought is was mid 70's) but I'm fine with 195. Oil is actually engineered to run at higher temps even in the 60's. Too many like to run 160 etc and that just invites more acidic buildup because of moisture and fuel buildup in the crankcase. Higher temps evaporate moisture and fuel that gets past the rings much quicker and all engines produce moisture when they are warming up. Thing is, the OP's car is running hotter at highway speeds and cooler at slow cruise which in most cases, is opposite of what it should be doing.....I would think. All of my vehicles always got hot when driving slow, stop and go traffic etc. Even my newer junk does that.
 
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