Installed Aluminum Radiator

HistoricMustang said:

Make sure you have a SPRING in that bottom radiator hose!

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

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i might have to use extensions ,so that would take care of the collapsing.

I second the spring in the lower radiator hose. I went with the stainless flex hose off of ebay for $40 and did away with that headache. Next i'd invest in a vacuum guage from autozone ($20) or wherever and hook it up. This will tell you all you need to know about whats going on in that engine. What color is your coolant in the new radiator? Many people make the mistake of installing a huge aluminum radiator and not have the engine flushed clean by a shop. All that gunk in the motor just went into the new radiator and may have plugged it up. I've seen it happen quite a few times.

I'm running a crossflow aluminum radiator w/16" Zirgo electric fan along with an aluminum FlowCooler hi-vol water pump and a 180° thermostat. I never get above 180° even in 100° heat in stop and go traffic. You can test your thermostat in a pot of water over the stove. It should open before the water boils, if not you have a bad 'stat. I purchased the high-flow thermostats from autzone. THey are a few bucks more but i haven't had a problem with them yet. Oh and the FlowCooler waterpump was $70 or so. Probably the same price as a stock replacement pump

Drill a few small holes in the T-stat's flat area around the valve. This lets a small amount of water flow before it opens and can help elimiate the formation of steam pockets.

iskwezm said:

Well i got my core support cut out and radiator mocked up,just need to weld tabs tomorrow and figure out the hose lengths.

Man i hope thise works,or at least makes it better

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How big of a radiator did you end up getting?

jbuening said:

. I never get above 180° even in 100° heat in stop and go traffic.

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I dont need to hear your bragging

Hopefully will be at 200 or less

I ended up with a "chevy" 28X19,the only problem right now is the lower hose outlet is angled up,and its kinking the hose,so i might have to spend the 100 bucks on the stainless flex hose for top and bottom.

I have that 40* junk in the water,so im going to reuse it cuz it was pretty expensive for a quart of that snake oil,but i will run it through a strainer first.

iskwezm said:

I dont need to hear your bragging

Hopefully will be at 200 or less

I ended up with a "chevy" 28X19,the only problem right now is the lower hose outlet is angled up,and its kinking the hose,so i might have to spend the 100 bucks on the stainless flex hose for top and bottom.

I have that 40* junk in the water,so im going to reuse it cuz it was pretty expensive for a quart of that snake oil,but i will run it through a strainer first.

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Sorry


What I bought and is much cheaper (1/2 to 1/3 the price) than most big name kits. I wouldn't call the flex hose show quality but you could probably buff it out to be. Comes with 4 polished ends which are quite nice. Ah, so you went with the water wetter stuff? I've heard mixed results with that. Definitely not a cure all.

What kind of water pump are you running? With a radiator that large and a hi volume water pump you should not go over what your thermostat is rated at, especially if you have an electric fan. I just installed my electric fan with the SPAL PWM controller and i was trying to set my high speed at 190° which is 10° above my thermostat and i had troubles getting the motor over 180 even with the fan turned off Seriously though, I highly recommend the FlowCooler water pumps due to the price and the fact they are aluminum also. Miloden is another unit that is cheap, but i've had better luck with the flowcoolers. With that size radiator, a high vol pump, high flow thermostat, and a set of flex hoses i'd bet you wouldn't have overheating issues any more. If you do, you are either plugged up inside somewhere or you have timing or lean condition problems.


One final note, try "burping" your coolant system by starting your car (when cold obviously) with the radiator cap off and let it run until you see the coolant flowing. This signifies that your thermostat is opening and will burp any air out of the system, at least that's what i've always been told by the mechanics

jbuening said:

Sorry


What I bought and is much cheaper (1/2 to 1/3 the price) than most big name kits. I wouldn't call the flex hose show quality but you could probably buff it out to be. I just bought the upper from Kragens,its a 30" with 4 adapters and chrome ends.Where did you get the bottom and who makes it.Comes with 4 polished ends which are quite nice. Ah, so you went with the water wetter stuff? I've heard mixed results with that. Definitely not a cure all.

What kind of water pump are you running? With a radiator that large and a hi volume water pump you should not go over what your thermostat is rated at, especially if you have an electric fan. I have the Flowkooler water pump and a 160* tstat,it ran "ok" before the blower,now its just not fun to drive always watching the guage.
One final note, try "burping" your coolant system by starting your car (when cold obviously) with the radiator cap off and let it run until you see the coolant flowing. This signifies that your thermostat is opening and will burp any air out of the system, at least that's what i've always been told by the mechanics

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I will mess with the carb and timing after al this and see where that leaves me.

UpdateI let it idlke for about 30-40 minutes in my driveway,with only water and the pusher fanand it never went above about 200 and dropped a little,reved to about 3500 for about 3 mintes and it barely got near 210,I can wait to see what it does with both fans and the water mix.

before it would reach 240 in my driveway

Edbert said:

Drill a few small holes in the T-stat's flat area around the valve. This lets a small amount of water flow before it opens and can help elimiate the formation of steam pockets.

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Another old trick for burping

Hopefully this cures your problem.

Yea, I had problem with the angle at the bottom of the radiator too. I spent a day searching the racks at a local NAPA to find the right hoses to customize to make it fit right.

mdjay said:

Another old trick for burping

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Yep, air pockets can get so bad with a "custom" radiator that you may have to jack up the front of the car when water is initially added to the radiator.

No so much of a problem with "stock" style radiators.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

My permakool pusher fan leaned into my radiator at 70 mph. I think the plastic ones will hold up though.

My uncle had his engine rebuilt and he indeed had his head gaskets flipped, partially blocking the coolant holes. He had the shop that put the engine together for him pull it apart again and the problem was solved when they put brand new gaskets on correctly. Good luck.