Overheating...again..

What radiator do you all recommend, and where to get it? I'm in Orange County ca. I am overheating just while. Idling now for 15 minutes = boil over.
Thanks!
I need to get this taken care of ASAP....

make sure the fan clutch is good, the radiator cap is good, and your e-fan is kicking on when it gets half way to the next mark up over 210. a stock replacement radiator should do you just fine.

I upgraded to a 3 row Champion brand radiator. It gets pretty hot down here in Texas but this rad does the trick...

Almost "plug and play" but the threads on the tranny cooler lines are different so I had to graft my existing lines to the new fittings they provide in order to get it together.

HTH
Todd

Hmm. E fan has never kicked on...........searching

Try switching the HVAC controls to defrost and see if the e-fan kicks on with the compressor. That would at the very least let you know if it is functioning at all.

CFS three row, all brass radiator and a Flowkooler water pump.

I believe DPG still carries the radiator but I could be wrong......

15 minutes is awful quick for boiling over from a crudded-up radiator. Are you sure that the thermostat is opening and the H2O pump is circulating enough coolant?

X2 on the fan clutch and radiator cap, as well.

Original_MudButt said:

CFS three row, all brass radiator and a Flowkooler water pump.

I believe DPG still carries the radiator but I could be wrong......

Click to expand...

band-aids.... find the problem before throwing money at it.

your e-fan should kick on as soon as the A/C is turned on, not the defroster as mentioned above.

fan works with 12 volts supplied. fuse good. f me.

mako my day said:

fan works with 12 volts supplied. fuse good. f me.

Click to expand...

What year/engine?

How about the e-fan relay? There is also a relay I believe in the power distribution center under the hood. Swap that relay with another one; they're of the same part number so swapping is never an issue.

And if that checks out, I suppose the coolant temperature sensor has failed.

Year matters but... Year matters. With the fan proved to be good, you have two issues. the 15 minute boil over and the aux fan control.

FYI, the set point for the fan on OBDII Heeps is 218F on.

Did I mention we sort of need the year?

Now you say you're over heating when you Idling, this is after you got it up to running temp right?

99. I may just bypass and use a switch to see if she boils.
ill swap a relay with another to test it out.
Thanks everyone.

Even without the aux fan, it should not boil over at idle. The aux fan not coming on is a problem... but not your only one. Have you confirmed the clutch fan is in good working order? Flushed the rad latley?

never done a real flush. just ran water through rad.
ill do that today...

Original_MudButt said:

CFS three row, all brass radiator and a Flowkooler water pump.

I believe DPG still carries the radiator but I could be wrong......

Click to expand...

PO installed this along with a new thermostat and fan clutch in mine. The thing WILL NOT get above 210 no matter what I do. I highly recommend this option.

Flushed system. Clean waters runs from the radiator while hosing at the top. I am going to remove the tstat, fill the coolant, and run it again this evening. I maybe should break down and have a shop fix me up.

Notes:
Bottom hose is ballooning, and very hard/hot while at operating temp. Soft when cool.
Coolant smell still very strong, but no visible drips.
Electric fan still not coming on, I will hot wire it for next test while 20 minute idle.

How's your water pump?
There's a weep hole at the bottom of the pump that's hard to see.
If the pump is crapping out then coolant will seep from this hole.
Could be where you are losing coolant. If you haven't serviced the coolant system regularly the impeller fins on the water pump could have corroded to the point of uselessness. More common than one would expect.
Replace that bottom hose too and hole it's off stick in a Super Stant 195 thermostat.

Boiling over in 15 minutes doesn't say aux fan or thermo to me, but it absolutely wreaks of failing/failed water pump, or clogged failing rad.
My rad was chewed up and clogged but with a working pump it still never got over 220 idling forever on trails in summer.
As long as water is flowing and exchanging between the rad and engine you shouldn't boil over unless flow is blocked......or not happening.
Water pump is a cheap and easy r and r.
Also check the bottom of your rad where the plastic ends meet the metal fins for leaks. My stock rad cracked there and I had mystery coolant loss and smell till I found it.

In fact I ran with no mech. fan at all for a couple weeks but since flow happened and my pump worked my E fan kept it at 220.

It's cooling down now so you'll be good to go for the weekend i would think.Switch the E-fan and call it good.The temps should be around high 70's to low 80's at most on sunday. We was 108 at my place in the low desert out here.But we're cooling off too

So after a radiator floosh, new 195 tstat, new cap, new upper and lower hoses, and filling the rad back up I had it idling for a while.....Here are the results.....

Temps before I did any diagnostics after 15 minutes idle with AC on and no E Fan:
TStat housing 245+
Rad. Cap 143
Upper rad hose 165
lower hose 173

Temps after changing and flushing with hot wired E Fan...Amazing:
TStat housing, 196
upper hose 147
lower hose 115
cap 80

Temps with no AC and no E Fan after 45 minutes idle.
TStat housing 215
upper hose 160
Lower 150
Cap 95
All stable for 2 hours of idle.