Coolant Flow

[Chryco Psycho]

you could just roll a wire like coat hanger wire inside the lower hose if the hose is good it will flow better with a smooth hose

[Chryco Psycho]

When the car is running do you get constant bubbles in the top of the rad ?

[MoparLeo]

Take the 160° thermostat out and put in a top quality 190° in. Make sure to get all the air out of the system. Many times and air pocket in the system will cause crazy temp swings. Distilled water only. 50/50 coolant mix. Test cap for 16lbs. Bubbles visible while running.....Bad.  Hydrocarbon radiator test.

[rebelyell]

When the car is running do you get constant bubbles in the top of the rad ?

I did notice some bubbles at the top of the radiator while burping the system, but that was before the tstat opened. Figured it was the leftover prestone treatment.

No way it's head gaskets. I don't have 100 miles on a fresh top end.

Strange thing that happened though...it took forever for the water pump housing to get above 150 degrees (checked with an IR thermometer). 20 minutes of idling in the driveway and it finally opened.

I put a reinforced flex hose on last night and I'll drive it around at lunch to hopefully heat it up enough to open. It didn't even get above 170 on the 15 min ride to work. Not even hot enough to open the 180 thermostat.

[Chryco Psycho]

I was not thinking head gaskets nessisaily , maybe a crack or porosity somewhere , have you pressure tested the system ?

[rebelyell]

I haven't. I also don't know the full history of the radiator. I do know I never smell coolant and I don't see any leaks. I'm going to replace the radiator cap also.

It's very strange to me that it took so long for the thermostat to open. This can't be normal.

[cordodge]

Ive always ran a plate with a 5/8" , 11/16"hole instead of a thermostat and never really had and issue, just a thought

[rebelyell]

I pulled the thermostat housing and noticed a lot of rust grit. Going to drill some 1/16 holes in the tstat and put it all back together. Then use some thermocure rust treatment. Going to keep flushing the cooling system until it's all clean. That has got to be the problem. It just has to be.

Cooler days are coming and less of a risk of overheat driving the 10 miles to and from work. Hopefully I can get this resolved soon.

[JS29]

That crud could plug the radiator.   

[Skid Row]

    With the popularity of aluminum replacements, Radiator shops are getting hard to find but a "Rate of flow" test is the only true way of determining if yours is stopped up.

[rebelyell]

That crud could plug the radiator.   

This is true, but water flows out just as fast as it comes in when I put in the hose on full blast.

I'm still not convinced that one of the cores (if it has more than 1) isn't stopped up, although the rust residue on top of the tstat points to that being the issue. May end up pulling freeze plugs and putting a water hose on the water pump if the thermocure doesn't fix it.

Or it could be both problems. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Skid Row]

I don't think your hose will deliver the 28+ gallons per minute the radiator need needs to be flowing to cool your engine.

[JS29]

I think for now i would by-pass the heater core, until you get it all flushed out. it dose not take much to plug those tiny passages. 

[rebelyell]

I don't think your hose will deliver the 28+ gallons per minute the radiator need needs to be flowing to cool your engine.

Ha. Fair enough.

Heater core is new (or so I was told). I'll flush it then bypass it just to eliminate that being an issue. I called around and nobody can do a flow rate test. Only option is to set my own up with gravity, a 5 gal bucket, and a stopwatch.


So the list is:
Two 1/16 holes in the t-stat
Flush and bypass heater core
Put it all back together
Add thermocure, follow directions, and see what happens.

Goal is to try and clean out the junk in the block.

[MoparLeo]

What if you have crud larger than your drilled holes A?? Take out the thermostat and plate and any other restriction until AFTER you do your flush. Get flush chemicals and follow the directions. You need more than water to remove oxidation from the insides. Like cleaning your coffee maker with just water. Vinegar works much better because it is acidic..  After you are satisfied that it is clean, use a high quality thermostat with the bypass hole ( high performance models have this ) 180°-190° . Use distilled water only. Proper thermo fan clutch and proper blade type. Fan shroud, new tested radiator cap. New doesn't mean that it works. ( the factory spent more money and time than any other person here has  testing and developing a cooling system that will perform for tens of thousands of miles- especially for warranty purposes) When it performs to factory specs ( not what you feel it should be ) and remember that a pressurised systems does not boil at 212°. Then you can use the proper coolant type for your engine block, heads, radiator type and distilled water. 50/50 . You shouldn't have to be fooling around with your cooling system or any other system under the hood, but be enjoying the road with out concerns. Happy driving.  But some people like to make things more complicated ............