Overheating - Need Cooling System Advice

[M1009 Fiend]

Gentlemen,

Im planning on having my Radiator; Boiled out and resealed. I need some recommendations and advice one what else I should do while I'm having that done.

Im thinking it would be a good Idea to replace the water pump, Good or Bad Idea?

Also i was told that if i do the water pump i should replace the Fan Clutch as well, good/ bad?

The rest of my maintenance for this will most likely include, re-grease the bearings, oil change, probably new belts, new hoses on the power steering pump, oil cooler lines, and inspection of my axles.

In to weeks i have a 350 mile or so drive through the desert with a lot of open country and few places to stop. So i need everything to be as tip to as possible.

So any all all advice is welcome

 

[bkwudzhom]

Check on the price of getting the old rad reworked vs a new one. New is gonna run ya Around $300 from advance. Besure to replace the u channel rubber where the rad sits. They have it at NAPA and they are universal cut to fit. I replaced both upper and lower hose as well as the t-stat with new water outlet gasket.

Becareful with the oil cooler lines. I found that it was easier to disconnect the hose from the line at the fender well and put the lines on the new rad while I had it out and laying on the tailgate. They are soft and I found them difficult to put them back on. I filed a slight bevel on them and it made them go back on a bit easier. There are o-rings that come with a new rad for these oil cooler lines. If you have the old one repaired be sure that you dont loose the old o-rings ones you have. That way you can match then if they need replacing.

Check out the fan shroud and be sure it is not cracked or missing chunks. A good used one should be easy to find at the local scrap yard.
If you know hw to do a pressure test on the cooling system now would be a good time to do on. If you dont now would be a good time to learn.

As for replacing the other parts that are still good---thats beyond me.
Have fun and good wheeling!

 

[Barrman]

If you are going to have it apart for the radiator. Go ahead and do new upper and lower hoses, heater hoses, push on the freeze plugs with a screw driver looking for soft spots and for sure a new thermostat.

Does the cooling fan wobble front to back when you try to move it that way? If not, there is no real reason to swap out the clutch and pump. However, if you do it. Get one of the newer high flow pumps. Of course, to use it you need to go to a double thermostat cross over pipe. How much money you want to spend here?

Make sure you put clean coolant back in. I think the pre mixed 50/50 gallons of coolant and distilled water you can buy now are the best idea in years to come along. Never use tap water if you want the system to last.

 

[M1009 Fiend]

I'd like to keep it under $500, I did'nt even think about the heater hoses.

Do you guys have any part numbers?

And no I have never done a pressure test... Advice?

 

[wayne pick]

Im with Barrmam, change it all out while you have the room to work on it. A new rad, pump and hoses will take you a little over budget, but I would replace the nearly 30yr old rad depending of course on how bad the old one is and how much it will cost you to fix it. How is the harmonic balancer? More money I know, I went cheap and got a Doorman, 89 bucks.

 

[91W350]

I am going to be the odd duck here because I just have to ask..... Do you have any oil in your coolant or coolant in your oil. Is the breather neck foamy white? Glen

 

[M1009 Fiend]

I am going to be the odd duck here because I just have to ask..... Do you have any oil in your coolant or coolant in your oil. Is the breather neck foamy white? Glen

Not that ive seen, the "over heating" has only occurred on long up hills at freeway speed... Or slowing in my case... And i ussually crank the heater on full blast an ease up on her a good bit and the light turns off.

Any suggestions on an after market Temp gauge? Ill do a search too.


But i will take her for a spin and check for both.

 

[M1009 Fiend]

Im with Barrmam, change it all out while you have the room to work on it. A new rad, pump and hoses will take you a little over budget, but I would replace the nearly 30yr old rad depending of course on how bad the old one is and how much it will cost you to fix it. How is the harmonic balancer? More money I know, I went cheap and got a Doorman, 89 bucks.

If i go for the full replacement should i go aluminum or get the $300 standard from a auto parts store??

 

[M1009 Fiend]

Murray 432098A - Radiator | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Im thinking I might do a radiator like this if i go for the replacement. How many cores do i need???

 

[wayne pick]

Don't hold me to it, I beleve you have to use the red Dexcool with the aluminum radiator. No good, it gets thick and gloppy after time and clogs in the bottom of the rad. I'd just go with a stock replacement and use the old school green coolant. Rumor has it that GM had a lawsuit charging dexcool with having to replace radiators,heads,gaskets due to the premature clogging problem.

 

[wayne pick]

Did some searching for you, that Murray rad in my zip code is $595.99? Oh no! Also, I could not find a replacement rad that is not aluminum w plastic tanks. Guess im old school. LOL. I found one at GM-parts center for $261.89, they have 30 to 40% discounts for online purchases, not bad for a dealership parts room. They also have out of production or obosolete parts in stock. No I don't work for them, i've got some old stuff from them before. Other than that, search used CUCV parts, be carefull, some of the rads i've seen look like they were removed with a backhoe.LOL.

 

[M1009 Fiend]

Did some searching for you, that Murray rad in my zip code is $595.99? Oh no! Also, I could not find a replacement rad that is not aluminum w plastic tanks. Guess im old school. LOL. I found one at GM-parts center for $261.89, they have 30 to 40% discounts for online purchases, not bad for a dealership parts room. They also have out of production or obosolete parts in stock. No I don't work for them, i've got some old stuff from them before. Other than that, search used CUCV parts, be carefull, some of the rads i've seen look like they were removed with a backhoe.LOL.

Well Im on a time crunch here...

Do all new radiators have to use the red crap?

 

[BigRix]

I use green when ever I can on the cars at work. I would never use DexCool in my 6.2 no mater what radiator I had. Green works just fine with aluminium. I may not be a CUCV expert but I work on cars for a living and I can tell you without reservation, DexCool is crap. New GM cars get it around here and that's it. Everything else gets green or factory coolant from the dealer.

 

[M1009 Fiend]

I use green when ever I can on the cars at work. I would never use DexCool in my 6.2 no mater what radiator I had. Green works just fine with aluminium. I may not be a CUCV expert but I work on cars for a living and I can tell you without reservation, DexCool is crap. New GM cars get it around here and that's it. Everything else gets green or factory coolant from the dealer.

Perfect, while i will probably keep the old radiator I think that as soon as they boil it out she with spring a dozen leaks.

Or would it be worth it to have it all fixed?

 

[Hasdrubal]

I'm in Canada, so a replacement brass/copper radiator is more expensive because of the shipping. Find a "competent" radiator rebuilder and have it re-cored. Cost me $600.00 for a new 4 core and a new 4-plate tranny cooler in the side tank.

 

[wayne pick]

If you are pressed for time, get whatever direct replacement you can locally and use green coolant. I know guys that have replaced the Dexcool in their trucks with aluminum rads before any problems started with no ill results, i just did not want to recomend you use green cooolant in a new aluminum rad. Check out JC Whitney, Spectra copper core direct fit radiator-$353.99

 

[SouthernSteel]

I'm in Canada, so a replacement brass/copper radiator is more expensive because of the shipping. Find a "competent" radiator rebuilder and have it re-cored. Cost me $600.00 for a new 4 core and a new 4-plate tranny cooler in the side tank.

I feel for u Hasrubal my new radiator from Napa was only $450 and as for doing everything, i have a new radiator along with a new water pump. Get it from napa i got my water pump from Advance and it wasnt as thick and had to do some rednecking to get it to work with my pass alternator bracket but other than that im happy i havent had a problem yet. :]

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Here's something else to consider:

Once you have all the nice shiny new parts in place (and I agree with replacing all the hoses NOW, along with the rad & t-stat), you are still going to have crud in the block & heater core. You need to think about flushing it.

At this point, readers are nodding in agreement. Wait - I'm going to change that!

Here's a tip I've used for about 30 years. Got it from a mechanic. No, I don't sell this stuff either.

The best radiator flush product I've found is.....


Amway laundry detergent. They call it SA-8.

Yep. Laundry detergent. It has rust inhibitors built in, and it does a GREAT cleaning job, and it won't dissolve your system like some of the commercial flush products. No acids in it.

Put a quarter cup in your radiator, run it for a week, and flush.

If you had time, you could run it for a couple of months. It won't hurt a thing, but it WILL clean things out.


Just pull up your favorite search engine and search on "Amway dealer" and you'll find somebody to sell it to you.