Late arrival to this thread but have you tried spacing the rear of the hood upward a bit to let hot air through? I recall reading about that a while ago from the guys down in Arizona, sounds like it helps at least at higher speeds.
Weekend in the desert 110F - the pig is not a desert rig yet
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i did something close
i left the hood open by using empathy water bottle as spacer ( common practice here) didnt help the lovers are doing the job
Your problem is you have way too much gunk in your engine cooling system!!!
You really need to do multiple chemical flushes to get that crap out before it will cool
You really need to do multiple chemical flushes to get that crap out before it will cool
X2, if you haven't flushed the cooling system there is no way its functioning optimally.
Start with the cheap & easy things first: chemically flush your system, probably multiple times.
@Desert Dino some good points have been made so far. After seeing your oil cooler post and reading how that came about, you definitely need to do a thorough cooling system flush.
I would do the systems seperately. Disconnect the engine from the heater control valve and radiator and flush it. Use CLR (home plumbing cleaner) when you do and make sure to run enough water throug to get it all out.
Next back flush and flush your heater core until the water runs clear. Then get rid of the copper radiator.
Copper Radiator .vs. Brass/Aluminum. Copper is tough, it' nice, it' expensive it's repairable and most of the time rebuildable. These are all good selling points. Copper also absorbs far more heat and transfers it too and from fluids better than any other option, it's Why it's used in heat exchangers to make hot water. The problem is copper isn't quite as good as dissipating heat to the air like aluminum, neither is brass. I know it seems counter intuitive that a more expensive radiator of higher quality material could be worse for your vehicle, but in this instance it isn't helping you. A good quality aluminum radiator will help dissipate the heat a lot better.
Also, new radiators come with a foam seal on the front side (facing head lights) I have found over the years that 80's with original or older radiators no longer have that seal which allows cooling air to go around the radiator instead of forcing it through the radiator. Check for that seal.
Fan shrouds, it's important that you have a fan shroud and mechanical fan and that both are in good working condition. If your shroud is missing a piece or is just missing, you're not cooling nearly as well as you could be. If your fan clutch is worn out, you'e also not cooling as well as you should be.
Engine oil and larger transmission cooler. Engine oil should be chosen by current climate conditions, check the recommended weight for your current heat conditions.
Transmission oil cooler. If you're running an automatic transmission adding a larger quality oil cooler in place of the original factory unit can help keep engine temps down. Remember that your transmission uses the radiator in conjunction with a separate cooler to cool it's fluid. So transmission temps will raise engine temps through extra energy consumption from carrying extra weight and that extra weight makes the transmission work harder and get hotter.
Lastly ensuring you have a good quality thermostat that is replaced every few years and having quality coolant that is mixed appropriately for your climate is also Essential. 50/50 mix is a good middle ground but some manufacturers recommend a higher concentration of coolant for hotter climates. This helps prevent evaporative losses and can help better cool your system...something to look into.
Best of luck. Keep us posted
I would do the systems seperately. Disconnect the engine from the heater control valve and radiator and flush it. Use CLR (home plumbing cleaner) when you do and make sure to run enough water throug to get it all out.
Next back flush and flush your heater core until the water runs clear. Then get rid of the copper radiator.
Copper Radiator .vs. Brass/Aluminum. Copper is tough, it' nice, it' expensive it's repairable and most of the time rebuildable. These are all good selling points. Copper also absorbs far more heat and transfers it too and from fluids better than any other option, it's Why it's used in heat exchangers to make hot water. The problem is copper isn't quite as good as dissipating heat to the air like aluminum, neither is brass. I know it seems counter intuitive that a more expensive radiator of higher quality material could be worse for your vehicle, but in this instance it isn't helping you. A good quality aluminum radiator will help dissipate the heat a lot better.
Also, new radiators come with a foam seal on the front side (facing head lights) I have found over the years that 80's with original or older radiators no longer have that seal which allows cooling air to go around the radiator instead of forcing it through the radiator. Check for that seal.
Fan shrouds, it's important that you have a fan shroud and mechanical fan and that both are in good working condition. If your shroud is missing a piece or is just missing, you're not cooling nearly as well as you could be. If your fan clutch is worn out, you'e also not cooling as well as you should be.
Engine oil and larger transmission cooler. Engine oil should be chosen by current climate conditions, check the recommended weight for your current heat conditions.
Transmission oil cooler. If you're running an automatic transmission adding a larger quality oil cooler in place of the original factory unit can help keep engine temps down. Remember that your transmission uses the radiator in conjunction with a separate cooler to cool it's fluid. So transmission temps will raise engine temps through extra energy consumption from carrying extra weight and that extra weight makes the transmission work harder and get hotter.
Lastly ensuring you have a good quality thermostat that is replaced every few years and having quality coolant that is mixed appropriately for your climate is also Essential. 50/50 mix is a good middle ground but some manufacturers recommend a higher concentration of coolant for hotter climates. This helps prevent evaporative losses and can help better cool your system...something to look into.
Best of luck. Keep us posted
Has anyone tried a auxiliary oil cooler for extreme climates such as this? If the cooling system is hitting capacity from not only the engine heat but the additional transmission heat then maybe pulling some heat out of the oil would help. In my experience oil temps really only go up when the engine is driven hard but I have no data on oil temps in the 80 series to compare with.
Another random thought... duct the rear heater so that it exhausts hot air outside of the vehicle, as a secondary radiator. I know on mine that little rear heater can pump out major heat, to the point where I can't leave my hand by the vent. Not sure how much that is in relation to what the main radiator removes but it has to be worth something...
This truck will cool just fine once he gets all the crap out of the engine block. It is likely during the flushing he will end up needing a new radiator when it is all said and done, but the amount of crap in the oil cooler is spread through his engine, the coolant jackets, the heater cores, the old radiator, etc.
I would pull the block drains and stick a hose in the radiator and flush it for 20-30 minutes, then do 3-4 chemical flushes and see how much crap is still coming out.
Once that crap is out the truck will cool.
I would pull the block drains and stick a hose in the radiator and flush it for 20-30 minutes, then do 3-4 chemical flushes and see how much crap is still coming out.
Once that crap is out the truck will cool.
flush that thing! I used that prestone stuff. I poured it in the radiator and ran it up to operating temp with both heaters on then shut it down and let it sit for a few days. pulled the radiator hoses and the block plug and drained. I flushed it a few times with distilled water until I seen nothing in the bucket. then changed water pump and thermostat.
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Knowing that it was run on water (common in some places, have dealt with it) and seeing that, would have flushed it, for sure. But, we flush often, anytime cooling system work is being done, not scared. The argument against is; flushing could open leaks, my thought, if there are potential leaks, would rather find them at the shop?
That said, how does the coolant look now, clean or muddy? The oil cooler pocket isn't really forced flow like the rest of the system, have seen significant junk in there, even on well maintained systems. On desert rigs, the heaters are the other places where junk hides, rarely used. The rest of the system has significant flow, so tends to stay cleaner.
If the coolant is still muddy, would start with a water flush. We remove the intake hose from the heater valve, set the heater valve to full open, adapt a garden/facet supply hose to it, remove the radiator cap, turn the facet fully open, go until the output runs clear. If it was really muddy, now remove the thermostat, allowing more flow through the motor.
If after doing this and some driving, it still becomes muddy, then would think about chemistry. It can be good, but can cause damage and most times isn't needed. If used, be sure it fully flushed out, like for sure.
Coolant is good, but water is a better cooler. Mostly it's used as an antifreeze, not really needed in a desert climate, other than for the corrosion additives. In an application where freezing is not an issue, we run about 25% coolant, provides corrosion protection and cools better than the higher mixes.
As has been beaten to death, depending on conditions, most any of them can work, desert conditions and fully stressed, is where the differences are seen. A custom, like Ron Davis is likely the ultimate performer, they are local to us, have seen good and bad from them. For our conditions here, don't seen the need, TYC (slight performance advantage) or Koyo (slight quality advantage) is what most successfully run. That said, we can get all of them local, simple deal, in your case much more commitment is needed, so?
Before changing the radiator, would be sure the cooling system is clean, working well, so the new one is not messed up.
The Aisin (THT-015) is a solid piece of kit, nice unit, but have also run Motorad with good results.
When the system isn't as stressed, at cooler temps, what does the coolant temp normally run at with that thermostat?
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That stuff has OK chem, IIRC, Trisodium citrate, but in very low concentration, so mostly water, not very effective. When in service, driven, the scouring action of the coolant flow does a pretty good job of cleaning, the bad part is it muddies the coolant, so needs to be flushed out. Pockets that don't get flow, not so much. More verbose thoughts on flushing, I agree with most of it.
Don't Rush the Flush
I priced a Ron Davis radiator yesterday and it’s tad over a $grand$ !
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So in Israel it will be X2 it comes to 2000$ Shipping customs +17% VAT on top more than a month average income
Isn’t CFS radiator all copper? In that heat you might want to switch to the aluminum radiator. After switching from cfs copper to koyo aluminum radiator I dropped running temp by 10 degrees, even in 110+ degree heat in Death Valley I had no issues(220 max)and had AC running the whole time while climbing in 4low.
Some of the all aluminum eBay radiators looked interesting but I didn’t want to risk it.
Some of the all aluminum eBay radiators looked interesting but I didn’t want to risk it.
Wow! Your reported temp numbers going to the Koyo are a huge improvement.
I have the CFS and like the all metal design...personal preference I guess since reports are those Koyo's with the plastic top are very durable.
I just did some maintenance on my cooling system due to the fact that in high heat conditions like you describe, I would have to closely monitor my air con usage, and occasionally use the heater to dump heat to keep coolant temps under 225 degrees F. It's not the end of the world, but I knew my system wasn't as efficient as it should/could be.
When I had my CSF at the rad shop getting cleaned out, I ended up doing a recore, which has 4 rows, more fins and wider tubes over the stock CSF design. It's about a 1/2 inch thicker in total but I have the room. I'm running an unmodified stock fan clutch. Upgrading the fan clutch will net a measurable improvement. However, I don't want to change it out until I can compare the new rad with the old one.
It cost be about $250 more than buying a new radiator. We shall see this summer if it was worth the money.
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You will also need to build a better fan shroud if you go with a Ron Davis, BTDT
Thanks for the tip but the Ron Davis radiator is out of my radiator price range. If I decide to go back to Aluminum it will have to oem (I don’t care for plastic tanks) or an all aluminum eBay special. There is a member trying out a GPI brand right now.
