New cooling system

[Fox Saleen 163]

Decided to upgrade the stock cooling system. Been having a little trouble lately with my temp and it's either the thermostat (1 month old Mr Gasket 180*), the radiator (14 yo stocker), the clutch fan (1 year old Autozone part), an air pocket in the engine, or I have a blown head gasket.

Basically, the car pushes coolant out of the radiator into the overflow tank until it overflows and then the overflow tank spits it out on the ground. Before I know it, the car has pushed all of it's coolant out and starts to get hot. It's still runs strong, but I guess I could have a blown head gasket.

Yesterday it started getting hot so I turned it off and popped the hood. I let it sit for a few minutes and then got tired of waiting because I needed to go somewhere. So.... I started the car back up to see where it was. Of course it was still hot, so I opened the pressure relief lever on my radiator cap and then closed it. I went to look at the temp gauge and to my amazment it dropped down to the half way mark. Do you guys think pressure was keeping the thermostat shut?

I'm going to try burping the system tomorrow and seeing what happens. Either way, there are some parts that need replaced before I go through the trouble of pulling off the heads. Although it would be a good reason to throw on some Twisted Wedges.

What do you guys think about this setup?

31x19 Griffin two core aluminum radiator $190
Ramcharger fan with harness $140
Summit aluminum catchcan $50

Any suggestions, opinions, remarks?

 

[90mustangGT]

It does sound like it could be a head gasket. Does the air in the radiator smell like exaust gasses? You should have the radiator checked for hydrocarbons. If it has HCs or exaust gasses in there, it is most likley the head gasket, or worse. If it boils down to removing the heads, check them and the block for cracks.

 

[HISSIN50]

if you havent seen this thread, check it out. sounds like some info that would pertain to you. good luck.

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=416378

 

[Fox Saleen 163]

Grrrr high mileage POS son of a ..... Well, this sounds like an excellent opportunity to get a DSS pro bullet 331 and a TFS top end package.

DSS 331 w/ pro-lites
Track heat intake
Twisted wedge heads
TFS Stage 2 cam

Sound good? Now I just need to find a bank to rob.

 

[HISSIN50]

before you tear it all apart, do some checks (compression or leakdown), and the contaminates test mentioned. correlation is not causation (if someone had similar symptoms, that doesnt mean the same thing is wrong with yours). just my two cents worth. good luck.

 

[Fox Saleen 163]

Yeah you're right. I'm looking for a reason to rip off the heads, although I can't afford to replace them with better ones right now. I'll work on it tomorrow and see what I can come up with.

Will over-filling the coolant reservoir have any ill effects other than the extra coolant spilling out? Or does it do something to the pressure/suction of the cooling system?

 

[saleenster]

Start with the basics. Replace the cap on the radiator first if you have not already done so. Your coils on the stock 2 row are probably shot anyways, I would look at getting a 3 row which will save you a ton of $ vs the Griffen.

 

[Fox Saleen 163]

Yeah, I replaced the cap already. I checked Autozone, a 3 core brass radiator is $200, the Griffin is $190. For a whopping savings of... -$10! I think I'll get the Griffin.