no pressure in radiator/doesnt get hot

[88gt373]

hey guys, heres the deal: i can drive my car for 30 miles and when i come to a stop i can twist off my radiator cap and the coolant does not shoot out and is not that hot.

i have a new radiator, new 195*Tstat (or what ever stock is),new hoses, heater core is by passed, rad cap is new. i replaced the t stat for the third time btw

the top hose gets pretty hot, but the bottom hose doesnt get very hot after running. all hoses and w/p is all new (just did a rebuild about 200 miles ago).. my temp gauge reads pretty good for a POS but i never over heat...

any ideas????

 

[Rick 91GT]

With the car running and the cap off can you see water running in the radiator after its warm?

 

[88gt373]

yeah with the car running i noticed that the level dropped after running a while with the cap off. i dont really notice any water really flowing with the cap off in the radiator but the top hose gets hot but the top of the rad and cap never get hot to the touch...

clogged rad?

 

[Repostyle]

Disconnect the top hose from the radiator. Start the engine, if water does not come out of the hose you're pump is bad or your belt is routed incorrectly and the pump is running the wrong way or you have a clog. If water is coming out, then everything is working fine and your radiator just does an exceptionaly good job I guess.

If you have access to air, you can blow in the lower hose and if no air comes out the top hose then you have a clog somewhere.

Make sure you got the correct W/P, some pumps used for supercharged applications run backwards to compensate for re-routing the belt.

 

[88gt373]

Disconnect the top hose from the radiator. Start the engine, if water does not come out of the hose you're pump is bad or your belt is routed incorrectly and the pump is running the wrong way or you have a clog. If water is coming out, then everything is working fine and your radiator just does an exceptionaly good job I guess.

If you have access to air, you can blow in the lower hose and if no air comes out the top hose then you have a clog somewhere.

Make sure you got the correct W/P, some pumps used for supercharged applications run backwards to compensate for re-routing the belt.

good man! i checked out the belt routing on the 88 stang and it was routed to where the W/P was turning CLOCKWISE. i did it like that because i found a diagram on the net to route it like that..... but after searching again i found to another route that works (p/s-w/p-crank-s/p-alt-a/c)..... i replaced everything on the cooling system and the belt should have been one of the first thigs... DUHHHH!!!


hopefully this helps the next person!!!