better radiator for 4.3

[bespurcell]

Does anyone know of a salvage yard radiator with better cooling than the stock one?

[Hammer Head]

The 4.3 radiator can cool down a built V8.. if you use a good fan to draw the air through it. I know this isn't the answer you're lookin for but why don't you use a taurus fan.. they cool stuff down in a hurry & they're cheaper than a bigger radiator, too.

[bespurcell]

I have a Flex-a-Lite fan made for my truck that moves 2800 cfm. Maybe I just need to flush it out or something? Do you have any suggestions on why it has a problem keeping my truck cool? The transmission fluid also gets hot too sometimes enough to cause it to start slipping. BTW it had problems keeping my truck cool with the clutch fan also. I changed my transmission fluid this weekend because it smelled a little burnt as a result of the overheating. There is nothing wrong with the t-stat either it's a 170 degrees F one.

[Mikz86TA]

Says he has an E-fan in the sig.
Whats the issue? Is it overheating?
The clutch fans are good for little milage IMO b4 they loose effectiveness. Coupled with a 195 Thermostat and the late-model cars running at higher temps to combat emissions...they do run on the high side. Then add the Dex-Cool caking up and you got yourself a futore problem. \
I still have the clutch fan on mine. 4x,000 miles now. I do have a 180 Thermo which helped and green coolant. After my first coolant douching of the Dex-Crap, I noticed a more stable temp and after the second, a slightly lower and stable temp. But nothing to brag about. Im talking a few degrees average. But its a step. Straight water is the best heat exchanger/coolant. But the block and such will rust easily. Water and RedLine WaterWetter is even better, but there is still the rust issue.
A Distilled water, a water wetter and green anti freeze is what I use in the TA and S10. Its just short of a 50/50....being less coolant than water and the water wetter taking up the rest.
If I get a good e-fan, I am sure my temps will go down more. Needed is a powerful, preferrably a low-amp draw, large area fan. IMO a 16-20" fan or 2 14-15" fans are enough.

[Mikz86TA]

Got pics of the installed unit you have?
Get a seperate tranny cooler and add it to the return line. Most prefer having both OEM and aftermarket tranny coolers That way in the startup, the tranny fluid heats up faster which makes it shift smoother. In my TA, I just have a seperate cooler for the tranny and bought a ManualTrans radiator without the cooler lines in it. I did that since I used to take it to the track and stall it up. That way I keep an eye on the temp (I have a trans temp gague) while doing that and can address a problem seperately.I have a Flex-a-Lite fan made for my truck that moves 2800 cfm. Maybe I just need to flush it out or something? Do you have any suggestions on why it has a problem keeping my truck cool? The transmission fluid also gets hot too sometimes enough to cause it to start slipping. BTW it had problems keeping my truck cool with the clutch fan also. I changed my transmission fluid this weekend because it smelled a little burnt as a result of the overheating. There is nothing wrong with the t-stat either it's a 170 degrees F one.

[bespurcell]

Sorry I don't have a digital camera so no pics. I am an electrician by trade so the wiring looks factory{wire loom Super 33+ 3M tape}. I think it's a 16". In the summer I completely drain my radiator and run water wetter and water only. My A/C doesn't work so I don't have to worry about the heater core freezing. I have seen an anti-freeze made by Prestone that works with any type of anti-freeze. I have thought about trying it but I don't know if it will help. How hard is it to install the tranny cooler and what all do you need?

[White-V-6-S-Ten]

There must be more of a problem if you are having a prob cooling your 4.3
I have a stock 4.3 with the 195 stat and stock fan and life in Tampa where it gets real hot during the summer and it never goes above 195.
Maybe a blown headgasket? I had a 69 dart that i had a hell of a time cooling i got this stuff called " water wetter" from the parts store and just by adding it the temp went down by 15 degrees
So there must be another issue my truck has 108k on it and from what i know has never had a problem
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

[bespurcell]

My truck has 166k on it. Does anyone know how to tell for sure if it's a headgasket/ head problem? I've never had water in my oil or vice versa.BTW thanks for all the help.

[Sparky2263]

Most flex-a-lites I see installed have too thick a spacer installed. Shoves the fan up into the shroud and creates a whirlpool of air circulating upon itself.

The fan should be at least 2/3 the way outside (rear) of the shroud.

You say the 170 t-stat is okay. Put it into some boiling water and make damn sure it opens fully.

[bespurcell]

Most flex-a-lites I see installed have too thick a spacer installed. Shoves the fan up into the shroud and creates a whirlpool of air circulating upon itself.

The fan should be at least 2/3 the way outside (rear) of the shroud.

You say the 170 t-stat is okay. Put it into some boiling water and make damn sure it opens fully.
__________________
Thanks for the info. I only have the upper half of the original shroud on and like I said I had this problem before the e-fan so I don't think that's the problem. As far as the thermostat I've never checked it like you said to so I might have to do that even though I don't think that's the problem since it's always done this and I've changed the t-stat 3 times. When it's cooler outside my truck runs 170. It only runs warmer than that when the outside temps are higher.

[Sparky2263]

Starting to sound like a partially clogged radiator. As said before, the stock radiator is more than sufficient.

[bespurcell]

Starting to sound like a partially clogged radiator.

That's kinda what I was thinking and after reading some of the responses hoping! Does anyone know of a good way to flush a radiator or what product to use? BTW thanks for all the help.

[Sparky2263]

Backflushing works best. NAPA has a 2 part flush, first is acid, then you flush with a neutralizer.

Best way to flush is taking your garden hose to the intake manifold heater fitting. Leave the radiator cap in place and take the upper hose loose. The t-stat seals the block and water is forced backwards through the block, lower radiator hose then out the upper hose.

Do that after the 2 part flush. When done, take the lower hose loose and take the garden hose back into the upper radiator hose. This will flush anything loose that got stuck on the return side of the radiator core.

Not that normal operation wouldn't, you just don't want it coming back into the other side of the radiator clogging it all over again.

[bespurcell]

Thanks Sparky.

[Pred500duner]

What is the normal running temp on one of these? Because I am almost always running right below the 210 marker. and in the summer it gets bad and the AC doesnt like to work properly. I wrecked my car recently so havent ran it on the streets with the new radiator but this sounds like the same problem I am/was having.

[12sws27]

i bought a new radiator at 60k mile on mine cuz it was so clogged up from the previous owner using water instead of using antifreeze/anti-corrosion in it, and radiator coolant has a higher boiling point as well as lower freezing point so its gonna run hotter with straight water.

[12sws27]

Sorry I don't have a digital camera so no pics. I am an electrician by trade so the wiring looks factory{wire loom Super 33+ 3M tape}. I think it's a 16". In the summer I completely drain my radiator and run water wetter and water only. My A/C doesn't work so I don't have to worry about the heater core freezing. I will not put the green stuff in my truck after seeing what it did to my friends 99 Tahoe. I have seen an anti-freeze made by Prestone that works with any type of anti-freeze. I have thought about trying it but I don't know if it will help. How hard is it to install the tranny cooler and what all do you need?
im pretty sure its the orange stuff that people report jelling up and causing problems like clogging the cooling system, but iv also read that is because people wait to long to change theyre coolant

[bespurcell]

i bought a new radiator at 60k mile on mine cuz it was so clogged up from the previous owner using water instead of using antifreeze/anti-corrosion in it, and radiator coolant has a higher boiling point as well as lower freezing point so its gonna run hotter with straight water.

You are correct about the anti-freeze having a higher boiling point and lower freezing point, but water it much better at shedding heat than anti-freeze.

im pretty sure its the orange stuff that people report jelling up and causing problems like clogging the cooling system, but iv also read that is because people wait to long to change theyre coolant

The reason I won't put the green stuff in mine is because it will eat the intake. My friend had to get a new one and the truck had less than 50k miles on it.

[bespurcell]

http://e30m3performance.com/myths/more_myths1/Water_Wetter/water_wetter.htm

This explains what I was talking about.

You are correct about the anti-freeze having a higher boiling point and lower freezing point, but water it much better at shedding heat than anti-freeze.

[bespurcell]

Backflushing works best. NAPA has a 2 part flush, first is acid, then you flush with a neutralizer.

Best way to flush is taking your garden hose to the intake manifold heater fitting. Leave the radiator cap in place and take the upper hose loose. The t-stat seals the block and water is forced backwards through the block, lower radiator hose then out the upper hose.

Do that after the 2 part flush. When done, take the lower hose loose and take the garden hose back into the upper radiator hose. This will flush anything loose that got stuck on the return side of the radiator core.

Not that normal operation wouldn't, you just don't want it coming back into the other side of the radiator clogging it all over again.

I flushed my radiator. I had to use the flush prestone makes. The guy at napa said they haven't had the 2 part flush for a while. I won't know if it helped until next summer.

[bespurcell]

About what I said about the green stuff eating up my friend's intake, I talked to a mechanic and he said this happens when people don't completely get all of the dexcool out and the two mix and it makes it very corrosive. So I retract my statement about the green stuff eating your intake. Just make sure you completely flush the system before you put in the green stuff. Just to be sure I used the stuff that will mix with any type of anti-freeze.

[12sws27]

About what I said about the green stuff eating up my friend's intake, I talked to a mechanic and he said this happens when people don't completely get all of the dexcool out and the two mix and it makes it very corrosive. So I retract my statement about the green stuff eating your intake. Just make sure you completely flush the system before you put in the green stuff. Just to be sure I used the stuff that will mix with any type of anti-freeze.
i will remember that if i ever change coolants and i read that about the water wetter, and whada ya know i learned some thing new. but my main concern about 100% water is corrosion

[Mikz86TA]

Suposedly the Dex-Cool issue was mainly having it get low and the air and fluid causing a reaction to aluminum.
After my first Dex-Cool flush out, I went with Prestone. I stll got some brown sludge particles later on and have since did a second multi-step flush. Seems good now.

[badazztoyz]

dump the water wetter and get engine ice i run it on all my heavily modded bikes etc just dont run it during the winter.