Overheating... Radiator Problem Solved

new 09/28/2004

I have been having some cooling issues with the '96. On the highway
the temp would be normal. While the car was idling or in traffic the
temp would rise and get about 3/4 the way up the gauge, so hot that
the regular fan would kick in then the 2nd or High speed fan. Few
minutes latter and it would do it all over again. The tranny started
to act up and so did the motor the car ran like crap when it got that
hot. When Eric L came over to weld my cams he said that a lot of stuff
was stuck in my radiator between the condenser that he could see by
just a quick look. Well today I dropped the dang thing (was a huge
job!!!!) and this is what i found I will let the pictures do the
talking ......

1st picture is a shot of the radiator right after I took it out.
SW9's Radiator

2nd is a closer look.

SW9's Radiator

3rd is a zoom so you can see the dirt and sand inside the fins yuk!!!
SW9's Radiator

4th is all the crap that came out of the radiator after I used the
pressure washer to spray from back of the radiator to the front to
flush out all the crap.

SW9's Sucker Side. Looks great eh??

After the clean radiator went back in, the car was back to normal with
the 2nd or high speed fans never coming on again after a good test run
and 20 min idle.

Ryan J Pasch
SHOCAGO - President

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As a basis of comparison, I tried to emulate Ryans shots of the killer of SW9. I'm putting them side by side for easier viewing. Folks better take this seriously. The only side of the radiator you can remotely see will always give you a false sense of security.
So far, myself and one other owner from the West Coast has reported engine failure with leading cause the cooling system. We need to figure a way to clean these puppies without dropping them if possible. As Ryan can attest, dropping the radiator from the bottom is a monumental PITA.

Thanks Ryan and Welcome to V8SHO.

U.L.

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