How hot is too hot??

[sams86gn]

I just started driving the car after replacing pretty much entire drivetrain and I've never had a gn and my temps are concerning me...yesterday driving around town my temps got up too 205. I know I've read some posts that say 210 is fine but what is the point at which I need to pull over? Stock fan, radiator with 50/50 antifreeze and water and about 12 oz of RMI25. And it's a stock 86 gn.


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[trixdout]

If you are using rmi25 why are you adding antifreeze. Get rid of the antifreeze if you are running rmi25. Rmi25 is more than enough. Secondly, if you havent replaced the stock 180 degree thermostat in the intake then replace it and put a 160 in there. Thirdly, find the thread where the stock fans were modded to run at high speed always. So you get rid of the low speed. Finally, check your radiator and if the stock one from 1986, itll need replacing thanks to corrosion. After all that is checked and done your car on a hot summer day in traffic should not exceed 200 and by hot summer day I mean mid to high 90 degree weather.

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[buickGN3:16]

anything over 180 is too high in my opinion.. i need to do the fan speed mod myself.. earl chimmed in on that & explained it

 

[sams86gn]

I guess I left a few things out...160 degree thermostat and fans run on high all the time. I guess I need to get rid of the antifreeze and it is a stock radiator from 86 so I guess I'm gonna have to upgrade that as well. Was hoping the rmi would clean it up enough to keep using it.


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[trixdout]

Rmi will clean up but not much. The corrosion will have already set in with the insides and have eaten it out. You are lucky it doesn't leak. An fbody radiator will work or a stock aluminum replacement. And if you run a front mount intercooler the car will run hotter and thats obvious.

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[pacecarta]

what chip are you running
dual fans can help a lot

 

[TurboDave]

Sounds like your radiator has lost all or most of it's efficiency. The most common thing is the lower 1/3 to 1/2 of the radiator becomes clogged and useless. You can verify this with a simple test. A lot of radiator is exposed on either side of the cooling fan. When the engine is up to temps/hot, carefully run your hand up the radiator from bottom to top. My bet is the bottom of the radiator will be MUCH cooler than the top! If so, a re core is in order.

 

[sams86gn]

TT chip. I guess I need to look up the f body radiator swap and see what all it involves. I can get one of those really cheap. I will try that tip on feeling the radiator for temp changes!


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[TurboBuRick]

Did you burp the system when you filled it up? When first filled I run the motor with the radiator cap off. Once up to temp the thermostat will open and the coolant will slightly spill out. It will then pull the coolant down into the motor. At this point you can top it off.

Rick

 

[sams86gn]

I did not burp the system. I do that today also. Thanks!


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[sams86gn]

The radiator is definitely stopped up! Tried the trick about feeling the top and bottom...bottom stays room temp and the top Is extremely hot. Tried to burp the system by leaving the cap off but there is very minimal water flow. I think I'm gonna try flushing the radiator a few times and then filling it with water and RMI25 or do you guys just think that's a waste of time and a new or recored radiator is needed?


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[TurboDave]

The radiator is definitely stopped up! Tried the trick about feeling the top and bottom...bottom stays room temp and the top Is extremely hot. Tried to burp the system by leaving the cap off but there is very minimal water flow. I think I'm gonna try flushing the radiator a few times and then filling it with water and RMI25 or do you guys just think that's a waste of time and a new or recored radiator is needed?


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There's really no way to cure that other than a re-core, or full replacement.

Sent from my QMV7A tablet via Tapatalk.

 

[GNRick]

The original radiator has the built in oil and tranny coolers. The F body radiator does not. So you might want to keep the original one if possible. Also, if you live in a cooler climate, the 160 degree stat might not let the heat warm up enough in the winter. There is a fan switch located on the front of the intake manifold. It allows the fan to turn on at a certain temp. So check to make sure the fan is turning on around 180 degrees while idling in the driveway. And last, I run 50/50 anti freeze year round with no issues. I added some rmi to it long ago.

 

[GNICETRY]

I think I'm gonna try flushing the radiator a few times and then filling it with water and RMI25 or do you guys just think that's a waste of time and a new or recored radiator is needed?


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Definitely won't hurt and is a lot cheaper than buying a radiator, which you will probably have to do.

 

[sams86gn]

Thanks for all the help. I guess I'm gonna try flushing mine first, since its free, and then go from there.


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[Red C5]

The radiator is definitely stopped up! Tried the trick about feeling the top and bottom...bottom stays room temp and the top Is extremely hot. Tried to burp the system by leaving the cap off but there is very minimal water flow. I think I'm gonna try flushing the radiator a few times and then filling it with water and RMI25 or do you guys just think that's a waste of time and a new or recored radiator is needed?

Your radiator is around 28 years old, I don't think you're going to bring it back to life. Whatever you clear up with your flushes will just go elsewhere in the cooling system, don't create another problem for yourself. You've got many cooling options.

Peter

 

[Squid4life]

Search for ALRADCO threads. Here is one recent one:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/drop-in-radiator-advice.412659/page-2#post-3415009

I have run the cheapie rad and it seeped and the seam and was pretty lopsided. Do yourself a favor, bite the bullet and spend a little more coin than you normally would. This is a very important system for your engine and it sounds like you have already worked pretty hard to make it nice and reliable. No sense going cheap now, you might regret it. The ALRADCO lets you use oil and trans cooler and is a BEAST! Oh, and its not made in China.