reno928s

I installed my Griffin radiator along with a lower thermostat 83 degrees and fan switch. My temp gauge at idle is in the middle but on the highway at speeds of 75 on up the temp seems to rise to the third line but not past that. I had no problems prior to installing the Griffin radiator. Is this normal? and yes I bled the system. TIA, Reno

jacklet

bleed again maybe?

JET951

maybe original radiator is better?

JET951

are your fans kicking in when gauge reaches third line?

MichelleJD

Bleed again. It's a b**** to get all of the air out of these things.

Jeremy Himsel

Obviously check your bleed as well as fan operation.

One thing I've become religous in doing is checking thermostats in a pot of water on the stove before installation. I've seen quite a few of the whaler (SP) thermostats open only partially or not open at the right temperature range. nearly 30 to 40% of them don't open all the way in my experience.

I live in one of the few areas of the world where any restriction or weak link in the cooling system can show up in the summer. It's also wise to drill a small hole in the outer ring and place it twords the top of the WP to help fill/bleed the system. There is no logical reason why the radiator itself would be an issue and the Griffins have been running slightly cooler then the stock radiators in 110 degree weather.

Tom M'Guinn

After the car warms up, turn on the heater and listen for gurgling sounds. If you here gurgling, you still have air in the system. When checking the thermostat, also make sure the timing belt is tensioned properly (!) and that the sealing ring is in good shape in the throat of the water pump.

reno928s

My fans are on but the problem is not at idle or around town it's just at highway speeds. The needle seems to rise just a milimeter below the third white line when cruising at 75 on up and around town it stays dead center even in traffic. Before the install it was the opposite, temps would reach third white line around town or traffic and at highway speeds below the middle. Would this be one of the problems if the thermostat is not functioning properly?

Rich Sandor

Did you bleed with the front of the car jacked up? Did you bleed with the heater on? How long did you leave the bleed screw open for?

pflyers

Are your fans going up to high speed when they should? thats what my problem was. I just used the info at clarks garage to test them out. there was simply some corrosion on the connectors.

Jeremy Himsel

Regardless of hi/low speed fan operation, @ 75 MPH, the airflow through the radiator far exceeds the flow provided by the fans so if it's okay at idle and an issue @ 75 mph, it's either a really bad bleed causing the water pump to cavitate at higher RPM's, a slipping belt / or impeller on the shaft, or the thermostat is not opening enough to allow enough flow through the block at those RPM’s or loads (you need less flow at idle).

reno928s

Originally when I first bled it I had the car on a steep incline facing up with the heater on. I bled it for about 5 to 8 minutes. Am I supposed to leave the radiator cap on or off when bleeding and also do you think the radiator cap could be the culprit? I will attempt to bleed it again on Friday. Thanks for everybodys help.

skene

I had to run my car for a good 15-20 minutes just to get warm enough to open everything up to bleed it. I left the cap off and eventually had my tank overflow because of that...so I'm not sure if that'll help.

Bri Bro

Burbing with the cap off is a normal thing. You have to bleed out the system under preasure, removing the cap will allow the system to push out the fluid as the volume expands. If the cap is on, the volume remains constant and the preasure increases..ideal gas law stuff.