New radiator

[Jimnist]

I've got some questions about installing a new radiator for the 4cyl on a 312k km engine as the old one has died(pinhole leak and it think causing my overheating problem)

1)Are the stock dimensions adequate for cooling?
2) What do i do about the oil cooler part? I've got a manual tranny. Just block/plug it off? Or fill with coolant or oil to stop corrosion?
3) What's the best way to flush the system? I read in an older thread that it's not good to flush the cooling system with 'straight' water because it can cause the waterpump to leak (due to thinner viscosity of water vs coolant).
4) What's a good ratio? I know 1:1 is the standard, but after reading the bottle, it only increases the boiling point by 5*C to 132*C (vs a 2:1 ratio of water-to-coolant w/ boiling pt at 127*C). Should i still go 1:1

Any help is appreciated

[atobe]

i just changed my radiator cause of a leak too..
the stock is fine it's more than enough for that engine..
just leave the oil cooler lines alone..
i used regular water for a flush before i think it should be fine i mean how much damage can it do ? you're running it for 10 mins compared to how many hrs of the lifetime of the WP ?

i run 50/50 water/coolant depends on how's your weather i suppose

check your hoses while you're at it.. and replace that thermostat too

[Jimnist]

Originally Posted by atobe

i just changed my radiator cause of a leak too..
the stock is fine it's more than enough for that engine..
just leave the oil cooler lines alone..
Could moisture get into the oil cooler section, corrode it and then start corroding the 'normal' rad section?
i used regular water for a flush before i think it should be fine i mean how much damage can it do ? you're running it for 10 mins compared to how many hrs of the lifetime of the WP ? True that

i run 50/50 water/coolant depends on how's your weather i suppose
Only gets warm in summer (hit 40*C the other day) and winter is fine, doesn't ever hit single digits...well, maybe at night rarely.

check your hoses while you're at it.. and replace that thermostat too
Hoses looked good, just a bit dirty/dusty. That thermostat is working alright Was reverse flushing the system and as it started passing through the bottom hose, back pressure built up and when the t/stat closed, it started soaking my mate

Didn't realise how old this cooling system is. Pretty sure it's the same one from factory because it had a faded 'denso' printed on the top and there wasn't a drain plug/tap at the bottom of the rad.

[white90dx]

A new radiator that is setup for the auto trans will have little caps over the trans cooler lines. Just leave those on there and don't worry about it.

I run somewhere between 30% and 45% coolant, depending. The higher boiling temp is not what you are looking for - for best cooling you want the highest heat capacity. Water is much better than coolant for that. In cold environments, you want higher coolant % as it lowers the freezing temp of the system significantly.

Then again, I was up in the mountains when it was about -20*F (-30*C) and my motor didn't freeze with about 30-40% coolant... (not that I would recommend that)

-Charlie

[Jimnist]

There weren't any rubber plugs over the lines Should i plug them up with blue tack or something?

Cool, thanks for the info on coolant. So i guess having more water is better for me because i'm in Sydney never go near mountains or sub zero temps.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by Jimnist

There weren't any rubber plugs over the lines Should i plug them up with blue tack or something?

Cool, thanks for the info on coolant. So i guess having more water is better for me because i'm in Sydney never go near mountains or sub zero temps.

I wouldn't even worry about the trans cooler lines then. I suppose you can cap them or plug them if you want.

Yeah, you want as much water in the cooling system as possible. Coolant is there for two main reasons: Reduce/eliminate corrosion in the cooling system and lower the freezing temp of the coolant/water mix.

-Charlie

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by white90dx

I wouldn't even worry about the trans cooler lines then. I suppose you can cap them or plug them if you want.

Yeah, you want as much water in the cooling system as possible. Coolant is there for two main reasons: Reduce/eliminate corrosion in the cooling system and lower the freezing temp of the coolant/water mix.

-Charlie

The coolant (antifreeze) also acts as a lubricant for the water pump.

Mike