BenK wrote:
but the OP somewhere in earlier posts on this thread said it had a radiator leak and had it fixed
So, assumed it was done correctly (assumptions are dangerous, but the OP said had it fixed). Also assumed either new radiator or the old radiator fixed (re-tanked, rod'ed out, etc...another assumption). That means it is or should not be the radiator
Yes the radiator was replaced with a brand new radiator. Unfortunately I didn't have a say in the radiator. Which interestingly brings up PatJ's post.
PatJ wrote:
At some point the radiator was replaced with a cheap aftermarket which notoriously have a very short straight piece of restrictive copper tubing in the tank as the "trans cooler" versus the large heat exchanger section that was in the tank of the OEM radiator.
I find this funny because while I have never heard of this practice, it was exactly what was running through my head while I was dealing with the heat. I seriously was thinking "I'll bet they just put a straight pipe through the tank and not an actual cooler". The main reason I was thinking that was that even on a long downhill at 60 mph it takes quite a while, as in many miles, for the gauge to come down. I realize there is a lot of thermal mass to cool, but it just seems too slow.
BenK wrote:
flex fans were the coolest invention of that time. Almost put a SS flex in on my 1973 K5 Blazer, but never got around to it. It's still in the garage somewhere...
Had a flex fan on my 77 Bronco for a while. It's still in the garage as well, though I at least know where it is. :)
BenK wrote:
look into your radiator cap opening (assume you can, somewhere all the OEM's went away from that and had a pressurized over flow bottle). There should be an ATF radiator inside the cold tank of your main radiator. Small block had a 5 fin and big block had a 7 fin radiator.
Unfortunately it's the newer style with a pressurized overflow bottle and no cap. I might talk to the local radiator shop tomorrow and ask them how much to pull the ATF cooler tank and see if it has just the tube. I'll bet though that it would be cheaper for me to just replace the radiator in my driveway than to pay to pull a tank. Plus I have a slight issue with opening up and then resealing a brand new radiator.
