454Sub
5/8 ton status
Grounding the radiator wont effect electrolysis, they offer drain plugs made out of a material that will be "eaten" before the radiator instead.
CK5
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Can water pump pressure be too high?
- Thread starter bp71k5
- Start date
Yeah,a zinc "sacraficial anode"...J.C. Whitney had them years ago...
Are you running a thermostat?..maybe the high pressure water pump was gutsy enough to open up a poor solder job at a seam if the water flow was great enough..
I agree about the head gasket possibly being compramised,sometimes they only pressurize the radiator,and you never see any evidence of coolant in the oil...a friend had a truck you could drive thousands of miles for months all over ,then it would suddenly pop a heater or by-pass hose,one day it had the upper radiator hose rip open--it was old,so he assumed it was just "due"--but a week later,the new hose did the same thing...
He also noticed during the winter the heater sometimes blew cold air,and he heard gurgling noises...he was going to replace the heater core,but another mechanic said to test it first by using a pressure tester..
We put a pressure tester on the radiator and took it for a blast down the highway with the hood tied partly open,and when we got back to the shop,it showed nearly 30 lbs,and the needle was dancing a jig...pulled the heads off and found one head gasket had a rotted spot on one cylinder,right near the "ring" that seals the compression ..it was evident someone used Bars'Leak in the past too,before he bought the truck..
I would not doubt though,if its just a crappy radiator...its hard to buy a "good" one lately ,no matter who you go with...the china ones are the worst,but my friend has had to replace more than a few "Spectra" ones he put in Cherokee's that were leaking in less than a year..and he usually has good luck with that brand..
Are you running a thermostat?..maybe the high pressure water pump was gutsy enough to open up a poor solder job at a seam if the water flow was great enough..
I agree about the head gasket possibly being compramised,sometimes they only pressurize the radiator,and you never see any evidence of coolant in the oil...a friend had a truck you could drive thousands of miles for months all over ,then it would suddenly pop a heater or by-pass hose,one day it had the upper radiator hose rip open--it was old,so he assumed it was just "due"--but a week later,the new hose did the same thing...
He also noticed during the winter the heater sometimes blew cold air,and he heard gurgling noises...he was going to replace the heater core,but another mechanic said to test it first by using a pressure tester..
We put a pressure tester on the radiator and took it for a blast down the highway with the hood tied partly open,and when we got back to the shop,it showed nearly 30 lbs,and the needle was dancing a jig...pulled the heads off and found one head gasket had a rotted spot on one cylinder,right near the "ring" that seals the compression ..it was evident someone used Bars'Leak in the past too,before he bought the truck..
I would not doubt though,if its just a crappy radiator...its hard to buy a "good" one lately ,no matter who you go with...the china ones are the worst,but my friend has had to replace more than a few "Spectra" ones he put in Cherokee's that were leaking in less than a year..and he usually has good luck with that brand..
We have literally a thousand plus miles and 10 cartwheels on the same radiator in the race car with no issues. Securely mounted radiator shouldn't be your problem even with rough streets.
I would tend to think either squeezing it too much or the loose bolts letting it bang around.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Well, the core support is square, but the radiator replacement I got looks like its skewed about 1/4". Now my mounting brackets don't fit right. Something fishy is going on.
The truck is expanding and contracting with the ambient moisture change in the atmosphere due to climate change.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Ha, except for today, we don't have ambient moisture over here.
I think I'll just move the brackets around so the radiator is held in place without forcing it in place and see how that works. The radiator has a lifetime replacement warranty so I can try as many times as I want I guess.
I think I'll just move the brackets around so the radiator is held in place without forcing it in place and see how that works. The radiator has a lifetime replacement warranty so I can try as many times as I want I guess.
Are you saying the radiator appears "twisted"? If so, that seems pretty common on the newer aftermarket radiators.
Haven't seen it cause issues by leaking, but it's possible.
Haven't seen it cause issues by leaking, but it's possible.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
The new radiator is a little like a trapezoid rather than square. If the old radiator was tweaked as well, it may have been forced into square when I tightened all the brackets. It's only a guess though. I also found one body mount a little loose even today so maybe that was contributing.
Odd. Don't think I'd have even thought to check if the radiator is "square" before.
I always check for square. Had a new one that was 3/4" out. Now the oit parts store checks every one before it leaves.
2 cents worth. Mounting issue, junk radiators , cap too high psi or defective.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
More info tonight...
The radiator is a little out of square, but my core support isn't right either. It's flat between three of the four corners, but the one corner is pulled in towards the firewall so the radiator hits the core support before the mounts tighten up. This meant I had to bend it about 1/2" back to get that one mount on. That may have been a problem.
So I moved one of the mounts back to compensate and will refill it in the morning. I guess this 43 year old truck isn't quite as straight as it once was. I'm going to run this new radiator and keep a close eye on everything and see what happens.
The radiator is a little out of square, but my core support isn't right either. It's flat between three of the four corners, but the one corner is pulled in towards the firewall so the radiator hits the core support before the mounts tighten up. This meant I had to bend it about 1/2" back to get that one mount on. That may have been a problem.
So I moved one of the mounts back to compensate and will refill it in the morning. I guess this 43 year old truck isn't quite as straight as it once was. I'm going to run this new radiator and keep a close eye on everything and see what happens.
