3 row meta rad still likes to run warm..

Hi all,

As the title says, I?m running an 86 245, N/A, with a 180f/82c thermostat, and a re-cored and flowed 3-row rad I got from the JY. I also have the compensator board removed and jumperd.. It still sometimes likes to creep up when I?m going up the mountain or beating on it. Do I have a blocked coolant tube in the engine??

I had a 189 in it but it was sitting constantly at 3/4 on the temp gauge. With the 180 it has been pretty solid right at the half way mark. When I asked the Volvo shop guys he just laughed and said ?throw a colder thermostat in there!?

Any ideas?
Submitted from a mobile device apologies for any brevity

You know you didn't mention the water pump. How old is that? Try a temp gun and read the temps on the radiator hoses and radiator. Do you run the a/c? If you do run a/c does it have a pusher fan added? The fan is always good to add. At slow speeds and in traffic it needs a pusher fan to help keep the a/c running well.

dl242gt said:

You know you didn't mention the water pump. How old is that? Try a temp gun and read the temps on the radiator hoses and radiator. Do you run the a/c? If you do run a/c does it have a pusher fan added? The fan is always good to add. At slow speeds and in traffic it needs a pusher fan to help keep the a/c running well.

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Good points! I think there is a temp gun around here someplace... Water pump is about 4 years old now, one from the dealer... the top hose often feels quite warm and has even spit some mineral deposits out the thread of the silicone coolant hoses. Difficult to explain but hope this makes sense..

I don’t run the ac, deleted it all and pushed the PS out a bit to run off the crank.

I don't have the temp gauge mods, but I remember when I first installed my 3 row I could visibly see when my thermostat was cycling via the gauge. That rad does such a legit job on these cars... I'd probably say try a cooler stat and see what's what.

Check ohm values of gauge sending unit at both cold and at operating temps with a digital Ohm Meter. Then look up specifications for sending unit.

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Kjets On a Plane said:

Cheap harbor fright temp gun?
Double check temp sender ohm range?
Does the fan clutch actually work/does the fan shroud have a hole in it?
Do the belts that drive said fan slip/hooptie alt mounting bushings?
Install a tropical clutch?
Is the ignition timing set correctly?
Is the splash/belly pan in place?
Is the bumper airdam air pickup in place?

Outside shot, redblocks rarely have this symptom per se, but does the headgasket leak...say... combustion into the coolant?

Click to expand...

I know there is a temp gun here, Tracking it down...

Will check Ranges this weekend.
Tropical fan clutch already installed.
Fan Shroud is intact, I did remove the lower air dam however...
I use yoshifab metal bushings, belts are in good shape..

Timing seems correct.
Metal belly pan in place for the rally look...

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

If it is running hot after temp gum checks.. wondering about fan clutch condition ?

I’m sorry this is taking so long guys. I also had a sticky brake caliper which I realized was really not helping. Finally got that all squared away and It actually didn’t seem to get quite as warm on the up the hill tonight but will report back with temp gun numbers. Thanks for your continued interest.

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