my temps have started to get up there, live in az where temps are hitting 120. anyway i recently bought a new 4 row radiator. i used my inferred thermometer and the water coming out of the engine is hitting 200 degrees and going back in is 200 degrees. no heat loss. its 120 degrees out and the car sitting still idling. as i remember there was a 25-40 temp drop, from the inlet to the outlet of the radiator, when i checked after install. of-course that was when it was only 80 degrees outside. shouldn't there still be a different temp on the outlet side after passing through the radiator.

 

Is the thermostat working, something is wrong somewhere. You should loose 20 to 40 degrees in the radiator between inlet and outlet temps. Also, check your IR sensor on other surfaces to see if its working. What does the gauge read in the car? A fan shroud and "Water Wetter" will help lower the temp. Do you have a fan clutch and so, is it working?

 

the gauge is ready 3/4. the temps im getting at that are 200. ive checked the top and bottom temps when its been 80 or 90 out, but never when its 120.

 

If water is going from the top of your radiator to the bottom and the fan is working, it is impossible for the temp to be the same. Take your cap off. Start the engine, and after it reaches operating temp you should see the water running over the top of the fins. If not, then your thermostat is either not opening (stuck) or it is in backwards.

 

i know the thermostat is in right. im starting to think that with 120 temps the radiator can only get rid of so much heat. guess that running 200 with the air on really isn't that bad. i bought a spal #30102120. i also bought a 100 amp alternator. ill see what happens next weekend after i put it all together.

 

when the ambient temp is so high, it will be hard for the rad to dissipate much heat when the car is sitting at idle.

did you go copper or alum rad? If your gunna drive the car with the a/c on in those temps, I would go alum. Me, i dont have air, so i dont drive the stang when the temps go over about 95. I got sick of leaving large portions of skin on the vinyl seats every time i got in the car

+1 on the shroud...makes a big difference.

 

It doesn't matter if the outside temperature is 500 degrees, the radiator should dissipate the heat with the cooling system no matter how modern it is. With the Spal or 6 blade fan and a radiator and an overflow tank and a shroud with water wetter in the system you should be good to go.

 

the radiator is a copper 4 row. i checked the cap and it wasn't holding pressure, but wasn't boiling over. im thinking 200 degrees when its 125 out and the air is running isn't that much. i just checked my old ****** jeep, it has a 350 sbc with a 4 row copper radiator. it has a aluminum bladed fan and a pretty good electric fan mounted to the front. it reads the same, when it hits 125 outside and its idling it will put 190 degrees out the top hose and 190 out the bottom hose. i pointed the inferred temp gauge at the radiators fins and detect a change in temps from top to bottom. also, at idle, when i turn the electric fan on i can feel quite an increase in airflow over the engine. im sure the electric fans that companies like spal sell today must as good as the factory electric fans that they put in new cars. thats why i bought the 100 amp alternator, to make sure the fan will be getting the full power it will need.

 

200 isnt that high, is it boiling out of the radiator?

 

no boiling over. im figuring with the new spal electric fan, and im going to try a mixture of 40% antifreeze and 60% water.