c900 cooling system issue on 1983 8VT

The big hoses hot system runs

yes but not the way you mean it. See end of message.

I've got a

It will be as bad (probably).

and a new radiator too (scoop

Maybe. You may also find that it leaks like a sieve after you flush it.

What do you intend to do with the new rad. Hung it on the wall as a work of art?

hoses were hot thermostat was open.

On my long gone to heaven c900 1983 vintage 8v etc when I replaced the radiator because I was getting bad cooling ... it disintegrated. I think simply by now the radiator is gone. The rad. does not have a single passage to get blocked it is full of many little passages ... which GET BLOCKED :-) with salts and rust. The little copper(?) fins which are stuck between the water passages disintegrate and you get bad cooling.

It is helps at all.

Charles

Hi everyone,

Well after discussing this with a few other people I'm going to try using a cooling system flush product (Nulon's one for those in Oz who know about Nulon products) combined with some hose jets into various ports that I can get to without lots of elastigirl-style arm bending. 8-)

If that doesn't unblock the radiator I'll remove the old one and put the new one in it's place so I can take the old one to a proper radiator service outlet and get them to figure out what the condition is.

Changing the radiator isn't going to be a huge job but there's a fair amount of prep to be done before it can be changed. So avoiding that for the time being at least would be a Good Thing!

Regards,

Craig.

Watch very very very carefully for leaks after you flush it! Run the car stationary until full temperature is reached.

Good luck Charles

Go and get it rodded out properly by a radiator shop. It's not worth half-doing a job in the long run.

True, but I figured that since I need to flush the oil system as well, running the engine to do that can also be used to flush the cooling system and then if the radiator remains blocked it's not a totally lost cause since I will have flushed and replaced the engine oil regardless.

First though I need to loosen the oil filter and at the moment it's super-tight - using both hands gripped hard around it won't turn it. Unfortunately it's got the Ryco version and not the genuine Mann aka Saab version so my filter wrench isn't the right size (the Ryco filter is just a few mm larger in case diameter)! I don't want to puncture the oil filter's casing if it can be avoided so I'll try a long flat-bladed screwdriver with a hammer applying turning force to the lip of the filter casing instead.

It's always fun and games!

Craig.

Ehmm no. You just need the correct tool.

You may need to tie a wire at the end of the chain to guide it round the filter ... unless your hands are a lot smaller than mine.

Regards Charles

PS. If you use a chain wrench you have to make sure you move it up and down the filter otherwise you could cut through it. Usually if you get it high up near the thread the filter is harder and it will grip without bending too much.

Well I've done both tonight, and the problem with the cooling system was not a blocked radiator at all - it was the port where the small hose goes from the expansion tank to the top of the left side of the radiator that was blocked up. Once I ran the engine to heat it up and let the cooling system and oil system cleanout products do their respective jobs, I changed the coolant tank after draining the system and found the blockage, as well as being able to look at how badly decayed the steel sleeves in each of the hose ports on the old tank were. ewww. 8-)

I ran a *lot* of fresh water into the system via the large hose that joins to the expansion tank and proved the small-hose port of the radiator wasn't blocked because coolant and eventually clear water came out when I kept the flow into the large hose up to completely fill the radiator with water.

As for the oil system, I ended up getting the old oil filter to loosen using a flat screwdriver and hammer by making the blade bite into the filter's base flange and using that as a force point to make it turn. It's only took two 'bite' points to get it turned enough so it could be loosened by hand, but whoever put it on must have really forced it tight. I was careful not to damage the oil filter mount.

Now the car has a flushed and refilled oil system and the same with the coolant system. Tommorow I'll check the clamps are all tightened properly and also the oil drain plug is torqued to the right setting, and run the engine to circulate the new oil (Shell Helix Ultra is what I use) and fully bleed out any remaining air pockets in the coolant system. I've still got about 2 litres of the 8 litres of coolant mixture left after bleeding using the port on the thermostat housing, so it's probably the heater valve circuit that is still full of air.

Craig.