So the guy a couple doors down from me just got a 84. The radiator had very little antifreeze in it. We added more but the car is still runing hot 240. Is there a specific cooling system refill procedure on this model.

Thank's for any help
Buffaloc3

 

I put a flush kit bib, on the upper heater hose, (where it goes into the firewall) and when I fill the radiator, I open the cap to burp the system. There may be other issues though. Such as a clogged radiator, or heater core, thermostat, also a bad water pump, or even a bad headgasket. Does the fan come on at 220ish? It sounds like a good flushing is in order. I actually bout 2 flush kits for mine, so now I can flush it both directions. For the 1st flush, its a good idea to pull the thermostat, and radiator hoses, so if there is any large debris in the motor, it wont get into the radiator.

When you're done, and everything is all hooked back up, put in a "New" thermostat, (I drill an 1/8th inch hole in mine) and only fill with water until you have solved the problem, otherwise you'll spend a fortune on antifreeze, not to mention the adverse effects on the environment.

Once you have it started and you are full of water. Leave the cap off the radiator, so you can see that the t-stat opening, and you can see the water is moving in the radiator. Also watch for air bubbles, this would be the aforementioned headgasket. If you still dont find it, report back, and we can shoot you in the right direction.

84 radiators IMO are too small. I just got mine where it stays at 195, and it took an aluminum 2 core radiator, and a second fan, (which is now my primary) with an adjustable fan switch. I now get as high as 198 (sunny day, stop, and go traffic) to 188 cruising on a sunny day. When stock, it spent a lot of its time around 220, but never went past 224 when the fan came on. h

 

no need to throw money at it buying fancy fans and radiators. If you've got a clean, working system, the temps will be fine

 

 

I think its funny how some people just get on here to contradict others, and offer absolutely no help to the original poster. I never once said he needed a new radiator, or fans for that matter. I simply stated;

" just got mine where it stays at 195, and it took an aluminum 2 core radiator, and a second fan, (which is now my primary) with an adjustable fan switch. I now get as high as 198 (sunny day, stop, and go traffic) to 188 cruising on a sunny day. When stock, it spent a lot of its time around 220, but never went past 224 when the fan came on."

Nowhere did I say that was what he needed to do! Ive been wrenching on cars for 35yrs, and I come here to help others, and get help when I need it. I thought that was what the "Tech" section was for! Not to belittle others, then offer no useful information yourself.

BTW how well does your " clean, working system", keep your car below 200 in 80 degree weather, never going above 15 mph, for 10 miles at a time?

Lets try helping the OP out rather than picking a fight with me! h

 

Is the fan working at all? does it run at 240 sitting or on the road? My 84 was running hot when I got it so I let it run until the fan came on only to find it was running slow. A new fan and a rad. flush fixed it Good luck

 

#1 There is no Contradiction! More like sound advise from a knowledgeable form Member.

#2 Mine also ran nice and cool; 185-190°f above 30mph & 200-217°f in traffic with >90° OAT's

#3 It's not about How long you have been wrenching.. it's about how long you have been working on Corvette's. I also had alot to learn my-self.. (all of us for that matter)

on a side note; I decided to go with an all Aluminum Radiator my-sef, but not because of heat.. Mainly because of the Plastic side tank that just recently developed a small leak after almost 18 years of service. I'm hoping it arrives next week, the car has been grounded for about two weeks..

 

Sometimes debris will get caught in front of the radiator and condenser, I have had this happen on several C4's. Sometimes I have had luck with taking them off and cleaning out between the fins.

I owned them all the way back to 1988, which was an 84 model. If it got above 230, sitting in hot traffic, I would start looking for a problem, otherwise it was fine.

A new radiator will probably cure all of the problems if filling it back up with coolant doesn't fix it.

 

anti freeze is an insulator, more is not better. use 1/2 gal of antifreeze a bottle of kool it, and the rest with distilled water. there are block drain plugs but hard to get too.backing up in my 45 degree driveway so that the engine is higher than the rad, i use a hand pump and put the hose into the radiator cap hole all the way down to remove the tap water after flushing. use a good thermostat. ac delco or stant, had good luck with them. had bad luck with a expensive motor rad one though.

 

It's unfortunate that tempers flare when different opinions are expressed on this issue. How is a guy supposed to filter out the helpful information from the useless? My '84 never goes above 205*, even on hot days (above 80*) in heavy traffic. Cooling system is clean, stock radiator, no junk in the air intake or the a/c radiator, fan and fan relay working like they should, 50/50 antifreeze, good radiator cap, 190* thermostat, good waterpump, properly tuned engine (important!). (I do have a higher current rated fan relay.)
If the car was recently purchased, and the coolant was mostly water, I'd suspect the p.o. was probably having cooling problems, too, and just didn't take the time to fix it right!