I've been browsing the boards here and have put together the consensus that Square-birds get to operating temp. without ANY trouble. I also dedeuced that they get a bit hot under the collar (not to mention the hood/bonnet) when the weather gets HOT. Well, it's summer here in south-central Colorado and that means high 90's and low 100's. We're also just past a mile high. (Nope, I'm not in Denver!)
The mechanic say the water pump is fine. I replaced the radiator cap which had required no oomph to push it down to turn it on. I replaced the thermostat with a 160 degree one. I just installed a backflush tee (sorry, that's probably somewhat of a sin....) and flushed it for close to a half hour. Then I put in some Prestone Super cooling system cleaner (the kind which is supposed to remain in the system for 3 - 6 hours of driving) and will drain it all out. Now, it was HOT again today - right around 100 - and as long as I kept moving down the HIGHWAY, the temp. gauge didn't get TOO close to the letter P in TEMP. At least not for a while. Then it slooooowly crept up to the P. If I had been in town, going 30 mph, it would have hit P really quickly. Then, of course, I get to a stop light and some smoke wisps out from under the hood - from the oil cap.
At this point, I guess I'll pull the radiator and have it checked to see if it needs cleaning or if it might be PAST cleaning.
So, are these Birds just not going to be happy in hot weather??? Who else, if anyone, has had over-heating issues? Have I missed an issue with which I'm not familiar?
The mechanic say the water pump is fine. I replaced the radiator cap which had required no oomph to push it down to turn it on. I replaced the thermostat with a 160 degree one. I just installed a backflush tee (sorry, that's probably somewhat of a sin....) and flushed it for close to a half hour. Then I put in some Prestone Super cooling system cleaner (the kind which is supposed to remain in the system for 3 - 6 hours of driving) and will drain it all out. Now, it was HOT again today - right around 100 - and as long as I kept moving down the HIGHWAY, the temp. gauge didn't get TOO close to the letter P in TEMP. At least not for a while. Then it slooooowly crept up to the P. If I had been in town, going 30 mph, it would have hit P really quickly. Then, of course, I get to a stop light and some smoke wisps out from under the hood - from the oil cap.
At this point, I guess I'll pull the radiator and have it checked to see if it needs cleaning or if it might be PAST cleaning.
So, are these Birds just not going to be happy in hot weather??? Who else, if anyone, has had over-heating issues? Have I missed an issue with which I'm not familiar?
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