Radiator

[Untamed]

I removed the radiator and fan from my 88 Trans Am last night. I'll spare you the comical story.

After draining the fluids, there was an enormous amount of rusty water inside to the point where I almost couldnt tell the coolant was supposed to be greenish. I assume rust is common with a 17 year old OEM radiator, however is it still serviceable? There weren't any holes, and the previous owner said everything but the seized engine worked fine. However I am skeptical.

This is a poor mans restoration so I'd prefer not to spend $300 on a new radiator. I dont have a picture to show, however are there any tell-tale signs (beyond obvious leaking) indicating a bad radiator? Anything I can do to flush / fix-up to make it look and work better?

Thanks!

[foff667]

dude, youve got 4 fbodies, you cant keep using the wife, kid, mistress, job, aunts, uncles as your excuse...just buy an aluminum radiator and call it a day :)

[Untamed]

LOL Nah I -had- three other F-bodies. I need to change my sig to make that clearer I guess.

I suppose I should just buy a new one for no other reason than it would look better.

[foff667]

LOL Nah I -had- three other F-bodies. Â*I need to change my sig to make that clearer I guess.

I suppose I should just buy a new one for no other reason than it would look better.

tell your wife your going on a diet and you need her and the kids support, ya starve everyone for a month...then at the end of the month just "binge" but in reality you were just saving money so you can get the radiator :)

[j0n]

LOL Nah I -had- three other F-bodies. Â*I need to change my sig to make that clearer I guess.

I suppose I should just buy a new one for no other reason than it would look better.

watch thirdgen.org classifieds or ebay and look for a used radiator in better shape than what you have

[HardcoreZ28]

Take it to a local radiator shop.....they can probably clean and inspect it cheap. Should be good still for a 305.

[Fasterthanyou]

Take it to a local radiator shop.....they can probably clean and inspect it cheap. Should be good still for a 305.
:nod: With an iron block and heads you should EXPECT to see rust water, especially if it's been sitting a while.
I'd just take a hose, fill it up half way, put my hands on both ends and slush the thing back and forth, I'd do this until the water coming out is crystal clear. That's how you flush a radiator the poor mans way. Elbow grease goes a long way. Last 2 times I've done my radiator I've just removed the lower and upper hose and sealed a garden hose with my hand on the upper to pressurize the that side of the radiator into pushing the sediment through the fins. A good way to check that a radiator is working is to use your hand, feel the hot parts and move your hand down, if the lower fins are cooler they're most likely clogged, do a reverse flush and hope that fixes it.

[Untamed]

Yeah I think its ultimately cheaper just to get the one I have, cleaned and serviced. I dunno, might have to hold off on that one until after the engine swap.

Thanks guys.