Decided it was finally time to replace the radiator once it started leaking badly from the upper radiator hose neck. (Old one had a few repairs and even a little RTV holding in some pin hole leaks )

Got the new all metal "made in China" brand radiator today via UPS, quality looked good actually, and installed it (super easy).

So I filled it up with anti freeze and started it and turned on the heater to cycle the coolant and get it topped off. All of a sudden I start getting large amounts of steam rolling out of the filler hole (cap off). Temp gauge is reading hot and heat isnt blowing hot air.

So im saying thermostat. Right? Would changing out the radiator cause the stat to stick or go bad like that? Whats going on here? Anyway... guess I'll pick up a new thermostat tomorrow. What temp rating do i need? 180/195?

 

you need 195 also try to park on a incline so the radiator fill cap is higher then any other part of the cooling system.

 

Yea, it sounds like the thermostat is bad, and in my opinion it a good idea to replace the thermostat when you replace the radiator. you probably don`t really need to, but its just good insurance. I just ordered a new three core radiator for my 86 4Runner and im buying a new thermostat from the dealer because i feel there better quality than most.

 

Fill hole always seems to be at the top of the system... whats the difference in application for the 2 temp ranges on the tstat? Im in SE Utah and its supposed to be 70 tomorrow. I would think the 195 would be better for the colder climates, or is my thinking backwards?

 

well, I was in a car crash, fully broke my radiator, and when I installed mine (the 4 bolts really do make it super easy ) and put on all the hoses, it worked perfectly, no problems with anything radiator related whatsoever. Maybe you topped it off too much or something. I don't know.

But you can buy thermostats rather cheap at a local PepBoys

 

i highly doubt its the thermostat.

Sounds like you simply have air in the system. It needs to burp. To avoid getting air when I fill a cooling system, i pull the upper heater hose and allow air to escape while I fill it. Never had a problem that way.

 

So how do I burp it at this stage?

 

run it with the cap off till you hear it burp