Radiator/Overheating Problem - the conclusion...

Damian headed back to the shed to get Booger Mobile back into a driveable condition again... this meant that the mighty number 64 needed its radiator put back in!!

See, it's still out.

First, Damian decided to remove all the hoses etc and give them all a good clean out...  He found this!!  It's a pipe that is completely blocked with mud...  The hose connected to it was the same - although it was only a loopback hose between the two heater hose points (bypassing the heater in the car), this can't have been helping the overheating issues!!

Next up, what to do about the tabs on the edge of the radiator support panel...

Damian worked out that the tabs themselves could be removed without affecting the strength of the support panel, as the strength comes from the curved piece that has been left untouched!!

While in the shed, Damian magically acquired an extra horse power!!  ;-)

Both sides of the radiator support panel adjusted...  has it made much of a difference?

King oath it has!!  See the clean section down either side of the radiator - that is now going to receive fresh air rather than be blocked by the metal!!

This is the mount for the transmission oil cooler...  Damian figured that it was also contributing (however slightly) to the overheating by stopping air from passing...

Voila!!  That looks better!!

The air can now pass through the three spaces you can see in the image below, and directly onto the radiator behind it (not installed at the time the picture was taken).

The mystery of the mud in the pipe had been bugging Damian as he cleaned item after item to see where it could have been coming from... Last cab off the rank - the overflow container (where fluid is pushed to and drawn from as part of the normal operation of the radiator).

It was disgusting inside!!  Clearly the fine red dirt from the esCarpades over the years had been getting into the container, then drawn into the radiator and through to get trapped in strange places!!

Out, damn mud!!

Radiator and auto trans cooler installed...

And thermo fan reinstalled - note that there's still radiator showing to the right of the thermo fan - previously there would have been metal blocking it!!

And in with the sin coolant...  Nothing pure about Booger Mobile!!

And topped up with... err...  water from the hose???

Damian fired up Booger Mobile and left it idling for about 20 mins, and the temperature remained under control...  Hopefully, this will remain the case for this year's esCarpade!!