how to tell if my radiator is bad.

[BDWG]

if a turn on the a/c it gets REAL hot - 225-235. if i turn it off (a/c) it drops back to 195 or so. and now in the winter, it sits under 170. or are my (stock) gages just junk?

is there a way to tell if the right amount of coolant is getting thru???
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[Ryan, aka: CheapXJ.com]

warm her up, remove the aux fan and feel for cold spots on the radiator, look at the fins running between the tubes, if they are rotting or falling out, that's bad.

if you have cold spots, you can try flushing it, but you will probably end up uncovering leaks if the fins are rotting.

I would start with a good flush, and then remix some fresh antifreeze with 50% distilled water and try that, just to see how it does, also check your mechanical fan clutch (warm it up and try to spin it, it should NOT be easy to spin, you may have to wait for warm weather to do this)

[XJNASH]

Need to check and see if the Electric fan comes on when you turn your ac on if not that could be your issue. Also Cheap has a good point take a look at the radiator for what he has described.

Good luck. graemlins/icon322.gif