Bought OE radiator for my 98 EX over the weekend cuz the old one cracked and due to the weekend heat here in LA, it could not hang. Install was good, no problem, idled the car for a while and things went ok. Now, the problem is when I drive it on the freeway. During long drive, the gauge stays on normal temp, but when/if I get stuck on traffic or dead stop, that **** goes up, BUT does not go all the way to "H" for it to overheat. It would do that as long as I'm in traffic or dead stop. Is this because the radiator can't handle the engine's heat or something I forgot to check. As far as I know, I doubled check the connection, no leaks, or any other connection issues. Any advice would be great, or I should just upgrade to a performance radiator?

 

If your fan wasnt working it would do that. Some radiators need to be double clicked (the cap) to build pressure properly. Lastly maybe you have an air bubble which most cases will work itself out but you may need to add coolent after it does. Worst case scenario turn your heater on high( windows down on defrost), it will be hot as hell for a while til your body gets used to it but once you step out of the car it will feel cool even if it is 90 out.

 

It sounds as though your radiator is partially obstructed, that's what would cause running hot but not overheating.

 

yea id go with what Endo-land said about the air bubble or fan not cutting on.

 

sounds like the fan to me
when the cars moving airs is passing through the rad.

when you stop there's no air, thats when your fan sucks air through it...

no fan=no sucking when stopped.

mmmmm.sucking.

 

Rebleed the cooling system.

 

same thing these guys said. let your car run up to operating temp, see if your fan is working properly., check the connections at the relay. bleed the air out of your system. check/replace the thermostat. check/replace the radiator cap itself.

 

x2 on the bleeding air. did you bleed it through the bleed screw near your water neck? and check the fan to make sure it turns on. but cause there is no wind hitting your radiator at 50mph, that would make your temp low when on the freeway.