Overheating festy

[perucho]

When I bought my 92 GL three weeks ago I knew it was overheating. There was also oil in the water but no water in the oil. No white (or any other color for that matter) smoke coming from the tail pipe.
The first day I removed the valve cover and re-torqued the head bolts. I also removed the radiator and flushed the cooling system. There was no thermostat in place and I left it that way.
After that, no more oil in the water, and still no water in the oil. It even passed the smog check (I'm in California). However, it is still overheating.
When I removed the radiator, it seems to be fairly clogged. Y tried to flush it as much as I could but I'm guessing there are tons of deposits in the inner vertical tubes.
The other thing could be the water pump, but it's not leaking or making funny sounds.
The electrical fan comes on and stays on since the temperature doesn't seem to go down once it starts rising. Freeway speeds seem to agravate it even more. I thought that air flow at 60+ mph would help keep the temerature down. Any ideas? I'm thinking about replacing the radiator first and go from there.
I want to swap the engine with a B8 as soon as possible but I also want to keep driving it in the meantime.

[lessersivad]

Are you just running water for coolant right now?? If so, you could try flushing the entire cooling system using Cascade dish soap. Flush a few times then flush with clean water 'till you get the soapy residue out of the system. If you still have no oil in coolant or coolant in oil and there is no huge pressure problem within the cooling system then replace the water with a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. Water doesn't cool as well as the mixture. Hope this helps.

[pwgus]

how hot is it getting after how long?

[perucho]

how hot is it getting after how long?

It's at the top of the "normal" range in about 20 minutes of driving. It just doesn't stop climbing. I've never let it go higher than that. When I stop you can hear it bubbling in the coolant reservoir.

[perucho]

Are you just running water for coolant right now?? If so, you could try flushing the entire cooling system using Cascade dish soap. Flush a few times then flush with clean water 'till you get the soapy residue out of the system. If you still have no oil in coolant or coolant in oil and there is no huge pressure problem within the cooling system then replace the water with a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. Water doesn't cool as well as the mixture. Hope this helps.

Right now it's just water and water wetter (by redline) which should work better than any anti-freeze mix. Water actually "cools" better but boils faster than when it's mixed with anti-freeze and the water vapor does a really poor job of transfering heat to the metal in the radiator.
How does Cascade soap help? I can see it removing oily deposits, but what can it do with calcium deposits or rust?
I was thinking about either buying a new radiator, or getting one from a junkyard and flushing it separately with something like CLR. The slightly acidic properties would get rid of the calcium carbonate deposits and it would also remove iron oxide deposits. Has anyone tried something like this?
Thanks!

[TominMO]

New radiator, and thermostat from the Ford dealer, not the parts stores. Keep an eye on the oil in the water issue; if it comes back, new head gasket.

[perucho]

^ I'm definitely getting a thermostat but that's not contributing to the overheating, right? yeah, keeping a close look at the oil/water mixture. I need to find a B8-ME!

[eurotiva]

Radiator cap can cause a overheating issue. Also only use distilled water in cooling systems....it has no minerals.

[perucho]

Radiator cap can cause a overheating issue. Also only use distilled water in cooling systems....it has no minerals.

The cap has also been replaced and holds pressure. Once I get it to stop overheating, I'll definitely use distilled water.

[TominMO]

^ I'm definitely getting a thermostat but that's not contributing to the overheating, right? yeah, keeping a close look at the oil/water mixture. I need to find a B8-ME!

Right, thermostat absence does not contribute to overheating; but it will keep the temp below the optimal operating range.

[perucho]

Right, thermostat absence does not contribute to overheating; but it will keep the temp below the optimal operating range.

The thermostat will open or close to stay within the optimal temperature range; however, it will not keep the temperature below that range. I guess I need to replace the radiator and go from there.

[TominMO]

The thermostat will open or close to stay within the optimal temperature range; however, it will not keep the temperature below that range. I guess I need to replace the radiator and go from there.

Thermostat ABSENCE will keep temp below the optimal operating range.

[MONSOON]

This has me leaning towards water pump, even though you said it isnt leaking or making any noise.

[TominMO]

To check the radiator, with the engine warm put your hand on the radiator in various places (if you don't have A/C, remove the grill and do it from the front; if you do have A/C, remove the fan first and do it from the rear). If it's clogged, you will find that some spots are warm and others are relatively cool. There's your sign.

[perucho]

Thermostat ABSENCE will keep temp below the optimal operating range.

I need to have my eyes checked lol