I purchased a 72 280 SE 4.5 about 4 months ago and love it. I am new to working on cars and I am trying to learn as much as possible. Unfortanutly, I recently noticed it was leaking a bit of radiator fluid on my garage floor. I have been keeping the fluids full regulary but have noticed that the fan in front of the radiator is not working and the radiator itself is leaking. At stop signs and when the car is not moving it warms up from 178 F to about 188 F. It went over 200 degrees today. (This is probially because of the secondary fan and low water?) It seems I need to pull the radiator and fix the fan. Any suggestions on how to fix the fan and clean and repair my radiator? Will a junkyard radiator work from a 72 6-cylinder? I appreciate your help.

You probably want to post this in the vintage forum or the general technical section, since this section is devoted to diesel vehicles.

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Yeah, move this to the vintage forum for best results. If the car is overheating at idle it could be caused by the faulty aux fan but keep in mind the 4.5 is a big engine and throws a lot of heat off...it is normal for the operating temps to rise on them at idle. You also need to use the correct radiator and not a smaller one from the 6 cylinder if you replace it or you will create more problems.

A good radiator shop can clean and seal up your old radiator for a lot less than a new one.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz