Just been out for my first drive in the Chaser since it's been imported, as it took an age to get registered. Whilst I was waiting for the documents, I swapped out the radiator to an aluminium one as the old one had a crack and was leaking coolant. I also drained the coolant and replaced it with genuine red pre-mixed Toyota coolant. When I pulled back into my drive, I did the usual checks under the car and checked for leaks, found nothing which is good. However, I opened the bonnet and there was a lot of heat coming from the radiator. No steam or anything. The car blows hot air through the vents so I assume the thermostat is okay. I was just wondering whether it was normal for the radiator itself to be so hot? It was extremely hot to touch and that was on top of the radiator, right near the higher radiator hose. If this isn't normal, any idea what may be causing this? Thanks.
Honestly, I thought I was being dumb but I can honestly say I've never touched a radiator right after an hours drive before and it was freaking me out a little. Doesn't seem like it's doing that great of a job though if the coolant is that hot going back into the engine?
Anything upto around 102 degrees is fine normally if you have the correct coolant so it can get very hot very quickly It seems you have nothing to worry about - go and enjoy your car dude!
Was the old one plastic? They insulate the temperature better than aluminium so you wouldnt tend to notice the heat as much. The aluminium one will radiate it out much more effectively, and with your coolant at around 90-100 degrees at the top hose, you should imagine your radiator end tank to be around the same temperature. If its not leaking and your water temp reading is fine, its nothing to worry about
