hey guys ive come to realise today that when warmed up non standard gauge says 100c- standard gauge stays around half way mark - when feeling radiator left side is very hot right side where cap is is still cold and i can put my finger in water dosent feel hot just a little warm i feel this is not right please help need advice its not a standard rad its an ali one and not that old i dont think ?????

The left side will be hotter as thats where the water comes back into the rad.

Half way on the standard temp gauge is normal.

100deg/c on the aftermarket seems a little high. should be around 90. But unless you try a third theres no way of telling which ones lying!!!

 

Can you take the cap off straight away and it doesnt blow in your face?

You havnt got the coolant level too high have you? I once did and when I stopped after driving, I lifted teh bonnet and coolant was coming out the cap, took it off and it didnt blow everywhere, which I thought was odd.

It could be your thermostat not opening fully , if it,s not flowing properly it would be heating the water in the engine resulting in a high temp reading but because of this restriction it will be slowly flowing through the rad , so it,s hot as it enters but because it,s slow flowing it,s cooled by the time it,s moved halfway through the rad , meaning you can stick your finger in the coolant :confused:

Probably get proved totally wrong but it,s just an idea :D