mjs@cmu-cs-g.ARPA (Mark Stehlik) (09/04/85)
My parents had a similar problem with their '79 Regal which also had been in an accident with front-end damage. The car would overheat at highway speeds (or in traffic) and could be cooled off a little by turning the heater on full blast. That last item is a real clue. Essentially you're using the heater as an auxiliary radiator. The only recourse is to do exactly what the radiator shop suggested: flow test the radiator. Given that it had some front-end damage, I would suspect that the radiator has internal damage preventing proper circulation of coolant. One alternative would be to do what we did to cure the Regal's problem - just replace the radiator outright. Shouldn't be more than $200 and, in the case of the Regal, the car has run absolutely fine ever since. Mark -- -- ARPA: mjs@cmu-cs-g