Darryl,<P> Never even thought of the intercooler fan. That is a good point. That would really make a dent in the operating temperature of the engine. With regards to the thermostat. If the engine cooling system comes on earlier (lower temp) it helps keep hot spots to a minimum as the temperature throughout the system is more regulated. If the thermostat was bunged then the engine temp would be affected. Sometimes t-stats will only partially function not allowing the coolant to flow properly raising the internal temperature of the engine and bringing on its associated problems.<P>Rudolfo<BR> I would go with a recore and a hard flush over "rodding" the rad. I look at it as it will be a repeat offender more often with the scaling and after rodding the rad the coolant passages will be restricted somewhat reducing its effectiveness. If you can get coolant that inhibits scaling as you may have these same problems if you are running just water.