cooling and heating problem

A

akmarty

Member
I have searched for this prob. Can't find the answer.This is a 47 tudor with 59ab. stock except headers and elec fuel pump.I have a very good and clear rad and heater cores.I have good wide opening stats I tested at 180 fully open.I also have dual temp ga. and Y'd in both heads to heater.Have tried various suggested methods to verify my stats are not moving in hose, Old henrys trick with wire sounded like a good fix.Here's the problem.My car sits in heated shop,when I take it out in 0 degrees for a 3 mile ride into the village temp will get up to 165.With it parked for about 5 min restart temp will show 190 temp.(heat sink) start to drive home at slower speeds and can watch temp drop back to 150 an start blowing cold air(heater) will not come back up even driving 10 mile rt.I do have about 1/3 bottom of rad covered.Yesterday thought I had a good Idea to assure stat stayed in place.Pulled the spring out of an old rad hose cut to length Placed under stat.Drove to village and does same thing, so not stat problem.I do have my antifreeze good down to -45 We do get down to -60 sometimes.I'm now wondering if I should thin the anti and try again.
Thanks for any ideas
 
Marty, I'm very lucky to not have any idea what it's like to live in that kind of extreme temperature, but yes, I do have a suggestion for you.

In your part of the world, the running temperature will never get up high enough to keep 180º stats open consistently. I'd suggest dropping to a lower temp stat, and to cover 2/3 of your radiator rather than only 1/3. I'd also wear gloves and earmuffs!
 
Seems like if stats aren't staying open wouldn't that cause temp to at least stay below stat temp?To me the symptoms would point to stats not stopping flow,but I have ruled that out.Thanks for reply
 
Your temp doesn't rise enough to open the stats until you get heat soak. 165º stats will open and stay open longer, thus providing you with hot water for your heater, while !80º stats will seldom open, and when they do, they'll close right down again due to the radiator not being covered enough.

I do remember one trip over the California grapevine in the dead of winter, when I had to completely cover the radiator and also close the valve to the heater core, just to keep the engine warm enough to run smoothly. That was with a small sports car having only 980 cc's, but all the same, cold is cold!
 
ford38v8 said:
Your temp doesn't rise enough to open the stats until you get heat soak. 165º stats will open and stay open longer
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Doesn't keeping the stats open allow the fluid to take the path of least resistance and not be forced thru the heater circuit where you want it to go for heating purposes?
 
When you say heater is "Y" ed into both heads, do you have #1. Two pipes out of the heater core one too each head. Or #2. One pipe from heater goes to water pump or bottom hose and other pipe splits into two hoses, one on each head?
Just trying to visualize what you got.
Still got a fan on the engine? In your temps I'd take it off, see how that goes. Possibly combined with more radiator covered.
Martin.
 
Ol Henry Both heads show same temps with ga. and lazer all thru the range,pulled them again just now,180 degrees and they are closed.Scooder #2 Thanks guys
 
scooder said:
Still got a fan on the engine? In your temps I'd take it off, see how that goes. Possibly combined with more radiator covered.
Martin.
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ford38v8 said:
I do remember one trip over the California grapevine in the dead of winter, when I had to completely cover the radiator and also close the valve to the heater core, just to keep the engine warm enough to run smoothly. That was with a small sports car having only 980 cc's, but all the same, cold is cold!
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ford38v8 said:
I'd suggest dropping to a lower temp stat, and to cover 2/3 of your radiator rather than only 1/3. I'd also wear gloves and earmuffs!
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Covering the radiator has no effect if the thermostats are working properly. On the trip I just took to Mexico I was cruising in 17° across the New Mexico desert without any restriction in front of the radiator and still had so much heat coming out of the engine that I had to turn the water valve way down to keep from cooking inside the car.

When the thermostats are properly restricting flow no or very little water goes through the radiator and then only enough to hold the water temperature at the thermostat setting.
 
Is it possible that there is a plumbing issue with the heater and you are not getting engine heat to the heater core? If the engine is running that cool that is not a good thing!
 
When first starting after heat sink the heater blows hot air, but go's cold with temp ga.as I start moving so flow thru it is good
 
51 MERC-CT said:
Doesn't keeping the stats open allow the fluid to take the path of least resistance and not be forced thru the heater circuit where you want it to go for heating purposes?
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Merc, I gritted my teeth and was about to blow you off, but then I stopped to think about that a minute, and you are correct in that the heater take-off is before the stat... So that brings up another very possible condition, that being that the heater is upstream, blocked with air. Final step in the installation of a heater is to loosen the return line to allow the air to escape.

Old Henry, with all due respect to your many travels, I do think your suggestions in this case tend to confuse the issue.
 
If the thermostats are working they should keep the Temp up to a optimum working environment, you need a ss tube welded to them and clamped over the out side rubber hose ,with a 1/8 bleed hole otherwise the water will be pumped around them in the hose ,Ted
 
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I have noticed and wondered about this for years. My '41 has thermostats. I lived in California and our car club took a tour up to a mountain top resort. During the climb my mechanical thermostat read higher and higher temps. Upon reaching the top the temp was 215. Upon the return trip down hill there was NO temp showing. As soon as a stop was made and stop/go driving began the temp came back up to 180 and stayed there. Why would this be? I have had different temp rating thermostats and the same problem. I secured them from rotating as suggested on other discussions. I now live in Ohio and have to cover my radiator 1/2 to get any heat on my heater.
 
I have done some experimenting and this is what I found out .The thermostats needs to be near the neck of the out let eg pump or head ,a 1/8 hole is needed to purge out the cold water in the neck so it can start to open on contact with the hot water .It also must be secured from any leakage ,I drilld 3 -3/32 holes in mine and could not get it up to temperature in the winter as the holes passed more water than desired so the thermostats would not open only when the complete water system was up to about 180 F ,The standard/stock pump pumps more water than you would believe and will pump around a non clamped thermostat .The thermostat does not cool the engine the radiator does, and a more efficient radiator is desired than what the motor needs then the thermostats regulates the flow and keeps the engine up to running temperature .Ted
 
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Joe Immler said:
I have noticed and wondered about this for years. My '41 has thermostats. I lived in California and our car club took a tour up to a mountain top resort. During the climb my mechanical thermostat read higher and higher temps. Upon reaching the top the temp was 215. Upon the return trip down hill there was NO temp showing. As soon as a stop was made and stop/go driving began the temp came back up to 180 and stayed there. Why would this be? I have had different temp rating thermostats and the same problem. I secured them from rotating as suggested on other discussions. I now live in Ohio and have to cover my radiator 1/2 to get any heat on my heater.
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Joe, what you describe as being a problem is just normal operation. Under a load going uphill, the temperature will climb, going downhill with no load, the temperature will rapidly decrease. At stop, the fan being insufficient to pull enough air to cool, back up the temp goes. Stop & go staying at 180º is a "problem" most of us would enjoy.

...Joe, Upon re-thinking your problem again, I've come to the conclusion that you're just bragging!
 
So an update.Figured since I have modern stats, 180 temp I bench tested 1 old and 1 new.Old one started opening at 145 and achieved full open at 180 new one started opening at 170 and fully open 180 O.K.Old stat is bigger physically then new one,taking up more room in the neck so I put a large washer with a 3/4 in hole above the stat then test drove.Temp came up nicely with a 5 mile ride to about 180 and stayed till I slowed down for 3blks then went up to 200.I also remember I put new temps senders in and the sensor on them were 1/4 in shorter,I'm thinking they are giving me head metal temp and not fluid temp being out of the flow.Will have to find new ones.Next I will try and bigger hole in washer and see what that gives me.
Thanks for all the replys.
 
Old Henry, with my apologies, it does look like your post number 6 comes pretty close to the actual problem! How about you telling akmarty what kind of stats you use to get him going without coolant blowing right past his closed stats?
 
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