Help.....Over heating

Wrote a long post and then got kicked off the site, problem still the same today. going to take the bottom hose off and make sure it's open. re-torqued head.

Tyler
 
I don't know what's going on but I've tried to write several lengthy replies and then get told that I'm not signed in, I then sign in and my message disappears. This is my last attempt.

I've exhausted all possiblilties with this overheating problem. Yesterday I put the fan shroud on that I had forgotten, added water wetter and flushed out the block and checked hoses for obstruction. Nothing, still overheats.
 
Ok, the last post worked fine.

I'm wondering now if it could be my radiator, that I took to supposedly the best shop in the area. The owner said the radiator was a good one, he cleaned it out, fixed a couple very minor leaks and painted it. He said there was still some grease left in it but it flowed better than before and he said he didn't want to get too aggressive cleaning it for fear he'd damage it. I'm wondering if its still plugged up some. Also wondering if he painted it too heavily. What do you guys think. I really can't afford a new radiator.

Tyler
 
Do you have a t/stat installed?? Is the water pump turning?? Fill the radiator up to the TOP, disc the fan belt, start engine, look in the radiator for bubbles. Yoy don't have to run it for any length of time to observe if there are bubbles. Let us know the results.
Paul in CT
 
Asuming w/pump is not impeding flow , then "Having eliminated the impossible only the possible remains" to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes. Have a chat with your rad shop. Whatever has been done just hasn't acheived success- maybe time to do or die. Now i'm going to get shot down for this but a friend who is more tight fisted than myself cut flaps in the top of his radiator and rodded the tubes that were thus exposed( used thin welding rods I recall) to get rid of as much clag as possible and then folded the flaps back and epoxy glued them against leaks ( though I guess a better job would have been to solder or screw down a gasket sealant sealed plate). The bodge is not visible as it is all hidden by the surround once the rad was back in place. Time taken a couple of hours , Result overheating cured, Cost about the equivalnt of 2 pints of beer. Good luck.
 
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Another thing to try is Back flushing the block and radiator seperately (take the hoses off). See if any 'crud comes out. Try this after doing what I suggested in post #25.
Paul in CT
 
Do the pistons have enough clearance?
I have trouble getting my local shop to hone the cylinders for enough clearance. I even had one engine seize up on me.
 
When he said it flowed good it it empty in 3 seconds which would indicate good flow? Are the horizontal fins all attached to the vertical tubes? These are all good questions for anyone working on your radiator. Any local club members around that might have a spare radiator to try. That is how we confirmed my problem.
 
Another thing you can do it get an infrared temperature gun and check to
see that the radiator is cooling with all the tubes.

Bob
 
Do what Bob just said.

"he didn't want to get too aggressive"............. or did he just not want to do a complete job?

Remove a tank and rod it out........or replace the core with one from Berg's.
 
Going to try a bunch of these suggestions today. I'll check for bubbles with the fan disconnected, see how long it takes the water to empty out of the radiator with the hoses off (should be 3-4 seconds, right?), back flush. What temps should I be looking for with my infa-red thermo?

Is it possible that the new waterpump simply pumps too fast for my radiators abillity to cool? If so, what's the solution? I really don't want to remove the radiator and take it back to the shop but it may be that or replace it.
I guess this is as good a place as any to complain about Fords brilliant design of making one disconnect the headlight wiring in order to remove the radiator. Stroke of genius. Thank you all once again for your patience with all these questions.

Tyler
 
Don't waste your time with the "EMPTY TEST".

A thin coating of grease or scum can block the tubes from transfering the heat, but still allow all the water to leave the radiator in a few seconds.
 
Did the bubble test, disconnected belt, filled radiator, ran engine, no bubbles. I'm going to fill the rad. with vineger and run it for a few days and when that doesn't work, get a new radiator. I've lost my patience with this.
 
Tyler I chased this gremlin for over a year before we finally tracked it down. I know it can get very frustrating. For me it still points back to radiator.
 
get it recored .The So called FLOW test is worthless,mine emptied out quickly ,had the radiator recored with a 4 core ,runs a cool 160 now .
 
tyler said:
Just put the car all together last night and tried to take it for a drive today. Goes about two miles and suddenly the mercury shoots up in the motometer. Let it cool down and the same thing happens, mercury comes up so that it's just visable and stays there for a little while then it rapidly shoots up into the danger zone. Car runs well.

What I've done; had radiator cleaned out by a radiator shop, new 5.5 head, new rings, pistons, honed cylinders, new leakless water pump, took up main bearings. Car seems to run well and I'm trying not to advance the timing too much with the h.c. head. The engine is very tight.

Fan belt is turning, water looks good that I've drained out and seems to flow out of the drain with no problem. What could it be? Would too rich or too lean a mixture be my problem? It seems like the gav doesn't affect the running as much as it did before. ?

I'm lost.

Tyler
Click to expand...
I'm looking at the Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook by Less Andrews and these are the nine reasons for overheating:
1. Incorrect Ignition Timing
2. Radiator Cloged
3. Leaking Water Pump
4. Incorrect Fan Belt Adjustment
5. Blown Head Gasket
6. Carburator Adjustment Too Rich
7. Cylinder Compression too High
8. Low Oil Level in Crank Case
9. Piston and Ring Fit Too Tight
I have been having the same trouble and I can raise the temperature by retarding the timing. I also blew the head gasket and had water in the crankcase, valve chamber and exhaust pipe. Also, a friend of mine had his engine rebuilt and the first time he took it out was on a trip and he opened it up to 50 mph. It overheated and after that it was ok. The book says to re-torque after warming it up and then ofter for while after installing a head gasket.
Good luck - you seem to have several posible symtoms.
 
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