Help.....Over heating

I ran an autoshop for 30 years and I would always tell my customers...to get the radiator rebuilt or at least cleaned out after I would overhaul an engine....they frequently would come back and tell me it was running hot....I would ask about the radiator and they would say...never ran hot before... almost a direct quote..

Tired engines don't run hot...but new tight engines make tons of heat...My roadster was so tight it took several hundred miles of easy driving to get it to cool down..lots of short trips to town...never got it too hot, just enough to break it in...maybe 10 miles or less...finally it broke in and now it runs really nice and cool....I also put a baffle at the upper part of the water filler...with just a small hole so the overflow stick thru ...that will prevent water to splash out due to whe water pump packing the upper part of the radiator.... water can't go thur fast enough at higher speeds...so it raises the level of the upper tank and you end up loosing water .....that helps the water level stay where it should.... You could tape a thermometer to the upper water hose to check the actual temperature...but new engines do run hot until they break in... I would not worry much...but don't get er too hot so to crack or blow a gasket...
 
Dumped a gallon of simple green in the radiator and filled the rest with water, ran it until it started getting too hot then let it cool down some and repeated the process for an hour and a half. Couple flushes with clean water and then add water wetter and water and will go see if it made any difference later on. The simple green did bring out a bunch of grease- looking stuff so there may be hope yet. But I doubt it.

Who makes the best radiator, Bergs or Brassworks?
 
Tyler: do a search for berg's and brassworks. Most people say berg's is better ( I have no first hand experience, just what i read) B/works seem to have a lot of fitment issues. JMO I would do the simple green again and/or run the vinegar AND BACKFLUSH the radiator...........
Paul in CT
 
Have not heard a discouraging word about Berg's radiators.

Brassworks on the other hand seems to be hit-or-miss with quality control since the company changed hands a few years ago ?

I have a Brassworks Heavy-Duty 10 fin/inch radiator on my '28 for the last two years and I just had the seam on the upper inlet funnel pop about a week ago... it's probably repairable, but when you've shelled-out nearly $600 for a new radiator, one does not expect problems for a while... can't say as to fitment issues - it fits differently than the ancient Kramer aftermarket that came with my car, but my coupe is kind of sagged at the motor mounts, so that makes it hard to tell what's out of kilter...

I think you're on the right track with the simple green... I ran mine with Purple Power (straight), flushed with clear water, then filled with white vinegar ( gallon jugs from Wal-Mart), ran till warm, drained that, and flushed again with water... that got most of the grease out...

Good luck !

SC Frank
 
I like Berg's the best because they use the original tanks and frame, so it looks and fits much better.

Do the Simple Green cleaning followed by the vinegar, running it for a few days and if it still overheats, then have it rodded out or get a Berg's recore.
 
tyler said:
Dumped a gallon of simple green in the radiator and filled the rest with water, ran it until it started getting too hot then let it cool down some and repeated the process for an hour and a half. Couple flushes with clean water and then add water wetter and water and will go see if it made any difference later on. The simple green did bring out a bunch of grease- looking stuff so there may be hope yet. But I doubt it.

Who makes the best radiator, Bergs or Brassworks?
Click to expand...

I have installed them both and Bergs wins in my opinion. He is a small shop so you have to wait but quality is great. You can search for discussion I started a year or so ago on a side by side comparison.
 
Tyler,
Sounds like you should park it until you can afford a really quality new radiator. Keep driving it & you risk possible EXPENSIVE engine damage! Bill W.
 
Took it for a spin around my block ( 7 miles) and it did o.k. but it was cooler outside during the p.m.. I'm going to put vinager in it and run it for a while and see what that does.

30Ford, I have new manifolds and took the exhaust pipe off and blew air through it and couldn't believe it wasn't plugged up but it was clear. I did use one of those sleeves between the manifold and exhaust pipe and may take it out and just use aluminium foil. It has to be constricting the flow and certainly can't be helping.

I'll go with Bergs as I've heard the problems with Brassworks on the T forums. I also spoke with Bergs in Chickasha this spring and they have a nice product and are nice folks.

What's the easiest way to backflush when you don't have much for equipment. I'd like to try that, too. Thanks again for all the help and I'll report back.

Tyler
 
I would still take a good look at your timing. Mine acted exactly like yours and I didn't do anything to the radiator, but fine tuned my timing and the overheating went away and even in this hot weather I have not had any problem.
 
I agree with Ron. I just got my 30 FORDOR (my first model a) and it was overheating badly in this heat here in Ohio. It was running over 190 most of the time. I reset timing and changed points in the distributor and it now runs between 160-180 even on 90 degree days. It did take me several tries to get the timing right. It also raised the top speed from about 45mph to over 55mph. This forum has been really helpful.
Bill
 
tyler said:
Took it for a spin around my block ( 7 miles) and it did o.k. but it was cooler outside during the p.m.. I'm going to put vinager in it and run it for a while and see what that does.

30Ford, I have new manifolds and took the exhaust pipe off and blew air through it and couldn't believe it wasn't plugged up but it was clear. I did use one of those sleeves between the manifold and exhaust pipe and may take it out and just use aluminium foil. It has to be constricting the flow and certainly can't be helping.

I'll go with Bergs as I've heard the problems with Brassworks on the T forums. I also spoke with Bergs in Chickasha this spring and they have a nice product and are nice folks.

What's the easiest way to backflush when you don't have much for equipment. I'd like to try that, too. Thanks again for all the help and I'll report back.

Tyler
Click to expand...
The outside ambient temps are important. My 2core would do ok as long as the outside temps were below 85 or so. Any hotter than that and it would do just as your describing.
 
tyler said:
... What's the easiest way to backflush when you don't have much for equipment. I'd like to try that, too. Thanks again for all the help and I'll report back.
Click to expand...
I went to the plumbing department of my favorite hardware store and purchased a 1-1/2" PVC adapter to 3/4" pipe and a garden hose adapter. Take loose the bottom radiator hose, plug in the adapter facing toward the radiator, hook up the garden hose.

You can do the same thing by just wrapping the garden hose with rags, but I like the adapter better.
 
Ran a few days with vineger, flushed the system out with baking soda, flushed a couple times with water, back flushed the radiator and none of it made any real difference. Still gets hot and I'm taking it easy because the engine is still breaking in, though it's much easier to crank now than it was before.

I'm sure the timing is o.k., there are no obstructions. I think between rebuilding the engine and the high compressin head, it's just too much for the old girl to handle.
Guess I'll just have to robb the kids college fund and get a new one( priorities, you know).
I thank you all very much for your help and patience with all my questions.

Tyler
 
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