running hot

A

akroflyer

Junior Member
Drove my 30 coupe today about 50 miles it ran about 170 degrees on level roads and as high as 210 going up and down hills. I recently installed a new head gasket, resurfaced stock head, leakless waterpump and a temperature gauge. I have only owned the car for a few months so I don't know how it ran before. I think the coolant might be moving to fast thru the radiator to transfer the heat. Has anyone installed something to restrict the coolant flow to the radiator? Or should I be looking at a new radiator? Thanks, Keith
 
I installed a Snyders leakless pump, the instructions said to grind a little off of each impeller if you have a repro radiator, I ground some off and it seems to be fine..
 
Although a hassle, since it is a new gauge, it might be best to first test the gauge in boiling water to determine if it is reading accurately.
 
Last edited:
My suggestion would be to remove the radiator and take it to a competent radiator shop and have it rodded out and if bad have it re-cored with a four row core. It is much better if the shop speaks Model A. I had a four row core put in after spending big bucks on a vendor radiator that was worthless.

Tom Endy
 
If you can get your hands on a temperature gun you can check multiple readings at different sections of the radiator. If you have large temperature differences between passenger and drivers side (when measured at the same height on the radiator) that can tell you if there are blockages in the rad.
 
akroflyer said:
Drove my 30 coupe today about 50 miles it ran about 170 degrees on level roads and as high as 210 going up and down hills. I recently installed a new head gasket, resurfaced stock head, leakless waterpump and a temperature gauge. I have only owned the car for a few months so I don't know how it ran before. I think the coolant might be moving to fast thru the radiator to transfer the heat. Has anyone installed something to restrict the coolant flow to the radiator? Or should I be looking at a new radiator? Thanks, Keith
Click to expand...

Maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. 170 degrees is a good temp but that 210 on the hills is kind of high since the boiling point is at 212 or there abouts unless at higher altitude. However, did the water seem to boil or notice any steam puffing out or water coming out of the overflow tube? Also, you imply that you may be new to Model A's so where did you set the timing lever when going up the hills? If the timing is a little too advanced for the speed and load it can heat up the engine some and may even start to ping. Likewise, if the timing was too retarded it could heat up the engine some as the engine labors more to climb the hill as you increase the throttle.

Go back out and give it another shot and see if timing adjustments improve things. Also, make sure that your fan belt is not too loose.
 
Last edited:
Tom Endy has the right advice, after all timing and carb measurements are deemed correct. The one thing I would add is, if the radiator is an original, have the connection of the fins to the tubes checked. A radiator that flows like a new one and has been rodded out and looks completely shiny inside, won't cool if the connection between the fins and tubes has been compromised.
 
I too agree with Tom - that's what ours did, We cleaned the radiator (had it rodded out) and now it's fine. I climbed a hill where I was starting to worry about how I was going to double clutch down into first! No heating issues, it only got up near the top of the green zone on the gauge.

If the coolant is moving to fast to loose heat in the radiator, isn't it also moving too fast to pickup heat from the engine???
 
Allanw said:
I too agree with Tom - that's what ours did, We cleaned the radiator (had it rodded out) and now it's fine. I climbed a hill where I was starting to worry about how I was going to double clutch down into first! No heating issues, it only got up near the top of the green zone on the gauge.

If the coolant is moving to fast to loose heat in the radiator, isn't it also moving too fast to pickup heat from the engine???
Click to expand...


That's what I've always said when someone trots out the "water moves" too quickly argument. Unless it is cavitating, I don't think it is possible to pump it too quickly.;)
 
I agree, and the only problem with moving the coolant too fast is if the radiator core can't flow that volume of coolant, then the top tank can fill and the coolant will go out the overflow.
 
thanks the tips, I tried the same hills yesterday with the timing lever slightly retarded and it never went over 190 degrees. I'm new to the model a game, bought a 1930 coupe last November, The guy I bought it from just said to run it full advanced all the time and that's how we ran all the old motorcycles with a manual spark advance. Should I be adjusting the advance according to speed or leave it in one position? Thanks, Keith T.
 
akroflyer said:
thanks the tips, I tried the same hills yesterday with the timing lever slightly retarded and it never went over 190 degrees. I'm new to the model a game, bought a 1930 coupe last November, The guy I bought it from just said to run it full advanced all the time and that's how we ran all the old motorcycles with a manual spark advance. Should I be adjusting the advance according to speed or leave it in one position? Thanks, Keith T.
Click to expand...

Read Ford's original Instruction Manual for the Model A. Reprints are readily available. There is all kinds of great information in that little booklet, including where to put the spark timing lever as you drive.

The distributor is designed to provide up to 20 degrees of ignition point movement. That translates into 40 degrees of maximum timing change at the crankshaft.

If your initial timing is exactly at TDC (with the timing pin, as Ford instructs) then 40 degrees of spark advance is a lot to use "under all conditions". You should adjust it for both speed and load. You will soon get a feel for how much you need based on the engine performance.
 
Most of our guys use the roofing nail in the overflow, a 160 thermostat, backflush twice a year, to poof out the rust flakes from the top of the tubes & RARELY ever have overheating problems.
AND, YES, it often gets 108 to 112 degree here!!
Bill W.
 
I have been learning about the temp of these cars. I have an APCO gauge I installed in the upper hose (Inlet) It runs around 170-190 depending on load of engine.

I thought the gauge was faulty and hand another one sent and tested it and both are pretty darn close. (within a few degrees)

I also checked my Moto Meter. When the mercury is up around 1/4 in I was able to verify that that equals approx. 145 degrees.

When my Temp Gauge reads 180 the upper radiator with a temp gun was around 160 and the Moto Meter was around 145 degrees.

Why is that? Ok ... think about it.. your new gauge is located at the outlet which is the warmest the coolant will be exiting the water jacket. Not unusual for Head temps to exceed 200 degrees.

On my A I do not have the overflow tube blocked but there is a 2 inch hose extension on the overflow inside the radiator. I am not losing any coolant out the overflow... so I assume all is well in Model A land.

Note: running 50/50 coolant also will retard the boiling point to more than 225 degrees at sea level
 
Excellent video !!

I'm in the middle of installing my newly re-cored radiator (radiator is still out of the car) and wondering how I can de-scale my engine water jackets so my radiator doesn't become a high dollar filter as mentioned in the video. I had the though of connecting the engine water inlet and outlet with tubing and hoses and turning the pump in reverse with a drill motor for reverse flushing. But, what to add to the water for a de-scaling medium?

Also when quoting an engine temperature please quote the ambient temperature as the engine temperature is meaningless without it. The engine temperature will increase the same amount of ambient air temperature. If you were running 200 Deg on an 80 Deg day, you'll run 220 Deg on a 100 Deg day.
 
BN said:
Excellent video !!

I'm in the middle of installing my newly re-cored radiator (radiator is still out of the car) and wondering how I can de-scale my engine water jackets so my radiator doesn't become a high dollar filter as mentioned in the video. I had the though of connecting the engine water inlet and outlet with tubing and hoses and turning the pump in reverse with a drill motor for reverse flushing. But, what to add to the water for a de-scaling medium?

Also when quoting an engine temperature please quote the ambient temperature as the engine temperature is meaningless without it. The engine temperature will increase the same amount of ambient air temperature. If you were running 200 Deg on an 80 Deg day, you'll run 220 Deg on a 100 Deg day.
Click to expand...

Turning the pump in reverse will do no good. Probably the best thing to do is block off the intake to the block by making a gasket with no center hole for the inlet, then fill the block with Evaporust. Jack up the back of the car to get the engine level.

First you might want to take an old speedometer cable and cut off about 12", then fray it a little on one end. Stick the good end in a drill, then spin it in all the holes to see how much scale can be knocked loose. Then blow it out with compressed air and a piece of 1/4" copper tube to fit down the holes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top