Safe water temperature

P

Peyton

Senior Member
Have a great engine bored out .100 and the car runs fantastic! Have a 160 degree thermostat and temperature gauge. Engine warms up quickly, but at 80 to 95 degree temperature, the gauge reads 185 to 190 degrees.

During a parade in hot weather, the gauge showed a reading in excess of 190 and may have indicated temperatures slightly over 200.

I believe the gauge is okay because I got the same readings with another temp gauge.

There is absolutely no boil over, but at an indicated 190 plus, there is a little vapor lock until the gauge reading recedes back to 185/ 190 which it does quickly.

The gauge sender is mounted on the hose going into the radiator. Used water wetter but this made no difference. should I be worried?

Peyton
 
Water boils at 212 at sea level, and the boiling point drops the higher altitude you go.

So, you're not boiling the water, but that is on the edge of pretty warm. I have a new heavy duty core radiator and I can run on a hot day between 165 and 180. At night I can go even cooler.

You may have a small head gasket leak, or a clogged radiator. These model As do run hottest in parades. I would keep an eye on it. You are on the verge of running too hot.
 
My 31 ran hot ,had the radiator redone with 4 core ,now runs cool 160 ,also have 160 degree thermostat and manual operated heat guage in the hose going to the radiator.Had re surfaced the head ,among other things .Just sayin what I did to remedy problem. Flow test of the radiator are not reliable.
 
dittos to what everyone else said.
if it is below 200 degrees and not burping out water, all is well.
anyhow, when did you start running in parades again?

and please put your city of residence in your profile, so I won't be the only one here who knows where you are :p
 
Chris

I'll do the profile! Thanks! I was called at the last minute due to a cancellation regarding riding two beauty contestants in an Orange Park parade. it. It's a hard life isn't it!

You're right----parades are not my cup of tea but I guess i'll have to check out the radiator since it has not been looked at for almost 18 years and 45,000 miles.

Peyton
 
Where do you run your spark advance when you are in parades, on my car this 4th I started out with retarded because the parade was slow, I had been idling a while (15-20 min) before the parade, I was at the bottom of the circle on my motormeter(175?)--I use a 160 tstat, it went up some, the parade sped up some, I advanced the timing 1/2 way for my speed adjustment, the temp went down to under the cold motor line by the end of the parade ---it was hot out, I don't know how much but upper 80s, maybe low 90s by the end of the parade.

Old radiator, last cleaned 40 years ago
Cracked ex man blowing on carb
Winter gas (march leftovers)
30% antifreeze mix
stock head, stock ignition,stock waterpump, B cam, stock fan (late type bought NOS)

Pre parade maintence --turn key ,start, while waiting for parade to start --clean horn commutator ---havn't checked coolant level in at least 8 months.

Try draining some coolant, look in radiator with flashlight to see if some tubes look clogged ---take off top hose, use small mirror look in,take off cap look to see if any tubes can be seen beyond end of baffle through cap ---if you see any clogged tubes then you know having radiator taken apart and cleaned should help.

Try having the timing more advanced ---just short of when it gets rough idle.

A power reverse flush could dislodge enough to help --makes a mes on the car, hook up hose to lower pipe, fill rad with water, blow compressed air in to force water out top fast ( both cap and top hose off)
 
Kurt

Since having the engine rebuilt last year, I've been runniing the car pretty well advanced and have changed the water two times----this time adding no coolant but did add water wetter. I retard the lever when climbing a steep bridge or incline but mostly run the car just a few clicks from fully advanced.

I was told the new engine might run a little hotter but the heat differential between it and the old engine is negligible.

I appreciate your suggestion and will try it. Thanks.

Peyton
 
Peyton said:
You're right----parades are not my cup of tea but I guess i'll have to check out the radiator since it has not been looked at for almost 18 years and 45,000 miles.

Peyton
Click to expand...
my old black Tudor started to run hot about 10 years after the radiator was cleaned. might be time for another cleanout, especially if you use a water pump that requires grease.....
 
My car with a 160 thermostat and brand new Brassworks radiator runs at 185 or a bit higher on hot days. Also using Brumfield 5.9 head, which, being more efficient than stock head, generates less heat. So, I feel your pain, but I'm thinking it's ok.

Steve
 
I pull the thermostat during the summer. I need all of the water flow I can get, including St. Patrick's Day parade.
 
Peyton said:
Have a great engine bored out .100 and the car runs fantastic! Have a 160 degree thermostat and temperature gauge. Engine warms up quickly, but at 80 to 95 degree temperature, the gauge reads 185 to 190 degrees.

During a parade in hot weather, the gauge showed a reading in excess of 190 and may have indicated temperatures slightly over 200.

I believe the gauge is okay because I got the same readings with another temp gauge.

There is absolutely no boil over, but at an indicated 190 plus, there is a little vapor lock until the gauge reading recedes back to 185/ 190 which it does quickly.

The gauge sender is mounted on the hose going into the radiator. Used water wetter but this made no difference. should I be worried?

Peyton
Click to expand...
Peyton, as long as you keep it below 200 degrees and full of water it should be ok.The engine will perform better if the temperature is kept at the 180/190 range. Glad to see the engine is performing to your satisfaction. It is always good to hear an engine makes it's owner happy.:D
James.
 
Try the product Purple Ice similar to Water Wetter
It drops the temp
Temp gauge, low tech? I stick a turkey thermometer in the radiator neck and take readings.
 
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hmmm , i have a 3 core radiator , 160* thermostat . hardly ever goes over 160* , even in a parade @ 105* . aluminum 2 blade fan . IMHO your close to trouble .....
6-1 head , .060 0ver bore , ross pistons , aluminum rods , fully balanced , big cam .
 
steve s said:
My car with a 160 thermostat and brand new Brassworks radiator runs at 185 or a bit higher on hot days. Also using Brumfield 5.9 head, which, being more efficient than stock head, generates less heat. So, I feel your pain, but I'm thinking it's ok.

Steve
Click to expand...

I'm running the same set up, minus the thermostat and i'm running 185* in 105 degrees weather, going 55 mph. That was also with the car loaded down with about 800 pounds of materials and parts a couple weeks ago on a 700 mile trip. I'm going to change to a thicker oil. I currently have 5w-30, but everyone else around here seems to run straight 40 or 50 weight, so i'll try that instead and see if it helps lower the temp any.
 
Jordan-
Thicker oil won't help with the temperature. But I still think you should use thicker oil. Straight 40 would be OK for Ft W in the summer but is too thick for the winter. Try 15W40 for a more year-round oil.

You should not run quite that hot at that speed. You have lots of air flow over that radiator. Does your coolant boil? Are you using pure water?

After running at high speed you will have a lot of heat stored up in the engine that needs to come off. Do you see the temps go even higher when you pull off the highway?
 
Jim/TX said:
Jordan-
Thicker oil won't help with the temperature. But I still think you should use thicker oil. Straight 40 would be OK for Ft W in the summer but is too thick for the winter. Try 15W40 for a more year-round oil.

You should not run quite that hot at that speed. You have lots of air flow over that radiator. Does your coolant boil? Are you using pure water?

After running at high speed you will have a lot of heat stored up in the engine that needs to come off. Do you see the temps go even higher when you pull off the highway?
Click to expand...

I've been told to try a thicker oil as it'll help dissipate some heat. Either way, I don't like having that thin of an oil in there, so I will be changing it. The problem is, when it's 105 outside, plus the temp of the sun on the black radiator, and the heat from the high way itself, your car is going to run a little warmer than usual. It doesn't over heat, it just runs warmer. My coolant doesn't boil, and i dont ever lose any. Yes i am using just pure water for now. When I pull off the highway, it wont get hotter. It'll usually stay about the same. It might cool off a bit, or might not. Depends how hot it is that day.
 
One thing to keep in mind.

How accurate is the thermometer?

With all you guys reporting the temps how many have stuck it in boiling water and made sure the thermometer is in the right place?

Not saying they are out, but when talking numbers one should always question the device you are measuring with as it could be off some.
 
I would check the points!! The last time that I had an overheating problem, one hundred and ninety degrees, We checked and found that the points gap had closed and only had a gap of .010 or less. As the fiber block on the points wears down, the gap closes and retards the timing.
 
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