Spring time overheating

Brambleworth

Brambleworth

Junior Member
I am in New York and just picked up my 29 Pickup Roadster from my mechanic after winter storage. During the winter he installed a Mitchell Trany, new clutch and rebuilt distributor. I now overheat after about three miles of running. Motometer runs to top and steam starts flowing from the overflow tube. He told me that timing is correct and I am not running it with the advance retarded. I do see small bubbles in the radiator, so I retorqued the head and found the #10 bolt seat damaged and the prior owner put a washer there to better support the nut. I removed the washer and torqued the nut to 55 lbs which has slightly bent the top of the stud. I think bubbles are slightly reduced. No water in oil, no steam from exhaust pipe. I have the same antifreeze from last fall in the car. It is the Propylene Glycol type that doesn't seem to foam.

It seems odd that the car was fine last November and now I have this overheating problem even though we didn't touch the cooling system. I also have a fairly new leakless water pump in the car.

Opinions? Maybe Bar's Leaks to get by for a while? New Head (Because of damaged #10 boss)and Gasket? Drained radiator and antifreeze was clean. Maybe sitting all winter clogged the radiator. In the past I connected an air line to the petcock to stir up the radiator insides, maybe I will try that again. Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
Does the power seem reduced from last year? If so, might be some vermin crawled into your exaust pipe over the winter. The backpressure would lead to overheating and reduced power.
 
I once cleaned like what seemed like 400lbs of walnuts out of an exhaust system. The car was stored for years in a barn. It was full all the way up to the manifolds.
Will N said:
Does the power seem reduced from last year? If so, might be some vermin crawled into your exaust pipe over the winter. The backpressure would lead to overheating and reduced power.
Click to expand...
 
Do you buy the white vinegar from a grocery store? If so I think it is only 5% acid. We used to buy 50% white vinegar from an industrial supply to flush out catalytic converters in my business. It was strong stuff, don't have any left anymore.
 
At the moment I can only go about two miles before boiling over, so I am not sure the vinegar will work for me unless I just let it sit for a month.
 
\Pull the lower hoses and flush the radiator. I boiling that's good, put the vinegar in and let it boil a few times and then pull bottom hose and see what's coming out. Do you have a stuck thermostat? As others have said ck timing again. Is the w/pump fan turning?
Paul in CT
 
Idled the truck for 15 minutes in the driveway and took 15 temp readings on the radiator front with a laser pyrometer. Also installed a Rex-A-Co temp gauge. After 15 minutes it started to get hot, the gauge and neck temp were at 204 degrees. The radiator had the following temps looking at it from the front:

Left to right standing in front of car:

Top temps: 145, 153, 158, 120, 162

Mid temps: 118, 106, 153, 116, 163

Bottom : 125, 146, 177, 181, 194

Looks like lots of hot spots and inconsistencies, guess it is plugged up. I bought a pressurized Brassworks unit last year, suppose I will install it this weekend. Any thoughts on the pressurized units? I already have a leakless pump installed. Thanks for all the help.
 
Installed the Brassworks radiator last night and had a few issues. The hood is a little out of line, slightly twisted. Also the radiator inlet and water outlet are not lined up and the temp probe pipe won't fit between them. Turns out I have a 30/31 outlet on my 29 Roadster Pickup, no idea how it fit the old radiator. I went to the Shelton meet and picked up a 28/29 outlet which looks like it will fix the problem. Need to decide whether to just use sealant or go the paper gasket/paper match route. Leaning toward sealant only.
 
2x on what was stated in number 4. Usually running hot will come from the points not set right. The same as timing.

As for the use of vinegar. I've used it to derust nuts and bolts. But I have always used a radiator flush to clean out my coolant system. May cost you a couple of bucks but it's faster and I believe does a better job.
 
59mgaguy said:
2x on what was stated in number 4. Usually running hot will come from the points not set right. The same as timing.

As for the use of vinegar. I've used it to derust nuts and bolts. But I have always used a radiator flush to clean out my coolant system. May cost you a couple of bucks but it's faster and I believe does a better job.
Click to expand...

I tried the radiator flush, and I think a cup of Joy would do a better job. I think the EPA had the flush so weak nowdays that it is no longer effective.:mad:
 
Fixed!!!

Changed radiator to a Brassworks pressurized unit and all is well. Running about 140 after ten mile run. It was a combination of timing and a clogged radiator. The old one only held about 3/4 of a gallon of water and barely flowed when I filled it and pulled a rubber ball plug out of the bottom outlet. Life is good!!!
 
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