Where’s my water going?

busmania

busmania

Well-known member
Where’s my water going?

I’m nervous about this issue. It seems I am having to add to the radiator every time I drive it or it overheats (or every few drives). I only have about 150 miles on it and it’s running great but if I drive a few drives, it gets hot and I add water and it’s fine. I’m nervous about where this water is going! My oil level is not changing, I see no water on my garage floor. Is it possible there’s a small leak allowing it to get into combustion chamber as I’m driving? I did the bubble test (remove radiator cap while running and look for bubbles) and I’m not seeing any bubbles. Thoughts?
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

Most of these old Fords of ours will spit out water from a full radiator until it finds its own level, usually just above the radiator core. This is normal. How hot is your engine getting?
 
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Re: Where’s my water going?

Yes, I was trying to let it find its own level until it started to get hot, like 200-210, sometimes up to 220. I have a guage on both sides to watch temps as I drive. When I fill it, it stays around 180.
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

Water might be boiling off due to a leaky head gasket, this given to the few miles on the engine. Next time you refill the radiator, do it with the engine running and look for bubbles in the water. What type of head gaskets did you use. Have the heads been retorqued?


BTW - You really did a good job on that car of yours...
 
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Re: Where’s my water going?

The radiator cap has a 4 on it? Not sure what that means? Photo attached.

Thanks Pete. It’s certainly been a labor of love. I’ll check for bubbles again. My hunch says it’s overflowing ever so slightly out of the over flow tube but wouldn’t it eventually stop doing that when it finds the level it likes? Does anyone ever put an overflow tank on these cars?

541031
 

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Re: Where’s my water going?

7ib cap is more than likely max for a stock radiator with stock upper and lower tanks.
for every 1lb of pressure you increase the boiling point of water by 3 degrees.
So with a 4lb cap your actual boiling point is 224 degrees, so you are on the cusp of this temp once the water level drops.
Do you have a recovery type cap (2 gaskets) and a recovery tank, what this does is as the water expands it lets the excess water go into the recovery tank, as the water cools down and shrinks the radiator sucks the water back out of the recovery and back into the radiator.
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

How much water are we talking about , ?
You could pull plugs when cool and inspect for moisture or a different color plug from the rest .
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

You didn’t mention what year radiator but if its a designed non pressurized system your simply losing coolant when you get up to speed.
Install a 4 pound rad cap and at the end of your overflow tube install a 2 pound brake residual valve. The valve is installed to maintain a slight pressure in your system and will maintain your coolant.
 

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Re: Where’s my water going?

I installed a 2 lb. check valve at the end of the overflow tube that I purchased from Skip Haney in Punta Gorda, FL. Worked great to keep the water in the radiator. Someone here will give you Skips contact info or do a search on this forum.

Blessings,
Pat
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

Radiator is a stock (new) 40 unit.

I add about 4-6 cups of water every few drives. I do somewhat suspect thermostats so I’ll remove those too.

Any photos of those check valves installed?
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

One quart isn't a lot. You might be pushing that out the overflow at higher speeds. If you are only adding 4 cups that should not cause an overheat. When you say it overheats, does it boil over or steam?
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

where is your orig radiator, can you use it, member here had a real bad time with a new Drake rad overheating . And that system was not made to be pressurized .
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

I believe you have a fresh engine. The last one I had built (a 327 SBC) must have been built on the tight side of tolerances, because it would overheat if I let it idle for more than a couple of minutes. I checked everything and found nothing. I was just get ready to tear into it when the overheating problem just went away; I think it just had to "break in". If the engine is fresh and you don't see any obvious problems, I'd give it at least a couple of thousand miles to come around. Just keep an eye on it.
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

tubman said:
I believe you have a fresh engine. The last one I had built (a 327 SBC) must have been built on the tight side of tolerances, because it would overheat if I let it idle for more than a couple of minutes. I checked everything and found nothing. I was just get ready to tear into it when the overheating problem just went away; I think it just had to "break in". If the engine is fresh and you don't see any obvious problems, I'd give it at least a couple of thousand miles to come around. Just keep an eye on it.
Click to expand...

This is a good thought. I have put together some tight engines and when they properly break in they run really well. As long as it's not dangeroulsy hot or blowng anti freeze all over the car, keep an eye on it for now.
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

I didn’t see where the question about re-torquing the heads got answered....maybe I missed it. I would re-torque the heads and make sure not to let it boil over while running it for the break-in period......Mark
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

I believe he has retorqued and replaced head gaskets.

It is a good point about a new engine running hot for a little while. You can richen the mixture to cool it off for a couple hundred miles, then tune the carb and clean the plugs.

What is the coolant level in the upper tank when you have to refill? You are right, the coolant is either going somewhere it shouldn’t, or it’s finding a normal level.
 
Re: Where’s my water going?

I guess I will try to be more patient and see what happens in a few hundred miles. I did have seeping head studs, but all of that has stopped. Heads have been retorqued probably 10-12 times (overkill) after every single drive after any drive in which the engine was warmed up. It is to the point where when I retort them they are all on spec.
 
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