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Running Hot.


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My 38 Buick straight 8 runs cool at 55-60mph. At 60mph or higher, the temperature rises slowly but steadily. If I reduce my speed back to 55-60mph, the temperature drops down, but life becomes dangerous. School Buses pass me. Old women give me dirty looks. Turnip trucks leave me in the dust. I want my Corvette back. Help.

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My 1960 Falcon did <I> exactly </I> the same thing once. I could'nt place the problem anywhere. It turned out that I'd gotten a bad load of anti-freeze and it clogged up the core. A new Moline and I was on my way again. If a simple back flushing isn't sufficient to fix this, it might be radiator time. <P>Check also to make sure the water pump drive belt isn't slipping at high rpm's.

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My 40 did the same thing ,so I took the radiator to the shop and was told there was nothing wrong with it. After fighting the problem for 3 years ,I took the rad out and had it recored. The rad man said it was 2/3 plugged. It now runs 180 no matter how hard I push it.

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Have the radiator "rodded out" by a shop. That'll unclog the core and help your car run cooler. Had the same problem with a '72 GS about three years ago. $50 later the problem was solved. BTW, just had it done for the rad on my Sportwagon and it's now up to $70!

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I tightened the fan belt slightly and noticed an improvement. How much of one I'm not sure of yet. <P> Backflushing is on the list, but so are two or three hundred thousand other things. Most of which aren't in my handwriting.<BR> Mowing the lawn holds the top spot due to its visibility.<P>It was suggested to me that one way to check for clogged passages in the radiator is to warm the car up and move your hand across the radiator to feel for cooler areas.<P>Actually I can squeeze this in between mowing the front and back yards.<BR>Going from one yard to the other I have to walk by the garage where the car is. On my way by I'll look in the kitchen, and if the coast is clear I'll duck inside the garage and start the car. The Warden won't hear it if I keep the mower running and she's not in the kitchen. This is a good plan.<BR> By the time I finish the back yard the car should be nice and warm. I'll check the radiator when I put the mower away. <BR>Timing is everything.<P><BR>

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest scott mich bca # 6619

I had the same problem with my '55. Took the radiator to the first shop. They flow tested it and said it was ok. This actualy did increase the flow, sort of a back flush. <BR> What helped some more was to drain the radiator and install a flushing tee. Flush the heck out of the radiator, heater and block. Don't forget to drain the block. <BR> Do it with the car both on and off.<BR> Then run some of that fast flushing product in there, without antifreeze for a few days. Then re-flush it with water again as described above. This procedure realy helped my overheating problem. You keep doing this until the water is perfectly clear.<BR> However instead of overheating it just ran extra hot when I went over 60-65mph.<BR> A friend recomended a different radiator shop. This guy told me I did not need a new core, but he would rod out the old radiator.<BR>When I picked it up, he showed me a full coffee cup of calcuim, he had take from my radiator. I drove all the way from Chicago to Richmond. The temp. gauge hardly ever went above 1/4. (halfway between cold & norm.)<BR> PS. I am take it you checked your timing, water pump, thermostadt and antifreeze consistancy.<P>Good Luck<BR>Scott<P><P>------------------<BR>

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