Buicks behaving badly ,son of head job

[carterbar]

Buick has been generally OK last few months , so the weathers getting better I thought I'd take it to work,

only about 12 miles,   all is well   a little fluffy about 50 -55, anyway left work and within a mile

water leaking under the car, topped it up and had to pop in a couple of places on the way home

still leaking  , i got home and checked it out . looks like the heater valve is leaking into the cab and finding its way 

out the floor area, I thought its getting warmer so I will blank the heater off till I get round to fixing it,

Out in the car yesterday and its still losing water outta the radiator  overflow now, so I made a U bend so the heater pipe stubs

on the engine are connected in case I was getting airlocks , another test ride and the damn thing went and chucked it completely

luckily I was not far away from home, me and a friend managed to turn the car around and I freewheeled down a hilly area ?

straight back into my drive.on further investigation I found this ?! totally shattered rotor arm,

So today while the car is off the road I retorqued  the head checked the plugs ( all a nice light choccy brown )

fitted the carb rebuild kit , found one gasket had perished and been pulled into the choke body, accelerator pump

seal was perished and dry,  managed to find a rotor arm in Spain so that should be here next week,

   I am a bit worried about losing water again as the head and  gasket where rebuilt not long ago

wondering if the water pump impeller has detached, or simply a dodgy rad cap.

 

  happy days Paul

 

 

[JohnD1956]

One possible reason for the radiator back flow is a blocked thermostat.

[avgwarhawk]

How much water was coming out of the radiator overflow?  Did you top it off after disconnecting the heater hoses and re-routing?  If the overflow burped  a little coolant, it typically will drain out of the overflow after topping off after driving.   The coolant will find it's level and stop overflowing. 

[60FlatTop]

Now that it is retorqued you can pressure test the cooling system both cold and warm (but not hot). I remember when you did this job and that is a heavy head to negotiate into place. There is a chance you disturbed the head gasket. Checking it under pressure and not running is best.

[carterbar]

Hi All, 

             water was just dribbling from the overflow,  I can borrow a pressure tester   so when the rotor arm

comes I'll  check for leaks/or pressure build up, have they a tendency to siphon if overfilled and  do these  straight 8's run hot?

as I'm considering fitting a electric fan up front , just to add it was the warmest bank holiday on record here ,

I made up some removable spigots to align the head gasket so I think I was ok there,  the plot thickens!?

 

        thanks Paul

[avgwarhawk]

41 minutes ago, carterbar said:

Hi All, 

             water was just dribbling from the overflow,  I can borrow a pressure tester   so when the rotor arm

comes I'll  check for leaks/or pressure build up, have they a tendency to siphon if overfilled and  do these  straight 8's run hot?

as I'm considering fitting a electric fan up front , just to add it was the warmest bank holiday on record here ,

I made up some removable spigots to align the head gasket so I think I was ok there,  the plot thickens!?

 

        thanks Paul

 

Yes, water will dribble from the overflow if there is to much in the radiator.  It normally happens after shutting down the engine because the temperature rises opening the radiator 7# cap allow the excess water to flow out of the over flow tube.  Eventually the water in the system finds level and it will not happen again.  Adding an electric fan is not a solution to a problem with overheating.   Passages in the block need to be clean.  Radiator good flow.  Water pump that is pushing the water.  Correct temp thermostat opening when it should.  If  all of these are as they should be and it still overheats then consider an electric fan.      

[avgwarhawk]

double post

Edited May 8, 2018 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[carterbar]

Hi all,   been using the Buick again , seems to have settled down again and running better with the new carb kit fitted,

I'll be looking to fit a new or modified heater valve or maybe a later under dash heater, I think speedo is playing up,

sticks around 30  then seems to spring up to 50 - 60,  happy days 

 

                                        Paul

 

[Guest]

Before you break the speedo cable, pull it out of the casing, clean it, relube the bottom third and reinstall.  This may fix your speedo problem but if it doesn't it is still good maintenance.

[carterbar]

 Hi all ,   Buick's behaving Beautifully  , found a modern type heater valve I could fit in place of the old leaking one ,

speedo's no worse than   before , looking to tidy up the bumpers over winter, and do a load of little jobs I've been putting off?!

still looking for that elusive bit of side trim to finish the car off, will trade beer tokens even for a usable one,

 

                           regards Paul