terrimc Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Just got my car back from the shop after a complete overhaul and it is running hot 190 to 200 degrees they told me it would take a few hundred miles before it would stop running this hot has any one ever heard of this I am starting to worry about damanging the engine.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Sounds normal Tim.Don't thrash it, and keep an eye on the temp gauge. Some Water Wetter, or similar wouldn't hurt as well. We had a similar thing with the 39 coupe, but it didn't go away! Turns out, silicone sealant squeezed out from the thermostat housing and water pump had partially blocked the newly re-cored radiator! Goes like a dream now.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chstickl Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 After frequent overheating issues I had my 320 completely overhauled (based on an engine set from Kanters), but also did overhaul the water pump and the radiator (new core on old frame). This was the first time when the engine did not overheat anymore, not even going uphill at 40mph and 90 degrees outside temperature.So either your engine generates too much friction - then take it slowly and exchange the oil frequenty, check for metal abrasions in the oil, until the effect goes back, or you still might have an issue with your cooling system. Good luck,Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrimc Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Thank you for the replysI did have the radiator gone through while the engine was out I will keep taking short trips and see if it gets any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Brink Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 And if this persists pull the thermostat and check it. Could be that the wrong temp unit was installed and it is staying closed much of the time to keep the temperature where it is "supposed" to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qbansmokr Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I'm having a similar problem with my '41. Just installed a rebuilt water pump and fan belt. Went on a round trip of about 100 miles and at the end of the trip I got some serious overheating. I was told the fan belt needs to seat and was probably slipping at the highway, 55mph, speeds. It kind of make sense because the belt is pretty fat and would need to wear down the edges before it really was seated at the bottom of the pulley.Does this theory hold water....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chstickl Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 There can be so many reasons for overheating. I have never heared about a slipping fanbelt being one of them. There is some routine work that may help: Check ignition timing (also vacuum advance and high rev advance), get your carbs checked and adjust the idle to 5% CO. There are two thermostates in the cooling system, one is a short cut for cold engine, the other one is the well known thermostat. Sometimes the short cut thermostat is stuck, many replace them with a coin. The downside is that the engine takes longer to warm up, on the upside there is less risk of overheating. Pull one of the freeze plugs and look inside if there is a lot of mud or other stuff. I once even used an acid to flush the whole cooling system and dissolve residues (didn´t help much, but was a bloody mess). These old engines hardly overheat in any situation, if things are right. So overheating points to some things that need be taken care of. (at least this is my humble opinion).Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Slipping fan belt? Stranger things have happened! Could be running a bit lean as well. That bypass valve Christian mentions has caused problems for people in the past too. Ask your re-builder if they used silicone sealant on the gaskets. Because as I mentioned earlier, that stuff can break loose and block radiators up!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhar1960 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I agree with chstickl and would check all the things he mentions as they can be done without pulling the radiator. I would firstly check that the spring loaded return valve under the thermostat is in fact in the thermostat housing. I have run across quite a few of these engines that have had these removed by some genius that thought it would be helpful. If it's not there you'll always have problems with good circulation.Failing the above, I would go with getting the radiator checked again. A tight new engine will run hotter than normal but if the radiator is in good condition, it should be able to deal with a multitude of problems such as a tight new engine. It may be some crap has come lose from the fresh engine and partially blocked some tubes. When you say "I did have the radiator gone through while the engine was out", did they just flush the radiator or did they remove the top and rod all the tubes ?? I have found just flushing a bit of a waste of time as it doesn't always get every bit of crap out of the tubes. The only way to know for sure is to stick a rod down each and every tube. There is nothing more frustrating than driving any car where you have to worry about an engine boiling.Good luck with it all.Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrimc Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 The top of the radiator was taken off and tubes rodded I will check out all the things mentioned, builder says he didn't use any silicone, thermostat is 180Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I had a similar problem with my 48 ford f2, i drained radiator and flushed then changed thermostats and added a aftermarket overflow vottle, i think the over flow bottle was the trick though seems it was boiling over and loosing water/coolant causing it to overheat, the overflow obviously retains the coolant now and it runs butifully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qbansmokr Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Slipping fan belt? Stranger things have happened! Could be running a bit lean as well. That bypass valve Christian mentions has caused problems for people in the past too. Ask your re-builder if they used silicone sealant on the gaskets. Because as I mentioned earlier, that stuff can break loose and block radiators up!CheersGrantThe car ran at proper temperature just fine before I replaced the pump and belt. When I took the thermostat housing off, the spring for the bypass valve had rusted away. When I installed everything back, I replaced the spring with a low tension spring I had in my toolbox. Should it have been a stiffer spring? I did all the installation and did not use silicone sealant. I also used a 160 degree thermostat. The slipping fan belt theory comes from an older mechanic that owned and serviced cars since the 1940's.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I don't know whether the softer tension would have that much of an impact. I reckon the fan belt would have to be pretty loose for it not to be turning the water pump! Probably wouldn't charge the battery before that would happen. Is it possible that the new thermostat is a bit crook? If you still have the old thermostat and fan belt, you could swap them out and see if it goes back to normal. We tried all sorts of things to get the 39 to run cooler. It has a 47 engine, and doesn't have the bypass valve. 47's have a bigger water pump pulley, and we swapped it for a smaller 39 one to make the water pump run faster. Such was our desperation! Plus, the engine was newly rebuilt and running a bit warmer. Then there was the old "39's tend to run hot" theory. It was the last thing we expected to have a newly rebuilt engine with a newly re-cored radiator overheat! One rodded radiator later, and we were good to go!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Earl Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I had a guy with a '39 Buick tell me that he built up the fins on the water pump some way, I suppose with brazing, and got the water to circulate better that way and it ended his overheating troubles. I have no idea about how to do that sort of a thing, but some of those guys years ago had thier ideas about that stuff. I have seen those water pumps with quite a bit of rust in them from setting and it seems reasonable that the fins could be in bad shape and not work properly from that. Your problems with the '41 Buick sound a little different though. I had a '46 Ford pickup years ago that would partially collapse the lower radiator hose while it was running and then run hot and boil over. It took me a long time to figure that one out. Gosh that thing was a piece of junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Good point Earl.Forgot about the lower hose collapsing. They fitted a spring in them to prevent it apparently!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhar1960 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I picked up a "reconditioned" water pump at a swap meet years ago. Given the pumps I already had had a tendency for the back plate to rust away, I asked If I could take the back cover off just to check it out. The plate was as new and it had a nice new impeller. The problem was the impeller was way smaller than those I had in the pumps I had at home. It's a big longshot.........Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Straight eight Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) Back in the days when these cars were new, we'd use a 150 or 160 degree thermo in the summer, and put in the 180 in the winter for more heat. See no reason you couldn't change to a 160 degree at least this summer til you get her broken in.I had a 41 when I first got in the Buick club, and used the 160. I also had a problem with the thermostat housing bypass valve. Buick superceeded the valve with a fixed orfice. That solved my problem of the engine runnin a little warm. Edited July 4, 2011 by Straight eight (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qbansmokr Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I think I will concentrate on the lower hose next. I replaced it with a repro hose that does not have a spring inside. Problem is I don't think any of the repro hoses have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Straight eight Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Here is the factory bulletin about the change I mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Tim,Have you tried my CLR RINSE yet ? Drain the rad and block, fill w/ 1 full bottle of CLR and water, run till hot, drain thru block (plug behind the distributer) Do this again w/ 2nd bottle of CLR. Refill w/ 50/50 antifreeze and water, and add some (water wetter) from your local motorcycle shop. Add an overflow bottle as I did in another thread. Iwas fortunate that the previous owner installed a 14" cooling fan in front of the radiator on a toggle switch and wired it straight to the battery too. We now only require the fan for parades.Mike in Colorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrimc Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 Added the water wetter and have been driving every evening at least 30 miles seems to be getting better only running around 190 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 That's good to hear. Thanks for the update!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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