Guest Atari1977 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 So I was swapping the radiator coolant out for my Grandfather's Dodge. I drained it by opening up the spigot at the bottom of the water jacket, ran some distilled water through it, and then filled it with a coolant and distilled water mix. When I poured the new mix in, it only took two gallons to fill it and the published capacity in the manual is 4 1/4 gallons. Then I ran the engine a bit to get the thermostat to open but the level didn't go down. I did everything the manual said to do, but is there something I'm missing. This is the first time I've actually filled a radiator up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) Did you drain the block? Did you allow the car to warm up enough to open the thermostat and fill the voids in the engine/radiator with more water? Does your manual say "coolant capacity" or "radiator capacity"? Edited August 9, 2013 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Atari1977 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 In the back of the manual it just says the cooling system's capacity is 4 1/4 gallons. To drain the system the manual said to "open the radiator drain cock and also remove the drain plug(or open the drain cock) at the lower edge of the water jacket on the left side of the engine,". So no I didn't touch anything on the engine block. Where is the block's drain located(if there is one)? As for running it, I let it get to around 170 on the thermometer after running it for about 5 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 So, it looks like you have only filled the radiator and the engine was full. The draincock on the engine should be on the driver's side between the center and rear of the side of the engine block. "Cooling capacity" means the whole system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 You say that you opened the valve at the water jacket. I will assume that you meant the radiator. There will be a plug or possibly a valve at the water jacket on the side of the block. If its a valve take it out, not just open it. You will probably need to probe it a bit to loosen the crust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Atari1977 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 So would this be the correct one, by the dip-stick and starterIMGP3994 by Atari1977, on FlickrOr this valve by the distributor?IMGP3995 by Atari1977, on FlickrI couldn't find a picture of what exactly it's supposed to look like in my manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 The second photo shows the petcock on the block just to the right of the oil filler tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Atari1977 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 The second photo shows the petcock on the block just to the right of the oil filler tube.So open that one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 So open that one?Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Atari1977 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Yes.Great! Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 If nothing comes out refer to my earlier post.You may be able to turn it open enough that the valve will come out of the housing but these are prone to plugging up from the inside.I was in the boat business in my other life and the schools always recommend removing the whole assemble. Kinda make the idea of a valve redundant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Atari1977 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 If nothing comes out refer to my earlier post.You may be able to turn it open enough that the valve will come out of the housing but these are prone to plugging up from the inside.I was in the boat business in my other life and the schools always recommend removing the whole assemble. Kinda make the idea of a valve redundant.There's a trickle coming out right now, so it'll probably take a while to drain all the fluid in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 There's a trickle coming out right now, so it'll probably take a while to drain all the fluid in there.If it's only a trickle, then you have something clogging up the drain. Removing it, as suggested earlier in this thread, might help.Worse comes to worst, pop the freeze/welch/core plugs on the side of the block and scoop/flush out the gunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Listen to JACK M.A top flight car collector friend of mine had a sheep nose IHC truck.......very early 20's.His mechanic drained the water for Winter one Fall by opening the cocks on the block and walking away......period. In the Spring when it was time to start getting things ready to run for the season he found a huge break in one side of the cylinder block and the radiator was junk....... It made for a nice job for us but it sure was a PIA....... :mad:REMOVE the drain cock and get the chunks out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 You may get more than a trickle by removing the radiator cap.And cahartley is correct. It never hurts to pop the core plugs and do a thorough flushing.These old motors having been sealed up for 70 plus years will have corrosion that will settle in the bottom of the water jackets. Not always creating cooling problems but secretly causing hot spots in the cooling systems. Your engine may run longer that you will live with no problems, but I am a preventive maintenance kind of guy and that job is not that hard. If you have never replaced core plugs before just buy a couple of extras or ask one of your mechanic friends over for a beer and they can show you how in a few minutes.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27dodger0 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Why would you not remove the lower hose from the block, and drain it that way? Ive been doing this, and it's quick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lawson Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 It is amazing what one finds inside the engine cooling system. When I took the side plate off my 2249 engine I had a family of mice living in there as well as lots of rust scale that settles on the bottom of the block. There are no short cuts when it comes to repairing. Do it once and do it right and then you can have many years of happy motoring Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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