overheating

[Guest redriv63]

went to a big car show a few years ago took 2-3 hours to get out ,car ran with hot light on and gauge pegged at 260 but car never pounded,boiled over or gurgled.started next day and lifters made noise for about 10 minutes,changed oil and added can of restore and car ran and still runs fine. added electric fan and transmission cooler.car now runs 190-195 in heavy traffic before fan kicks in.question is how hot should it run when idling or in slow traffic for a long time. thanks bob

[RivNut]

A "hot" temp gauge may not be a true indicator of the engine's true temperature.  Get a lazer temperature guage and see what the temperatures are at different points on the engine.  There are so many different things that can cause an engine to overheat.  Read through different threads on this forum and you'll get an idea of what all you should check.

[jsgun]

Was there any metal in the oil? Brings back bad memories. My ford overheated like that, and wiped the bearings dry. She got a chatter that kept getting worse. I'm going overkill on the cooling on my Riv for that very reason.

[Guest redriv63]

nothing in oil car runs 160-170 normally never overheated again ,is 190 or so normal in heavy traffic i go to a lot of shows with lots of cars so exiting sometimes takes awhile to get out

[Grimy]

Especially in heavy traffic like you describe on a hot day, put the trans in Neutral or Park whenever possible, turn off the A/C if so equipped, and run it at a fast idle when stopped. 

[Seafoam65]

                  When I go to a really large car show where it's hard to get out when it's over, I sit in a lawn chair beside my car with a cool one and wait for

the traffic to disperse however long that might take.  Meanwhile the car is shut off.

[billorn]

I had a car where someone added a new temp gauge under the dash. First time I drove it it showed 240 on the gauge and I shut it down. No steam and no pucking coolant but the gauge was showing hot. Then I found the gauge was plugged into the block down low just below the cylinder head. The outlet on the top of the intake manifold is where it should be plugged in but there was nothing there. I dont know why they did it that way but once I moved where the gauge was plugged in it showed a normal 190-195. So I dont always trust gauges. If theres steam or the overflow is pucking then yes, too hot but sometimes gauges lie. Sounds like your car is working better now that you have the fan to help out when youre going slow or stuck in traffic.

[Guest redriv63]

thanks all for info ,car runs great and gets plenty of thumbs up,been going to shows for 12 years and i have never seen another 63 ,64s and 65s once in a while but love my riv.

[60FlatTop]

A Dynaflow in heavy traffic requires holding the brakes all the time. There is a lot of work going on in that torque converter and the heat goes into the radiator.

I have had my '60 in parades. When the parade moves along at a regular pace holding back with the brake,she will puke about the time I pass the grand stand. When there are a lot of starts, stops, and delays, it will run cooler.

Putting it in neutral when you can helps.

Bernie

[Black River]

To answer your original question:  190-195 in traffic is perfectly fine.

[Guest redriv63]

thanks all