engine temperature and performance

[Summershandy]

Driving around this morning maybe it was 75 degrees F and oil pressure looked good and aftermarket temp gauge stayed at 200F or less engine ran great. This afternoon it's now 90F outside during stop and go traffic. Oil gauge much lower and temp gauge sitting at 210F trying to go to 220F but no higher. Is this a concern? The engine seemed to not like it either. Kinda skipped a few light beats. I hurried home and raised the hood. I also removed those inspection covers hoping to create more air flow but it just seems to hot today. 

[Summershandy]

I just noticed a puddle of coolant that came from the overflow tube.....

[Summershandy]

I read somewhere if I have too much coolant in the rad it will puke out. Should be 1"-2" below. My coolant of course is right up to the cap. The rad cap is 7lb new too. I've only idled the car in the garage and never worked it in the real world yet. Maybe it's not such a big thing? 

[PONTIAC1953]

too much coolant will get spit out, you need room in the upper tank for expansion of coolant has it heats up. is your radiator 2 inches thick or 2 1/2 inches thick ?, big problem is getting air flow through the radiator at low speeds, that original four blade fan doesn't get the job done, i suggest a five blade fan from a pontiac with factory a/c or mount a electric pusher fan in front of the radiator. or other GM make of the 1950s that had factory a/c. p.s. you can use a 13 lbs cap if needed.

 

charles l. coker

1953 pontiac tech advisor

tech advisor coordinator

pontiac oakland club int'l.

 

[Summershandy]

I used a turkey baster and got the level down. It was still at the top when it cooled. Rad looks like 2 inches thick. Thanks for the idea on the 5 blade fan Charles. I'll drive it on cooler days until something better can be done with it. Cheers!

[PONTIAC1953]

you would be better off finding the pontiac radiator that is 2 1/2 inches thick, that's a 25% improvement in cooling.

[PETEPONTIAC-1]

I put a hose from my overflow tube on the bottom of the radiator to a recovery tank that is attached to my cowl. I bought a windshield washer tank.

My level in my radiator is about 2 inch down. When my 38 Pontiac gets HOT 220 the water will boil out throw the tube, then goes up to the recovery tank.

When the car cools down, the water in the recovery tank , then goes back into the radiator. This keeps our plant cleaner. PP

[Summershandy]

Nice, I took it out on a cooler day around 72 F. It ran much better and cooler. Maybe it wasn't so hot back in the 50's? haha

[fraso]

Once the rad cap relieves excessive coolant, there is no need to remove any more.  To ensure that the cooling system works as efficiently as possible, you should do a cooling system flush (with citric or oxalic acid) to remove rust and scale if you haven't already done so.  See Cooling System.

 

Your rough running engine could be a sign of some percolation in the carburetor or fuel pump.  If you have the hood clearance, it would be useful to add some insulation between the intake manifold and carburetor (like a phenolic spacer).  A car runs better with a warm intake manifold and a cool carburetor.  See Vapor Lock.

 

Engine oil becomes less viscous with temperature so oil pressure will naturally drop as the oil becomes hotter.  Engines require oil flow and oil pressure is a characteristic of flow and temperature.  Use a multigrade heavy duty engine oil with viscosity grade recommended by the owner's manual for summer temperatures.  That is, if a 30-grade oil was recommended for hot temperatures, any modern 30-grade oil (ie, 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30, 15W-30) will work fine.  Use the winter rating (ie, 0W-, 5W-, etc) part of the multiviscosity grade to suit your cold weather driving temperatures.  Normally, 10W-30 works great in older engines.  I like semi-synthetic Petro Canada Duron SHP 10W-30 and Shell Rotella T6 5W-30 is an excellent full synthetic.  See Engine Wear and the Corvair Oil Guide.