so i have noticed that my car is running at 200 while in town, which from what i have been seeing and from what people say is fine, especially in summer time. but when i went to a small car show i noticed my car was going up to 240ish on the highway, that seems too hight and not sure y?

any ideas? people say put a 190 thermostat on it but i am not sure what mine has on it, let alone (excuse the noobness) where it is located at lol.

please help

 

follow you top radiator hose down from the radiator where it connects. The piece bolted to the intake manifold covers the thermostat. drain the radiator to below the level of the block remove the hose take of the two bolts and remove. you'll will then see your thermostat.

I use a 180 degree stat with 50/50 water coolant mix. You should also check the condition of your existing coolant. You may have to have your radiator hot tanked and rodded out if there is a bunch of junk in the cooling tubes.

 

so drain the radiator and see what if there is something in the coolant itself? should i then check the tubes going into the intake manifold as well?

 

No if there is a clog it is in the radiator not in hoses. If the coolant is dirty (brown in color instead of green it needs replacing anyway. I doubt if you will see chunks in the coolant. the tubes you see while looking into the radiator fill should be clean and not scaly.

 

ok i will have to try that then, how can i see what size stat i have in my car then would be the next question?

 

The temp is generally stamped on the thermostat.

 

Makes absolutely sure that the cooling system is full and no air pockets. It will overheat for sure.

 

swapped out the stat and took it for about a 10 minute drive and she stayed right around 200, so we shall see how she does on a lil bit longer trip and get back to you guys later. thanks for all the help.

oh yeah, i put a 180 in it this time.

 

so there i was.... driving all this morning car running at 200ish degrees, THEN i went to lunch and everything went to you know what hit the fan. so it went to 240 again and i got it back to work and me and the boss man popped the hood to see what might be the problem and the passenger side hood hinge decided to pop out the front pin on it. but on the upper side it was a hose that wasnt clamped correctly ><

 

I put a 160 thermostat in my olds.
It is in Celcius 10 celcius cooler.

Lesser numbers means earlier to open. 160 opens full with 160

it is now between 176 and 194
it could be more things to check, like cooland 50/ 50, and the fanclutch, and radiator.

 

i think it might be that i clamped the hose wrong so when i put more pressure on the engine it shot coolant out instead of cycling through... bought new hinges last night so putting the hood on and when it stops raining i will take her out for a cruise to see what end results are.

 

You might want to check your fan clutch. Also the water pump. I have seen where the blades on the stamp tin impeller have broken off.

Gene

 

the fan seems to be intact, spins fine when the motor is on and when it is off it seems firm when i spin it, what would be a good way to check the water pump? is there a trick for it?

 

With the radiator cap off and coolant about 4" below the filler neck, run engine until hot. When t-stat opens and coolant flows through radiator, you should see coolant coming through the tubes just above the upper coolant level you see in the tank. It is easy to see.

 

Sounds like your water pump or radiator. Usually three things that make your car overheat are thermostat, water pump, and radiator. Fan clutch shouldnt be the problem because you stated that shes overheating when going down the highway. When I had a bad fan clutch she only overheated when in traffic or at a dead stop because not enough air was passing over the radiator. On the freeway she was fine because air was still flowing across freely. Id do what Lady72nRob71 said to check for a water pump problem.. Has your water pump or radiator ever been replaced to your knowledge?

 

it hada frame off restore about 11 years ago i think so i would think they did it then but not too sure...

 

the pic is of it b4 istarted it and the video is of it running, what you guys think?

 

so i decided on replacing the water pump but my question is... what brand do you guys suggest or site to order it from? advanced auto parts has the OEM one for 90ish and an edelbrock one for 300ish, but theres got to be cheaper out there right?

 

I used the replacment one from summit for like 80 bucks. no problems here.

 

I have a question on that.

do they sell those metal plate between the pump and engine also?

Did not find it yet, but want to replace it if i change or upgrade my pump also.
Problem with my pump is there is not a gasket that fit intirely as suposed.
I made it fit with liquide gasket (black) it is leakfree but not how it suposed to be.

Stupid is, the felpro gasket should fit if i look at the instructions.
But it does not did try all 3 of my 2 sets of gaskets

 

idk about the metal plate but why didnt the gasket fit? mine fit spot on from what i can tell

 

Don't know

They put a later year pump on my 69'delta 88.
I believe a 6.1 inch long.
And i have a HD fan but not AC, but i run with 3 row puley's on the crank and cooland pump, and a 2 row on my steering.

My gasket fit almost the pump, but it seems that the gasket is a bit off on one side of the pump, it's larger than the pumphousing
So it did'nt fit interely as suposed and used a extra sealer to prevent leaking.
the other 2 were totall differend gasketmodels.
I thought it was a foult in tha gasket but tried a other set i have and did'nt help

The former owner or there for did make a mess with the 88.
I think the old pump where shot and tehy mounted the first that would fit

 

Have you run a block test yet? This will check for exhaust gases in the coolant. Usually when the car heats up going down the highway and loading the engine, there is a problem with head gaskets or heads themselves. If the car overheats when idling then radiator could be clogged.

Look at the radiator cap after running. If it looks like rusty mud, then you probably have exhaust gas problems in the coolant and could very well be getting oil in the coolant. Also remove the oil filler cap and check for white milky coating. This signifies oil in water and vice versa.

A block test can be done at most radiator shops. Very simple in nature.

BTW: Just because a fan and it's clutch are turning, doesn't necessarily mean the clutch is engaging. Should sound loud when cold and when the engine temp goes up.

 

that metal plate is the timeing chain cover. I got one from brothers automotive parts. That was the first place i found it.

 

replaced the pump and that seemed to fix it, when we revved it definitely could feel more air in the engine bay. but it went down to 230 instead of 240 degrees on the highway.

 

Based on everything you've already done, I would take it to a radiator shop to check for hydrocarbons in the antifreeze (result of a leaking head gasket), coolant mixture (needs to be 50/50, if it has too much antifreeze in the mixture it will not dissipate heat fast enough). If both those tests turn up fine, then have the radiator boiled out or recored as it probably clogged up with debris.

It should not run that hot on the open highway so I would check those things first.

 

DAMMIT!
anybody know where i can get this done in san antonio?

 

I ran that big '71 Olds. 98 in the heat out here in Killeen, Texas last summer and never had the temp gauge go up past 1/4 on the dash gauge, I put a 160 degree thermostat in it. For Texas, that 180 and above thermostat is too much. Even in my SBC, I install the 160 thermostats. Plus, if you have a problem, it gives you time to react instead of the needle going out of sight before you can shut down. I wouldn't think of letting my engine run at 200 degrees for any prolonged period, that's too hot. Go to a radiator place where they flow and pressure test the radiator, go w/ the 160 degree thermostat, and new hoses.

 

just got off the phone with a shop and they will test it for free, checked out the hoses and they seemed fine except for the lower radiator hose which i replaced. will let you guys know this afternoon what this guy diagnosed. he said it could be my fan clutch though while i talked to him on the phone

 

ok i tried to google how to do it and it seems stupid on what i am reading here. what is a good way to test the fan clutch?

 

so anyone know of a good radiator to put into my beast? cheap and good is the key here

 

how will changing t-stats keep eng from over heating.the t-stat is there to to help heat the eng up to op temp not to keep it cool.when coolant reachs t-stat opening temp the t-stat is fully open and no longer as any effect on temp control,granted a lower t-stat opening will allow full flow of coolant to rad sooner which will delay the heating process a little.I know many people have had sucess changing the t-stat to a lower one and that solved a over heat problem,this proberly works because the t-stat that they replaced was faulty,not opening fully at rated temp.

 

Do not do a spin test for the fan clutch.
Only way to really tell is if it is moving a LOT of air when you get over 205 degrees.
It will put a noticeable drag on your engine, because it is moving 4000+ cfm over the radiator. It will start to act like a small airplane prop, and you should be able to hear it while in the drivers seat.
I'd still make sure it's moving air, when hot.

Your issue seems different because it heats up on the highway. A fan clutch is more so needed when you are in traffic.
I'd check the radiator, may just need to be rodded out.
High mileage radiators have calcium buildup inside that will defeat cooling, lowers the cooling capacity.
That's what I think.
Jim

 

When engine is over 195* at idle, pop the hood and evaluate how much air is blowing. Better be enough to blow your hair around and make a roaring wind sound.
If not, it is freewheeling and needs replacing.

 

got the radiator looked at today and they said it was fine, seemed to be just replaced, and as far as the fan clutch goes... its only 30 bucks so i am going to just replace it, any other ideas on y it could be if the fan clutch doesn't fix my problem?

 

nix that last comment they said it was half clogged and someone tried to use stop leak, so excited to see if this fixes the problem :-)