I have had my 442 for a couple weeks - it runs great!
Question: Is it normal for a 1969 Olds 442 (Automatic Transmission) Water Temp gauge to get close to HOT when idling for 3+ minutes? I have new fan clutch, new thermostat, new coolant, "WaterWetter" additive. Car runs great when driving, it stays exactly in the middle temperature range. But go thru a drive thru and idle for 3+ minutes and temp indicator spikes to hot. I noticed it cools off a bit if I put automatic transmission from Drive to Neutral. Just wanted to check if this is a normal for 1969 Olds 442 or if my car needs some extra love. Thank you

 

It's normal for the engine to heat up during an extended idle. You really need to hook up an aftermarket temp gauge to see exactly what temps the engine is operating at. Without that info it's hard to give any direction. Additionally a lean fuel mixture and retarded engine timing can exacerbate the issue.

 

These cars ran just fine back in the day with generally no overheating issues. That being said, when I put together my 68 I chose to run a Be-Cool Rad and twin Spal fans. It NEVER ran hot. EVER.

 

I had a bad fan clutch last year which caused my car to run hotter than it should. Just something to test.

Also check that you have the factory shroud on the rear and any front curtains it may have come with to force air through the core and not around it.

Chris

 

Like the man said, the radiator is fine; the idle air flow is not. Confirm clutch function.

 

Yes and yes, formal gauges often are a headache. Worrying us more than they should, ignorance was bliss with dummy lights. And the cars were just fine.

In any case I was leaning with lack of shroud but that doesn't seem to be the case.


https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...mobile-442-67/

Gorgeous car Brian.

 

Is the radiator still the original? It might be plugged up.

 

That's possible, but the symptom points to lack of air flow through the radiator at idle.

Check that out first.

 

As pointed out in Post #2, get a proper temperature gauge with numbers and everything and find out how hot the engine actually is. I can tell you from experience, the factory Rally-Pac gauges are none too accurate.

You may discover you have no problem with overheating at all.

 

CK the radiator. While the motor is cooled down remove the radiator cap look at the tubes if you see blisters around them you probably need to have it roded out that takes a radiator shop to do that.