overheating problem! help!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 127
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From: Dover Delaware
overheating problem! help!
Hey Guys,
In my 62 I just put a new 327 in and timed it and have good timing at idle and with the vaccum advanced. I just drove the car down the street and noticed the temp up above 230. Got the car back home after sitting on the side of the street to allow the engine to cool a little. Get back let it cool and top it off thinking there might have been and air lock. Then started it back up and the same thing happened. What i noticed is that the lower radiator hose never got that warm compared to everything else. When I filled the radiator up after installing the motor, I just filled up through upper radiator hose and filled it up until the expansion tank was half full. Did I need to do anything else to purge the system? thanks guys.
In my 62 I just put a new 327 in and timed it and have good timing at idle and with the vaccum advanced. I just drove the car down the street and noticed the temp up above 230. Got the car back home after sitting on the side of the street to allow the engine to cool a little. Get back let it cool and top it off thinking there might have been and air lock. Then started it back up and the same thing happened. What i noticed is that the lower radiator hose never got that warm compared to everything else. When I filled the radiator up after installing the motor, I just filled up through upper radiator hose and filled it up until the expansion tank was half full. Did I need to do anything else to purge the system? thanks guys.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,203
Likes: 147
From: dalton ma
If you filled it cold and the thermostat was closed nothing went into the engine. May not have filled the heater circuit either. Total fill should have been in the neighbor of two gallons. Bob
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
except I believe a full fill with a new, dry block would be closer to four gallons. He said he put a new engine in the car.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: In limbo
St. Jude Donor '13-'15, '17 thru '22
Wait a sec., you were reading a coolant temperature of 230+ and your lower hose wasn't very warm? If that is true, it has to be a low/no flow problem. I would check the easy stuff first, make sure the system has enough coolant, then pull the thermostat and test it to make sure it is working properly and opening fully somewhere below 200 degrees. If so, re-install and drive the car again with an IR gun handy. If the gauge goes back to 230+, test the temperature at the thermo housing. If the IR gun confirms the very hot coolant at the thermo housing and the lower hose is still not very warm, you have to have either a bad water pump or an obstruction somewhere in the system.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
Wait a sec., you were reading a coolant temperature of 230+ and your lower hose wasn't very warm? If that is true, it has to be a low/no flow problem. I would check the easy stuff first, make sure the system has enough coolant, then pull the thermostat and test it to make sure it is working properly and opening fully somewhere below 200 degrees. If so, re-install and drive the car again with an IR gun handy. If the gauge goes back to 230+, test the temperature at the thermo housing. If the IR gun confirms the very hot coolant at the thermo housing and the lower hose is still not very warm, you have to have either a bad water pump or an obstruction somewhere in the system.
Now that you mention it, an empty system will give NO guage reading in my experience.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,311
Likes: 223
From: Temecula CA
When you refill with coolant
after verifying your thermostat in a pan of near boiling water, fill the block through the thermostat hole in the intake.
My 327 (dry) took about 4 gallons.
BTW, when I first fired it up after a full rebuild, it read close to 230 on the gage. Pulled the thermostat and it was fine. Turned out the temp sending unit was way off and causing a +40 degree error in the gage reading.
Bought a $40 Raytek IR gun and now I know what I'm really running
(185). Once it gets broken in, I expect it to run a little cooler.
My 327 (dry) took about 4 gallons.
BTW, when I first fired it up after a full rebuild, it read close to 230 on the gage. Pulled the thermostat and it was fine. Turned out the temp sending unit was way off and causing a +40 degree error in the gage reading.
Bought a $40 Raytek IR gun and now I know what I'm really running
(185). Once it gets broken in, I expect it to run a little cooler.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
From: Dover Delaware
Cool. Thanks for the help. The motor was broken on a test stand so I would think that the engine would still have most of its coolant correct? I'll check the thermostat and use an IR gun too. Thanks for the quick help guys.
