My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

My youngest brother owns a 1929 AA tanker truck. It's been sitting in his back yard for years (see pictures). It would overheat and get so hot that the exhaust manifold turned cherry red. He removed the muffler to see if it made any difference and it did not. He removed and cleaned out the radiator. Made no difference. He removed the timing cover and found that the spring inside the plunger was broken and that the timing gear was probably moving in and out. He wondered if that could have changed the timing making it overheat. The truck has been sitting for years with the timing cover still off and a plastic tarp over the motor.
Have any of you experienced a cherry red exhaust manifold and if so, what was the cause?
I wonder if at one time a squirrel or a mouse had stored some nuts or food in the motor's water jackets?
Any ideas would be much appreciated?
He is thinking of selling the truck, but wants to correct the overheating problem and get it running first.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

If it has been sitting for a while, I would say the rodents got to it. Those things can reak havock on whole cars. On one of my other cars, mice climbed all the way up from the tail pipe to the engine. So they will find a way in.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Maybe they do but I doubt that would cause a hot manifold.
The first thing I'd do is check the ignition timing. Your brother is advancing the ignition once the motor is running, isn't he?

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

A cherry red exhaust manifold is typically a symptom of running the engine with retarded timing.


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Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

running lean

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Either or both of above. Stuck exhaust valve possibly.


Joe K

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

I burned all of the rust off my mustangs exhaust manifold once while driving to the coast. I found about an inch or so of slop in the timing chain. So that is my guess.


Mike

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Timing is off.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Yes to all the above
Another thing to check is the air filter...if you're running one...pull it off

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

I had a cherry red exhaust manifold on a Model T one time when I was a teenager, it happened because I had drained the water out of it so it wouldn't freeze overnight and then forgot to refill it. lesson learned.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Check points gap and the initial distributor timing . Points gap should be set to factory specs of 18 to 22 thousants . Points gap has an effect on timing . Too small of a points gap retards the timing . I mostly use the larger .022 gap because it allows the points to open quicker , if initial timing is correct . Try removing all of the spark plugs to remove compression . Remove the timing pin and turn the engine over until the timing pin drops into the timing dimple on the timing gear . loosen the cam screw and adjust the distributor cam so that the trailing edge of the rotor tip points exactly at the number one contact in the distributor cap . There will usually be some rotational slack or free movement in the distributor shaft . This rotational movement is sometimes referred to as backlas h. Make sure that ALL of the backlash is in the counter clockwise direction when the cam screw is tightened . Being as the distributor shaft rides on the clockwise side of the backlash , any free rotation in the clockwise direction causes the engine to have to turn a small amount to catch up the slack before the distributor shaft begins to turn and the timing will be retarded to whatever amount of backlash that remains in the clockwise direction after the cam screw is tightened . A lot of people never understand how clockwise backlash in the distributor shaft effects timing and that is the reason that many model A's are out of time , lack power and the manifold turns cherry red . Again , being as the distributor rides on the clockwise side of the backlash , any clockwise backlash in the distributor shaft after the cam screw is tightened retards timing .Back lash in the counter clockwise direction after tightening the cam screw will have NO effect on timing or anything else . A cam wrench comes in very handy at holding the distributor cam while the cam screw is tightened. Close attention to direction of distributor backlash has a big effect on timing .

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Thanks everyone for your advice.
I will pass this information onto my brother and will let you know what happens.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Here is an update.
My brother found and removed mouse debris in the timing cover area. He replaced the missing thrust plunger and broken spring. He removed the valve cover and the oil pan and removed built up sludge. He re-set the timing which was off. The motor runs much better and it no longer overheats.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

By the way, he has decided to sell the truck. I'm going to list it in the swap section soon.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Neil
Your brother's truck is an early 1930 truck made between January and June of 1930. It has he bevel gear rear axle and the heavier duty front axle. The 5 hole budd wheels were first used starting January 1930. The 28-29 style cab was used through June of 1930.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

I lent my AA truck out it smelt hot on its return .I lifted the hood and the manifold was cherry red .On the 5 mile return journey the driver had forgotten my instructions and had not advanced the timing so it ran fully retarded for about twenty minutes on country roads slow drive.The truck was not boiling but close I guess . This was years ago the truck runs well so no lasting harm done it seems .

John in settled high pressure weather Suffolk County England.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

This is a good reason not to let anybody drive your model A unless you are in there with them . Some will badly lug the engine while thinking that they are going easy on it .. Many don't know what lugging actually is .

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

Bill,
Thanks for the info.
Yes, my brother looked up the number and it is a January 1930. The motor and frame number match.
Surprisingly, it has the high speed beveled rear end.

Re: My brothers 29 AA tanker truck overheated w/ cherry red manifold
 

The thrust plunger and spring replacement was the critical factor in this repair. Absent that, no amount of fiddling with the distributor would have been effective for very long. I struggled with this same problem until I discovered the cause. I would set timing, drive for a few miles until engine runs rough and overheats, then reset timing, drive for a few miles, etc., etc.