30 Coupe Cooling question
 

I have a 30 Coupe

I have installed a brand new leakless water pump, also had the radiator cleaned, & fixed by a reputable radiator shop, also purchased a brand new radiator cap (Making sure its a radiator cap and not a fuel cap). Also replaced both upper and lower hoses, and installed a Thermostat.
When the radiator was at the shop, I made sure that the baffle is in the radiator.

I have a water temp gauge installed.

Driving down the road, it runs right where its supposed to, but it still pushes antifreeze out the over flow.
Eventually, I have to add more antifreeze to the cooling system because it gets to low to cool.

Is this normal on Model A's? I know that you cannot fill it to the neck as when it gets hot, the coolant expands, and it's not a pressurized system.

So, my question is this: Those that drive their model A's is it common to have to fill the radiator over time? If so how many miles?

Or do I have another issue?

TIA
Clay

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

How high are you filling the radiator? How low does it go after a drive?
These beasts will spit out coolant till they reach their "happy" level. That is usually to where you can just see a little coolant over the rad tubes. At that level, it will cool just fine (so long as the coolant is above the water pump). If the overflow tube has been installed incorrectly, it might influence where it settles.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

What temperature does your gauge read? What kind of gauge is it?

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

It kinda sounds as if you may have a bad head gasket or a crack is the cooling system somewhere and the coolant is going out the tailpipe.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

I agree with syncrho909.My 30 coupe runs 160 with stat. Hardly ever add liquid. Keep level just above fins, may need a flashlight to look at an angle in the rad to see level just over tubes.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

At first I would fill her to the top of the radiator and didn't understand that she would find her own level; which, is just above the core. She would overheat if I sat idling for long periods in hot weather. I installed engine pans to funnel the air away from the inside of the interior and found that now she ran cold due to the improved efficiency of the fan. After researching all of the opinions, I put in a 160 degree thermostat. Now that is the temp where she always runs and the coolant is still just above the core. Oh, I have always had a temperature gauge that I double checked with a thermometer for accuracy.
PS: using the advice of an "old salt", I put a galvanized roofing nail in the top of the overflow tube to prevent any splash out. I can't say that it makes any difference, but it's kind of cool and a tip of the hat to the pioneers.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Why did you put a thermostat in?

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Aapco Gauge, 160 degree thermostat, reads 160 on gauge

When I got the radiator back the overflow tube was to tall for the cap to work so I had to cut the tube down see pic.

As far as how much I fill it, before I drive it, I fill it full, I know its going to leak out, but I don't want to run it out of coolant.

Tonight driving it home from a club function, it was hitting 190 on the temp gauge, and the engine started running rough, pulled off, put a gallon of water in it, the temp came down to 160, ran fine till I got home.

As far as a head gasket, I don't ever have steam coming out of the tail pipe and my sparkplugs are black which tells me its running rich, but to me that says no water or coolant is in the cylinders, at least that's my thoughts/ hope. I also just did an oil change on it, and there was no coolant in the oil.

As far as why I put a T-stat in, to me warmer engine, it just seems to run better, and its warmer inside the car.

BTW, Thank you everyone for the ideas! Keep them coming! I don't want to come across as debating or argumentative if it does I apologize.

TIA
Clay

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

I think you may have a bad head gasket or a crack in the head. Combustion can find its way into the coolant without coolant leaking into the cylinders. I would check for CO in the coolant. Very quick and easy to do and the CO checker is not expensive if you want to buy one. Most repair shops have one and you may be able to have one check the coolant for you.

If you have CO in the coolant, it has to be coming from the combustion chambers and it is time to pull the head and have a look.

That is my opinion,

Chris W.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

You should not have to add a gallon of coolant. A shop that does emission checks can put the probe in the radiator to see if there is exhaust gas there. Radiator shops may have the same probe.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Is your overflow foamy? If so, it is a leaky head gasket. I was plagued by that until I got the tip. Knock on wood, my gasket with the 6:1 head is tight and my rad doesn't overflow now.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...te#post1145107

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

You can chase the head gasket leak, but don't assume the radiator is not plugged. Most shops can't remove the top tank to rod the tubes out. Most do a flush or even heat things up, but they don't flow test them. Just filling it and letting the water run our tells you nothing. It should flow about 35 GPM. Most old cores are plugged to some degree and they must be mechanically cleared. If there is no flow through the tube, nothing you put in there will magically clean the tube out. Check with your shop. I'm pretty sure he did not rod out the tubes. Good luck.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

In addition to a thermostat, these are my practices re coolant overflow:

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

It is not normal to loose any coolant driving down the road. I find myself kind of in Jackson's camp, regarding the radiator. Not knocking the radiator shop by any means, but it seems like the flow through the radiator is not sufficient. You could take out the thermostat and see what happens, get the flow through the radiator and engine faster. a thermostat will "slow the flow".

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Flow is only part of the equation, the tubes need to be clean inside, scale or mineral coating inside the tubes restricts the transfer of heat from the coolant to the tube.
So, when your radiator was "cleaned & fixed by a reputable radiator shop" did they clean the inside w/a chemical solution to ensure proper cooling?

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

What are the things that the arrows are pointing at? The splash plate should
look like the one in the radiator drawing.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Did your radiator shop remove the tank and rod the tubes and do a flow test, or just do a chemical flushing? My suspicion is the radiator isn’t flowing properly, and that is exacerbated by the thermostat (which from my personal experience with these cars over 60 years has never proven to be necessary if the radiator flows properly.)

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Bob, if your were asking me about why the thermostat: a couple of years ago I my car was running fine, but had a tendency to get hot if I sat idling for more than 10 min. I installed a temperature gauge to be able to monitor the temp better and a new 2-bladed fan. My copilot didn't like to go for drives if she was wearing nice clothes because of the "eau d'A" smell on her clothes. I did everything I could think of to alleviate the odors reaching my coupe's cabin: sealing all the nooks and crannies and that's why I installed the engine pans. I had read about the improvement in cooling, but I had no idea how effective that could be. I could barely get over 110 degrees and she always drove like she wasn't warmed up. I tried using cardboard to shield the radiator, but that only got me to about 120. That is why I installed a Vintage 160 degree thermostat. Now she rapidly warms up to 160 and stays there. Sorry for the long explanation.

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

Good Morning...An old school way to work this problem prior to removing the head would be to get the engine hot and take a heat gun and check the temperature of the radiator carefully from left to right and from top to bottom to see if the temperature is hot across the top and cooler as the water travels down the radiator and is uniformly cooler at the bottom than at the top. Additionally. attach a recovery container at the bottom of the overflow tube and drive the car...if it overheats and the recovery tank is full...then it is the radiator and the water pump impeller in some form or the size of the sprocket on the water pump...if the recovery tank is dry...then you need to pull the head and see if it is the head gasket or a crack in either the head or the block...Ernie in Arizona

Re: 30 Coupe Cooling question
 

I was going to start a thread about this but will chime in here since I am having a similar issue. The difference being that I have not flushed my cooling system or made any modifications since I bought the car in December.

This infared photo was taken today after driving in rolling hills for about 20 minutes. Engine idling, 70°f outside. The coolest radiator temp is seen on the lower passenger side (appx 90°f). The warmest temp at the top is about 150°f, and appx 125° in the middle.

What surprises me is the temperature difference left to right. The radiator appears to be divided into 4 distinct quadrants temp wise. Does this look normal? Clogged tubes @ the bottom