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Old 07-23-2016, 08:12 PM   #1
Walt Ebie
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Default What's With The Heat?

So the timing is okay, points and plugs all gapped, new water pump, fan and fan belt (pushes in about a half-inch), I'm running 50-50 antifreeze, filled to just over the tubes, but my Quail thermometer still hits the top after about 3 miles at 30-35 mph. No steam out the cap but the radiator is bubbling and gurgling when I get home. Today I tried a test drive adjusting the rich and lean but it didn't seem to make any difference in the temp or the way it ran. Usually run it less than a fourth open. The radiator was flushed out last week until the water came out clean. So what am I doing wrong or what should I look at next? Could the needle valve be ruined and unable to work right?
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Old 07-23-2016, 08:16 PM   #2
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

Did you check for cooler spots on the radiator core
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Old 07-23-2016, 08:22 PM   #3
RonC
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

I don't think the quail thermometer works. Is the engine really hot? Feel the bottom fins on the radiator. They should only be warm after a short ride. The cap may only be leaking out the gasket. If your car is overheating it would explosively push the water out the top cap. Or out the overflow depending on your cap seal.
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Old 07-23-2016, 09:20 PM   #4
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

I'd fix the water pump first, then check for late timing, unless you find cool spots in the radiator. If the fan can move back and forth more than a few thousandths, then the thrust washer can fall out of place and cut into the shaft until the impellor falls off, which can let the fan chop up the radiator. I've seen it happen.
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Old 07-23-2016, 10:20 PM   #5
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

Change to just water (distilled). Check timing!! and check again!!
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Old 07-24-2016, 09:31 AM   #6
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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Timing?? Was the radiator flushed while still in the car?? Flushed from the top down or bottom up?? Flushed with straight water??
Paul in CT
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Old 07-24-2016, 10:09 AM   #7
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

What is the history of your car? Newly purchased and did this problem just begin?

If timing is correct as previously mentioned, I would suspect a stopped up radiator. Flushing is really a preventative maintenance procedure and rarely will clean one out that is clogged up - Only real solution for plugged core is to have it rodded out.
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Old 07-24-2016, 02:36 PM   #8
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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Timing?? Was the radiator flushed while still in the car?? Flushed from the top down or bottom up?? Flushed with straight water??
Paul in CT
A proper flush should be done with the radiator out of the car.
You will be surprised the amount of debris sitting on top of your tube shelf.
Turn the radiator upside down and flush again into a bucket, that way you can see what comes out.
The pic shows what I got out of mine last week.
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Old 07-24-2016, 06:13 PM   #9
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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A proper flush should be done with the radiator out of the car.
You will be surprised the amount of debris sitting on top of your tube shelf.
Turn the radiator upside down and flush again into a bucket, that way you can see what comes out.
The pic shows what I got out of mine last week.
I've just changed the motor in my '30 CCPU. When I got it, I checked everything and found that it was very rusty in the water jacket so I raided my wife's sock drawer and cut the foot off an old pair of pantyhose which I put in the radiator inlet. When I took it out after no more than 50 miles, it contained at least double that amount of rusty grit. I flushed the radiator while I had it off - all good but better that crap be in my wife's stocking than in my radiator.
The stocking foot made no difference to the way it cooled but kept lots of crap out of the core.
This won't fix your current problem but might be worth considering as a preventative measure for the future.
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Old 07-24-2016, 06:47 PM   #10
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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......When I took it out after no more than 50 miles, it contained at least double that amount of rusty grit. I flushed the radiator while I had it off - all good but better that crap be in my wife's stocking than in my radiator........
Well, that depends upon whether or not you put the stocking straight back in your wife's drawer?
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Old 07-24-2016, 08:28 PM   #11
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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Well, that depends upon whether or not you put the stocking straight back in your wife's drawer?
SSHHHH! She might be listening.
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Old 07-24-2016, 08:36 PM   #12
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

bubbling and gurgling doesn't sound good.

quails are notoriously inaccurate. For starters the sensor never actually touches any water. Get a hand help IR temp gun so you can shoot temps at various block, water neck, and radiator locations, so you really know what is going on. The bottom of the rad should be 30° cooler than the top if it is not clogged.

Did this run OK before you started messing with it? What got you started on the timing?

At this point if the timing is truly correct, and it often is not despite everyone's best efforts, then I vote that the rad is clogged. A flush either in or out of the car won't do a whole lot if it is filled with scale and crud....needs to be rodded or cored
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Old 07-24-2016, 10:23 PM   #13
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

I treat my Quail's Incontinence by keeping the coolant beneath the baffle and I can do over sixty without it tinkling.
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Old 07-25-2016, 12:04 PM   #14
Walt Ebie
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

Update: To answer a couple questions first: It is an original radiator installed in 1980. I started this odyssey because of overheating.....flushed with thorou-flush and plain water....checked timing again with Andrews' timing test in the Blue book and passed just fine. Earlier today, I cranked it up in the driveway and ran at a good idle until the quail hit the top - took about 14 minutes. Shut it down and used my hands on the inside surface of the radiator: too hot to keep your bare hands on the radiator on right and left sides......cooler in a strip down the middle....and cool across the bottom. I hope this isn't going where I think it is. What say you?
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Old 07-25-2016, 12:06 PM   #15
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

I agree on the distilled water. At the St Louis 88 meet we had tons of overheating and the culprit was anti freeze gumming up the tubes. Model A's were never meant to run on modern anti freeze as anti freeze is designed to run under pressure. It is my understanding that the new yellow anti freeze is kinder to the Model a radiator but water is always the safest way to cool your A. The radiator should flow about 50+ gallons of water per minute and if you are not loosing any coolant it should be cooling fine but if it is spitting water out the overflow then your tubes are clogged as the water pump is pumping at the rate of 50+ gallons per/minute.
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Old 07-25-2016, 01:08 PM   #16
Walt Ebie
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

And if anti-freeze was gumming up the tubes, what can be used, if anything, to 'un-gum' them?
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Old 07-25-2016, 02:18 PM   #17
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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And if anti-freeze was gumming up the tubes, what can be used, if anything, to 'un-gum' them?
I found that T.S.P. & water, run for about a week, did a great job removing OILY/GREASY scum Dishwasher soap would "probably" work good, also.
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Old 07-25-2016, 02:37 PM   #18
Walt Ebie
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

So before I turn to my wife's dish soap, what is TSP and how much did you use? I have dumped the antifreeze and refilled with distilled water - took about 2 and 2/3 gal to fill it to just below the baffle.
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Old 07-25-2016, 03:10 PM   #19
Mitch//pa
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

Buy a radiator
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Old 07-25-2016, 03:19 PM   #20
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Default Re: What's With The Heat?

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So before I turn to my wife's dish soap, ....
If you do this, make sure you use something like Cascade Automatic Dishwasher soap, not the soap you would use to hand wash dishes.
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