Temp. differential side to side

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by JSeery

That would be true, but the amount I have removed is not what I would consider a small amount and it has been mainly around the rear cylinders and not along the pan rails.

I would think almost all the sand would be down on the pan rail
with all the water movement around the cylinders for many years.
A lot of the heat is generated around the exhaust ports as JWL
said. Cast iron deflectors held in by head stud help this problem.
G.M.

[elmangle]

Is there any way to check the functioning of the water pumps while the engine is running? I have tried about everything else but this truck wants to run hot. Yesterday I drove it up the mountain about 1500 ft. in 50 degree weather and checked the temperature at the top. 213 on the driver's side and 200 on the passenger side.

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by elmangle

Is there any way to check the functioning of the water pumps while the engine is running? I have tried about everything else but this truck wants to run hot. Yesterday I drove it up the mountain about 1500 ft. in 50 degree weather and checked the temperature at the top. 213 on the driver's side and 200 on the passenger side.

Are you filling the coolant up into the filler neck??
Is it still filled after it gets to 200?? You may not
have the full 22 quarts required to cool these engines.
G.M.

[FlatheadTed]

The suggested possible causes in the different temp from side to side all good advice.As far as hill climbing I would think your Radiater is blocked or its under sizeded for your moter ,read Deus Roadsters post again .efficient radiator that Griffin said would cool a blown BBC.Model As and Ts had no cooling at the lower part of the cylinders and they worked ok ,that's not to say the crud cannot affect things .If a new radiator has been fitted what's not addressed often is the chance of crud coming out of the block and in your case it sat for twenty years so likely lots of rust building up and the heat and cold cycle braking it loose .We now put stockings in the top hoses (picture here ) this catches a lot .We just sent out a 34 three window with a re cored radiator ,we left the stockings in and the owner has changed them once and is finding all sorts of rust etc coming through from the block ,you could try a shroud or high flow pumps both will improve what could be a Radiator problem ,We work on flatheads all day every day .Ted

[elmangle]

Flathead Ted: Thanks. I suppose you might be right about the radiator, but a close friend of mine did the restoration and it's unlikely....but possible.....that he would have used one that was not good....then again. I checked it with an infrared thermometer and found no cool sections, but who knows. Using your stocking trick surely can't hurt. What continues to puzzle me is that I still can fog a mirror with the exhaust, but there is no sign of exhaust gasses in the cooling system. I'd like this baby to be as reliable as my '40 Century, that I drove today for 232 miles, with altitude changes from 5200 to 9200 feet, and the gauge never moved off of 180, except for cooling down a bit on the long downhills. I'd like to be able to tour like that in the Ford, too. No garage queens at this house!

[flatford8]

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Combustion causes moisture.....is the fogging of the mirror just that?.... Mark

[FlatheadTed]

Good to here they are all daily drivers .Usually a cylinder leak dumps water out the over flow .You could try a block sealer ,I have had good results from it ,not sure of your brands ,purple Ice ?purple haze ?any thing you put in can reduce the efficacy of the radiator of course ,the one picture d has had the vinegar washing soda trick,Ted

[elmangle]

Don't know, but my other cars don't do it.

[FlatheadTed]

I have heard of a crack in a exhaust port ,

[Kahuna]

If you have 2 gauges, it could be the gauges themselves.
I run 2 electric gauges on my flathead & there is a difference
in the temperature readings. About 4 degrees. Verified by
switching connections. Just a thought.

Jim

[elmangle]

Thanks, but I've checked it with an infrared thermometer.

[elmangle]

Wouldn't that inject exhaust gasses into the cooling system instead of pulling coolant into the exhaust system? Would a crack into the intake side pull coolant into the combustion chamber and then exhaust it along with the combustion byproducts? Obviously I'm not too smart about this stuff.

[40cpe]

There seems to be 2 symptoms: Fog in one exhaust, and running warmer than desired. Both could be caused by a combustion leak. There is a test for that. Is the truck loosing an appreciable amount of water?

[elmangle]

It's a stock-type single exhaust system. It loses a little water over time, but I think that's mainly because my expansion tank isn't quite big enough. I did take it to a shop and have the system "sniffed" for combustion gasses and nothing showed up. I live in a rural area that doesn't require smog testing, so don't have a shop within 65 miles that could actually check the exhaust moisture content level to ascertain whether it's normal or not. Looks like a road trip to the city and a visit to the radiator shop and smog station.

[elmangle]

Overheating Solution!!!! (at least partial). I was going through some of the records that came with the truck when I bought it, and noticed something interesting. The truck came with an electric fan only, and the temperature sensor was one that activates the fan at 200 degrees, and the sensor was installed on the right bank, which always runs about 10-12 degrees cooler than the left bank, which means that the fan did not come on until the left side reached over 210 degrees. I wired the fan direct and took the same test drive and guess what.....the gauge showed 200 at the steepest part of the climb and lowered to 185 by the end at my house. Of course it was a cool day, but I have to think a 25 degree difference is significant. Apparently a cruising speed of 45 mph does not provide enough airflow without the assistance of the fan. Thank you all for all the advice.

[elmangle]

Ordered a temperature sensor that will start the fan at 180 and turn it off at 165, meaning 190 and 175 on the hot side. Will let you know how it works. Think I'll install a manual override to boot.

[elmangle]

Just a quick update and related question: Pulled the head again to check again for cracks with a penetrant dye kit, and both the block and the head looked fine. Before pulling the head I ran the engine with the upper hose and thermostat housing removed and started to get some bubbles at around 170 degrees and quite a few around 195. So apparently there's combustion gasses getting into the coolant somewhere I can't see it. Big mystery. No bubbling on the passenger side, which is the cool side. A related question: I noticed that the composite head gasket has only a small hole where it matches the bottom "teardrop" passage, but the copper gaskets meet that hole shape completely. Any reason for the difference, and would it in any way affect cooling?

[19Fordy]

JWL's reply seems the most plausible.

[elmangle]

Thanks....I agree. I'm not that worried about the differential, but I am puzzled by the source of the exhaust/compression gasses and the difference between the 2 types of gaskets.