over heating problem

[garyjohn]

I have a 28 four door sedan, model 60A. It is over heating in 85 plus degrees. I have checked timing and seems to be OK. I have moved the license plate to the bumper. I had the radiator cleaned out by a radiator shop. Running 50% sierra anti freeze. cleaned the engine with vinegar. So with all that said does any one think if I added the motor pans back in to the car would that help? Also are the motor pans all the same or are the 28 different?

[tbirdtbird]

what are your symptoms? Overheat under what circumstances?

"timing seems to be OK"
That is not a reassuring statement.
Your timing needs to be dead on.
The vast majority of owner- timed Model As that arrive at my shop are timed retarded despite the owners assuring me that their timing is correct. They are amazed at how well the car performs and how cool it runs once we time it correctly

A late motor will run hot......and can run quite hot

[Mike V. Florida]

How do you know you are overheating? Are you loosing water? Have you taken measurements. Are you going by the motometer?

The license plate move and the engine pans will help if the cooling is marginable, but a good system will still cool with how you have the car set up.

As tbirdtbird states timing causes overheating in most cases. How long have you had the car and has it ever worked well?

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi garyjohn,

With more specific details of diagnostics, you can obtain far more specific responses, like:

1. How did you check the water temperature?

For over than 50 years I have placed a simple inexpensive Candy Thermometer in the radiator opening to check the coolant temperature where it really counts, i.e., where it exits the engine.

2. How did you check the timing? With the 8 million different recommendations written and/or listed herein, and the 8 million timing misunderstandings of Model A owners, plus loose distributor cam backlash movement? Did you ever perform a simple check to "see" if the no. 1 plug fires when the timing pin slips in while the engine is hand cranked clockwise?

3. Generalities offered like, "Had the radiator shop clean the radiator" is not at all specific ...... did he use Klennex and a metal dust pan, or toilet tissue with rubber gloves on?

4. In most cases, overheating in 85+ year old vehicles is caused by a loose slipping fan belt not turning the water pump fast enough; or a dirty radiator which is partially clogged, and/or has too many coats of paint on the exterior. .... and not necessarily in that order.

[Mitch//pa]

Where are u keeping the level of the coolant? If your filling it to the top that's about a 1/4 gallon or so to much

[C26Pinelake]

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Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin

Hi garyjohn,

With more specific details of diagnostics, you can obtain far more specific responses, like:

1. How did you check the water temperature?

For over than 50 years I have placed a simple inexpensive Candy Thermometer in the radiator opening to check the coolant temperature where it really counts, i.e., where it exits the engine.

2. How did you check the timing? With the 8 million different recommendations written and/or listed herein, and the 8 million timing misunderstandings of Model A owners, plus loose distributor cam backlash movement? Did you ever perform a simple check to "see" if the no. 1 plug fires when the timing pin slips in while the engine is hand cranked clockwise?

3. Generalities offered like, "Had the radiator shop clean the radiator" is not at all specific ...... did he use Klennex and a metal dust pan, or toilet tissue with rubber gloves on?

4. In most cases, overheating in 85+ year old vehicles is caused by a loose slipping fan belt not turning the water pump fast enough; or a dirty radiator which is partially clogged, and/or has too many coats of paint on the exterior. .... and not necessarily in that order.

The Master has spoken. He knows of what he speaks. Add in what Mitch said about overfilling the radiator. Total equation is lack of Model A knowledge. Wayne

[ALJ]

Loose fitting fins on the radiator tubes will impair the radiator's cooling ability. Check to see if that might be your problem.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

[Step-down]

Did you install a thermostat ? Could be shut close slowing flow ...

[rudvirus]

It can only be 3 things radiator is blocked or bad, Headgasket is bad, or the air fuel mixture is wrong. If you have a thermostat then that too.

[eagle]

Originally Posted by rudvirus

It can only be 3 things radiator is blocked or bad, Headgasket is bad, or the air fuel mixture is wrong. If you have a thermostat then that too.

And TIMING TOO! Including where you run the spark lever.

[1930-fordor]

Here is a very good source of info. by Andy Wiedeman.
After all of the other issues mentioned here have been handled and or corrected
Read up on this in-depth cooling info
After reading this, I stopped using 50/50 water and antifreeze for all year around.
For summer, I use Water Wetter with a small amount of antifreeze( follow instruction on label of water wetter)
So now I change out my coolant twice a year. Not only does this keep me much cooler in the summer,
it helps keep my cooling system cleaner by changing it more often.
hope this helps

http://rmaford.org/wp-content/blogs....uids_v2007.pdf

[Tom Wesenberg]

I was looking at a 1927 Studebaker Roadster today in some guy's car collection. The engine is much larger than the Model A, but the inlet and outlet to the radiator were connected with 1" hoses. That is 1/4th the area of the Model A top hose. Sure makes a guy wonder how that car could have cooled?

Seems by far the greatest problem with Model A's is a plugged radiator, and not many radiator shops want to do the work to unplug them anymore.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

...not many radiator shops want to do the work to unplug them anymore.

Or maybe the labor to do the job right is higher then the cost to replace.