Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Early V8 (1932-53)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-19-2022, 11:18 AM   #1
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Overheating issues

I’ve got the newly rebuilt flathead back in my 40 and it’s running good . Problem is it’s like the farther you go the hotter it gets. With thermostats or without, block is clean, new radiator, rebuilt water pumps , timing is good. Yesterday I removed the upper radiator hoses and filled the heads with water up to the neck and removed the belt so the pumps wouldn’t turn. Cranked it up and looked for bubbles in the heads, there wasn’t anything there so that eliminates a leaky gasket . Before I got this car it sat in an open shed for the probably the last 20 years. I’m beginning to wonder if the exhaust could be partially blocked by mice or something. I’m at wits end with this thing.
Attached Images
File Type: jpeg EC29AC21-BA9B-435D-81EB-42417B826818.jpeg (151.7 KB, 68 views)
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 01:11 PM   #2
deuce lover
Senior Member
 
deuce lover's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Southern France
Posts: 5,279
Default Re: Overheating issues

Nice looking car but sideways is is hard.Try a vacuum gauge on it.It will tell you if have a choked muffler.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Vacuum gauge.jpg (78.5 KB, 15 views)

Last edited by deuce lover; 05-19-2022 at 01:19 PM.
deuce lover is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 05-19-2022, 01:26 PM   #3
petehoovie
Senior Member
 
petehoovie's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 7,933
Default Re: Overheating issues

Ken's '40...
Attached Images
File Type: jpg EC29AC21-BA9B-435D-81EB-42417B826818.jpg (45.0 KB, 247 views)
__________________
The only thing nice about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others....

"Silver rings, your butt! Them's washers!"
"We shot our way out of that town for a dollar's worth of steel holes!" - from 'The Wild Bunch' - 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NReUd2_0u0
petehoovie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 02:57 PM   #4
19Fordy
Senior Member
 
19Fordy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Coral Springs FL
Posts: 10,878
Default Re: Overheating issues

Ken, Are the old radiator hoses soft and collapsing and restricting flow?
19Fordy is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 03:12 PM   #5
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by 19Fordy View Post
Ken, Are the old radiator hoses soft and collapsing and restricting flow?
No, they are new.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 03:15 PM   #6
flatjack9
Senior Member
 
flatjack9's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oshkosh, Wi
Posts: 4,516
Default Re: Overheating issues

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
A new engine will tend to run hotter at first. What about carburetion?
flatjack9 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 03:28 PM   #7
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by flatjack9 View Post
A new engine will tend to run hotter at first. What about carburetion?
Yeah, I was expecting it to run hotter since it is all new . Took it for a 10 mile run yesterday and it was pegging the gauge when I got back home. Checked it with my temp gun and both sides were consistent 210 degrees. Best I remember the carb has .051 jets. It has the 91-99 carburetor on it.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 03:29 PM   #8
51 MERC-CT
Senior Member
 
51 MERC-CT's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: East Hartford, Ct
Posts: 5,898
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama View Post
I’ve got the newly rebuilt flathead back in my 40 and it’s running good . Problem is it’s like the farther you go the hotter it gets. With thermostats or without, block is clean, new radiator, rebuilt water pumps , timing is good. Yesterday I removed the upper radiator hoses and filled the heads with water up to the neck and removed the belt so the pumps wouldn’t turn. Cranked it up and looked for bubbles in the heads, there wasn’t anything there so that eliminates a leaky gasket . Before I got this car it sat in an open shed for the probably the last 20 years. I’m beginning to wonder if the exhaust could be partially blocked by mice or something. I’m at wits end with this thing.
What do you mean " The farther you go the hotter it gets?
How hot does it get? Boil over?
__________________
DON'T RECALL DOING SOMETHING FOR MYSELF BASED ON SOMEONE ELSE'S LIKES OR DISLIKES
51 MERC-CT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 03:59 PM   #9
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT View Post
What do you mean " The farther you go the hotter it gets?
How hot does it get? Boil over?
Yes, it will boil. For example, I can drive it 2 miles down the road and back but if I were to go say 10 miles like yesterday it’ll get hot.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 04:52 PM   #10
Bored&Stroked
Senior Member
 
Bored&Stroked's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 5,013
Default Re: Overheating issues

How do you know the timing is good? Did you put a degree wheel on it and put markings and a pointer on it?

If it continues to heat up (and the timing is right), then my guess is that either you're not pumping enough water through it, or your overall cooling capacity isn't good enough.

What type of radiator did you put in it? Also, are the water pumps ones with modern impellers (like Skip puts on them) . . . or stock type impellers?
Bored&Stroked is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 05:53 PM   #11
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked View Post
How do you know the timing is good? Did you put a degree wheel on it and put markings and a pointer on it?

If it continues to heat up (and the timing is right), then my guess is that either you're not pumping enough water through it, or your overall cooling capacity isn't good enough.

What type of radiator did you put in it? Also, are the water pumps ones with modern impellers (like Skip puts on them) . . . or stock type impellers?
No, I did not put a degree wheel on it. The camshaft is an nos Ford cam so I figured it would be good. Distributor and ignition timing was setup on my Sun distributor machine. The radiator is one of the new Bob Drake units. Pumps are stock pumps.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 06:17 PM   #12
19Fordy
Senior Member
 
19Fordy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Coral Springs FL
Posts: 10,878
Default Re: Overheating issues

Is the radiator clean on the inside and can you see the water circulating in the radiator?

Disconnect the lower hoses and flush out the radiator with a hose to check the flow.
19Fordy is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 06:26 PM   #13
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by 19Fordy View Post
Is the radiator clean on the inside and can you see the water circulating in the radiator?

Disconnect the lower hoses and flush out the radiator with a hose to check the flow.
I’ve eliminated the exhaust possibility . I had an nos muffler I wanted to install anyway. I’m thinking I’ll take the radiator out of my coupe and put it in there and see how that goes. New ain’t always better. ��
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 06:42 PM   #14
cadillac512
Senior Member
 
cadillac512's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Kansas
Posts: 897
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama View Post
I’ve eliminated the exhaust possibility . I had an nos muffler I wanted to install anyway. I’m thinking I’ll take the radiator out of my coupe and put it in there and see how that goes. New ain’t always better. ��



Good plan. If it keeps getting hotter the further you drive, it sure sounds like radiator. 210 and steady isn't dangerous but rising from there and losing coolant/boiling is another matter. The radiator swap may be the answer.


Terry
__________________
"It don't take but country smarts to solve the problem" (Smokey Yunick)


'41 Merc Town Sedan / 260" 8CM engine
'66 Fairlane four door / "warmed up" 302
cadillac512 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 09:22 PM   #15
Bored&Stroked
Senior Member
 
Bored&Stroked's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 5,013
Default Re: Overheating issues

RE Pumps: I always run Skips pumps on my engines - as I like the way he rebuilds them (bearings, not bushings) and his impeller moves a LOT more water than the small straight impellers on original pumps. The engine in my 32 is 284 cubes and I can be stuck in traffic in 90+ degree weather (stop n go stuff) - and it won't overheat. At the Columbus Goodguy's one year I was sitting idling for about 45 minutes . . . and it passed the test with no problems (and that is with a non-pressurized system).
Bored&Stroked is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 09:34 PM   #16
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked View Post
RE Pumps: I always run Skips pumps on my engines - as I like the way he rebuilds them (bearings, not bushings) and his impeller moves a LOT more water than the small straight impellers on original pumps. The engine in my 32 is 284 cubes and I can be stuck in traffic in 90+ degree weather (stop n go stuff) - and it won't overheat. At the Columbus Goodguy's one year I was sitting idling for about 45 minutes . . . and it passed the test with no problems (and that is with a non-pressurized system).
I have a pair of Skips pumps on the shelf. I’ll give them a try. I’m starting to question the repop Drake radiator. I’m thinking I’ll take the radiator out of my 40 coupe and put it in there to see how it goes.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 09:54 PM   #17
petehoovie
Senior Member
 
petehoovie's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 7,933
Default Re: Overheating issues

What is the condition of the block innards? Was the block thoroughly cleaned out of crud?
__________________
The only thing nice about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others....

"Silver rings, your butt! Them's washers!"
"We shot our way out of that town for a dollar's worth of steel holes!" - from 'The Wild Bunch' - 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NReUd2_0u0
petehoovie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2022, 11:03 PM   #18
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,237
Default Re: Overheating issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by petehoovie View Post
What is the condition of the block innards? Was the block thoroughly cleaned out of crud?
Yes, shake and bake then several hours with a long pointed rod poking around in the water jackets. This block wasn’t bad at all. It was pretty clean to begin with.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2022, 12:01 AM   #19
Tinker
Senior Member
 
Tinker's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MN
Posts: 7,053
Default Re: Overheating issues

Have you checked your gauges. Ya stupid question.
Tinker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2022, 12:29 AM   #20
Tinker
Senior Member
 
Tinker's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MN
Posts: 7,053
Default Re: Overheating issues

Handy tool you can get almost everywhere.


https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lase...00837ZGRY?th=1
Tinker is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:49 PM.