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By 58meteorranchero - 7 Years Ago
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Hey everyone I am looking for ideas. I not really comfortable with the engine temperatures on warm days. I find it climbs on the gauge from the 3/4 mark to the 7/8 mark at idle in traffic or when I get on the throttle for a bit of fun. The car has a fresh 272 with 1000 miles on it and has a Ford-o-matic for a transmission and a 2 row radiator that was freshly rebuilt though the top rad tank was not soldered well so I had to fix it.
This is what I have tried so far.
1. Fixed rad leak in top tank seam pressured to 18 lbs held pressure for 4 hours perfectly and the rad cap tested fine at 13 lbs.
2. Put on a flex-a-lite fan to replace the stock fan.
3. Put on a fan shroud it is not perfect as far as opening, but the fan is 1" from the rad and only half way into the shroud it will pull a paper towel into the rad in the front from 6" easily at idle.
4. Increased the jet size by one number past stock to make up for today's fuels and I only run premium that has zero ethanol.
5. Set the timing to 10 degrees BTDC.
6. At idle the engine has a steady vacuum of 18 hg.
7. Set the valves to 21 thou cold and you can hear them at cold idle then they quiet up as the engine warms.
8. Engine idles at 500 rpm and has a very slight miss every so often, but seems fine.
9. The engine has dual 2 1/4" exhaust with no warm up riser on the one side.
Now any ideas the water pump was a rebuilt from Napa the rad has coolant 1/2" from top edge of rad cap the tank is slanted to the front and when it shuts down a couple tbsp of coolant vents. I am running a 60-40 mix of coolant and water. The thermostat is 190 degrees. Am I worrying too much?
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By charliemccraney - 7 Years Ago
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It sounds like you are using the stock gauge, which isn't useful for much more than noticing when something is out of the ordinary.
Get a laser or infrared thermometer and maybe even a proper gauge that indicates the temperature for the inside of the car. You will not be able to determine if there is an issue until you know what the temperature is.
The infrared can be used to check the idle temperature. Simply let it idle and check the temperature right behind the thermostat. You really want to ensure that it stabilizes. The temperature is not so much of a concern so long as it is not overheating. The engine is not overheating until coolant is boiling out. It may run hotter than you are comfortable with but not boiling = not overheating.
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By GREENBIRD56 - 7 Years Ago
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Does it actually overflow at all?
Get an accurate reading of the temperature at the thermostat housing with the engine warmed up. The "high" reading of the gauge may not be indicative of the actual temp. One of the infrared hand-helds works good for this.
Dump the flexible fan and get a real six blade with some pitch to it.
Check into reducing the water pump pulley size so you can move more water through the cooling system. At hot idle, with an automatic in gear and the brakes locked - usually not much water flow.
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By oldcarmark - 7 Years Ago
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58meteorranchero (5/23/2018)
Hey everyone I am looking for ideas. I not really comfortable with the engine temperatures on warm days. I find it climbs on the gauge from the 3/4 mark to the 7/8 mark at idle in traffic or when I get on the throttle for a bit of fun. The car has a fresh 272 with 1000 miles on it and has a Ford-o-matic for a transmission and a 2 row radiator that was freshly rebuilt though the top rad tank was not soldered well so I had to fix it. This is what I have tried so far. 1. Fixed rad leak in top tank seam pressured to 18 lbs held pressure for 4 hours perfectly and the rad cap tested fine at 13 lbs. 2. Put on a flex-a-lite fan to replace the stock fan. 3. Put on a fan shroud it is not perfect as far as opening, but the fan is 1" from the rad and only half way into the shroud it will pull a paper towel into the rad in the front from 6" easily at idle. 4. Increased the jet size by one number past stock to make up for today's fuels and I only run premium that has zero ethanol. 5. Set the timing to 10 degrees BTDC. 6. At idle the engine has a steady vacuum of 18 hg. 7. Set the valves to 21 thou cold and you can hear them at cold idle then they quiet up as the engine warms. 8. Engine idles at 500 rpm and has a very slight miss every so often, but seems fine. 9. The engine has dual 2 1/4" exhaust with no warm up riser on the one side. Now any ideas the water pump was a rebuilt from Napa the rad has coolant 1/2" from top edge of rad cap the tank is slanted to the front and when it shuts down a couple tbsp of coolant vents. I am running a 60-40 mix of coolant and water. The thermostat is 190 degrees. Am I worrying too much?
You might also look into replacing the Rad with an Aluminum replacement. Available on Ebay. Very reasonable Price. I have One and very happy with it. Seems well made, fits good, and does make a difference in stabilizing Temp. I use a Widemouth 170 Stat. Napa #6 THM6. Ebay item # 272960634233, The opening is bigger than regular Stat. More flow. .Others will suggest a "Robertshaw" type Stat. I have tried 3 of these and could never get them to work properly. This Napa 6 worked great right from the start. A Mechanical Temp Gauge is far more accurate than the original Dash Gauge. I drilled and tapped behind the Thermostat Housing on the flat part of the Intake Manifold for the Sender.
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By Florida_Phil - 7 Years Ago
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My 55 TBird ran hot idling in traffic. I replaced the stock radiator with a three row Champion aluminum radiator. I also removed the stock fan and installed an electric fan in it's place. The whole package cost me less than $350. Now I don't have to hear the old "wind mill" fan and my car runs 170 degrees in hot Florida weather. Best upgrade I ever did.
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By 58meteorranchero - 7 Years Ago
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All great ideas everyone. I will check with my infrared tester and consider a smaller pulley.
Anyone know of what pulley and where to get it on line?
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By oldcarmark - 7 Years Ago
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If You measure your Diameter You should be able to find One on Ebay. Many of the Ford V-8 Pulleys can Interchange. Just check the Height from inside the Pulley to the end of the "Snout" sitting on a flat Surface. If You know what Diameter Yours is someone on the Site may have a smaller One. 7" seems to be a popular stock Diameter. Try and find One 6 1/2 or 6 3/8. Put an ad on the Classifieds Section..
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By Talkwrench - 7 Years Ago
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At 1000 miles Id say it should be settled in...but? . As others have said check with a good gauge and infrared . Thermostat would be best at 180, but Im sure what you have is fine.
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By DryLakesRacer - 7 Years Ago
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I followed Greenbirds advice 6 yrs ago with a smaller pully. Bought mine for a 60's Mustang along with a spacer kit from Summit. I also added a plug to the bypass hose and drilled a 1/8" hole in it. With these two changes I was able to use a 4 blade fan to keep the noise down. I believe a 180 thermostat should be your max and remember your radiator is not the only item in your system that sees the pressure. I use a #7 pound cap. Good luck.
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By Loon - 7 Years Ago
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For 13 years I struggled with our ’56 Thunderbird overheating, particularly at low engine speeds. Then four years ago, I reached my boiling point and engaged a project to identify and resolve the issue. ASU Now recently did a story on the project that you can see at: https://asunow.asu.edu/20180403-solutions-making-thunderbirds-cool or you can see the details on our website:
https://pti-az.com/
Casting Flash
Cooling Research Detail
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic135031.aspx
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By Tedster - 7 Years Ago
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What is the "sweet spot" temperature for Y blocks? I've noticed the tendency in general for a lot of vintage car enthusiasts is to run 160° F thermostats. Let's leave Flatheads, tuning for maximum horsepower and icing down intake manifolds kind of stuff out of it. What operating temperature are we looking at as optimum? What did the engineers shoot for?
When I read the Operator's Manual, it states that the 160° thermostats are for use when using alcohol-based or methanol antifreeze, and "185-195 degree thermostats provide better fuel economy"; the '64 Shop Manual goes on to list in the specifications that for "all engines" that thermostat opens from 185° to 192° and fully open at 210° to 212°, so it seems to me a 195° F is right in there with the design spec, but this choice will never come up in the aftermarket catalogs or cross reference as a suitable choice.
Some will even suggest in a general way that the 195° F thermostats are a smog era emissions creation. This doesn't seem to be the case.
An early spring roadtrip I took last year left me a believer in the 195°, using a 180° F thermostat, a strong bitter cold wind left the heater unable to cope even on full blast. Normally the heater will run you out. I think a lot of people might have swapped between a "winter" and "summer" thermostat, but I'd like to run a 195° year round, even in summer. Any insight into this, the conventional wisdom versus the black & white in the manuals?
OP: one thing to check is the distributor advance, make sure the distributor advance plate isn't sticking, centrifugal mechanism moving smoothly throughout RPM range, and the vacuum advance is working as advertised. Retarded ignition timing will run very hot and is sometimes overlooked.
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By DryLakesRacer - 7 Years Ago
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I listed above how i fixed what i felt was too much temp earlier. I run a 160 thermo and since have learned 170 was standard and NAPA sells them. Look up under Mopar vehicles I will make that change when I get a chance.. By the mid 1960's manufacturers raised their temps in cars; a 1965 GM car i had used a 195 thermo which I left in until I added an AC unit then moved to a 180 and everything was good.
If you have a recovery unit on you car watch it. If not and you run 1/2"to 3/4" low in the tank as when the car was new and your not loosing coolant I wouldn't worry about it. If it does, do the smaller pulley and get peace of mind when in hot weather with in town driving.
Fuel mileage is better when hotter along with burning off condensation or new cars wouldn't be that way. Good Luck
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By Tedster - 7 Years Ago
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Well like many things automotive there is usually plenty of misinformation out there by some with how things actually work. Y Blocks aren't especially known for overheating issues compared with some engine platforms, seems to me.
But generally when there is a true overheating issue, a lower temperature thermostat isn't really much benefit, and poses other problems as you point out. They do tend to slow the engine warmup, and maybe delay the onset of boilover. Thermostat maintains the floor on engine temperature, not the high side - I see this fact overlooked or misunderstood a lot.
Really clean internal coolant passages, and a "rodded out" radiator with same seems to be key to any cooling system. Sediment and scale buildup on older engines cause trouble no matter what.
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By Half-dude - 7 Years Ago
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Timing is what made the big difference for me. My timing was way off and it made me overheat no matter what kind of driving in about 20 minutes.
Im usually fine now, but on a hot day and/or if I get stuck in traffic especially on the highway where the car was just prior running hard down that road she'll rise up into the 200-212 range of temperature. But then if I get moving again and drive the engine easy she'll slowly cool down back to 190-180.
I've kinda got into the habit of treating my Ford like a motor cycle with an air cooled engine, realizing I gotta keep moving to stay cool. So since I'm familiar with the city Im in I'll avoid routes with traffic and lots of lights.
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