This may take a bit of explaining. Was driving my 57 last month and the temp went up to 220 while cruising (24c out),has always run at 180-190. Stopped at a gas station and checked oil for water,cooled it down removed cap and checked rad for foam. Nothing in either. Figured it was thermostat, so I picked one up before holidays but didn't get it insalled untill last night. So while I had the car apart I pulled the rad,tubes looked clean,also filled the rad with water while covering the outlet on the bottom with my hand. Took my hand off and the rad drained in about 3 seconds also tried to find online how much they should weigh so I could compare with mine...no luck! Removed the water pump (old style with removable back) no play when I tried to wiggle the fan,not leaking and impeller looked fine. Put the old thermostat in water on the stove and checked with temp gun,seemed to open/close at the right temps. Don't think it's timing(idle hasn't changed).Flashed her up tonight and same thing. Temp keeps creeping if I let idle in yard and also climbs under load on a small hill. Have been driving the car for 30 years and it happend all of a sudden? Am I missing something????
Bottom hose is fine and am running a mid 60's truck fan. Same fan as the ones we ran in our race cars, only one that would keep a sb 400 cool. Will do the old paper trick,if I remember right it should hold a piece of paper against the rad at idle.
-- Edited by hawkeye5766 on Wednesday 7th of September 2016 01:07:30 AM
Maybe your impeller is slipping? If your anti-freeze was clean, you wouldn't think it could be a blockage in the system somewhere.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
I would try removing the drain plugs on both sides of the block and see if any fluid comes out. The block collects a lot of crud from the bottom up and a lot of times these drain holes are plugged and not allowing a full circulation of coolant throught the block. GM sells a heavy duty cleaning agent that you mix with water to clean the block .Another thing to check is to turn on the heater full blast and see if the extra circulation through the heater core helps cool the engine down. Timing could also be advanced to cause the engine to run hotter.
It could very well be the rad. Have had 1 that looked fine, not all crudded up anything and just wouldn't work.
Pretty much same scenario as you have. Tried everything, different stats, caps, made shrouds, flushed, no change. Buddy gave me a rad that he said was good. Didn't look a whole lot better than mine but what the hay put her in. No more issue. Held a steady 180, maybe hit 200 in traffic on a +30 day, but soon as you move back to normal.
The rad can build up a coating some times that doesn't block flow but does hamper heat transfer.
I am curious to hear the final results on this...I am agreeing with Dano...I had a 56 caddy and had the same problem....Turned out to be the rad. Hope you get it fixed soon....Almost out of nice drivable days this year!
i see you have a temp.gun.....you might want to get the car in that over heat situation,then check sections of the rad ..that would
show any blockage.....
i see you have a temp.gun.....you might want to get the car in that over heat situation,then check sections of the rad ..that would show any blockage.....
Was getting 195-200 at top of rad and 165-175 at bottom, is that enough of a differance? Think I have a 6 cyl rad that I can make fit and see if it changes any before I go out and buy a new rad.
Got the rad out,again. Seems to be the original 1(Harrison 3135643) which is 60 years old now! Will check on recoring/cleaning and the $$$ of a new one. Weighs the same as my 6 cyl one but the 6cyl rad is bigger(wider). Will let you guys know when fixed and thanks for the suggestions!
The original rad will have a honeycomb style core. I do not think replacement cores are available in honeycomb style. I had an original 55 rad done a couple of years ago having the tanks removed the core cleaned with the tubes done properly and the shop charged me $250 and guaranteed it to cool a 350 hp engine. Today new aluminium rads are available at a resonable price but with the lower Can $ it makes a difference. Try and save the original core as they are getting harder to find and if it is repairable I would fix it. I did not know there was a difference in width of the 6 and 8 rads just that the six mounted in the front of the rad support and the 8 behind.
The original rad will have a honeycomb style core. I do not think replacement cores are available in honeycomb style. I had an original 55 rad done a couple of years ago having the tanks removed the core cleaned with the tubes done properly and the shop charged me $250 and guaranteed it to cool a 350 hp engine. Today new aluminium rads are available at a resonable price but with the lower Can $ it makes a difference. Try and save the original core as they are getting harder to find and if it is repairable I would fix it. I did not know there was a difference in width of the 6 and 8 rads just that the six mounted in the front of the rad support and the 8 behind.
Al
6 cyl rad is about an inch wider, mounting tabs r flat and straight, the v8 rad mounts have a 1/2 kick out on them. No Honeycomb in 57 as far as I recall,maybe ended in 55?? Thanks for the info,will look into recoring if needed,new ones are $$$$.
Might be digging into this a little deeper. Like Dan suggested, mounted up the 6 cyl rad. Made up a couple of brackets and found new old rad hose (NOS)lying around that I cut to fit. Took her for a drive....same problem!! 60 deg out and still creeps to 210 at idle in driveway,will run/hold at 190 driving but soon as you stop up she goes. If I rev it up to 2400 rpm for about a minute it will come down to 180 but with in 10 seconds of dropping rpm to idle it's back up to 190???? No hot/cold spots in new rad. Has me stumped. Head gasket or water pump circulation???? New rad is about $500(will check into re coring) but don't want to buy one and find out thats not the problem. Will go for a good run and pull a big hill on the weekend (Lots of good hills on the island).
Sounding more like a flow problem, either coolant or air.
If it was head gasket you should see bubbles/foam in the coolant and it should be building pressure under load and pushing some out, and white puff of smoke on start up.
Did you do the paper trick on the rad to see if the fan is pulling enough?
How's the rad cap? Is it maintaining proper pressure? That can effect coolant flow as well.
Could be sediment in the block from sitting, finally built up enough.
It's a messy job in the car but pull the block drains and see what comes out, poke around in there with a wire, then flush that sucker good.
Gotta be some thing that can change just from sitting if it was fine before.
Water pump!!!!!Stopped on the way home and picked up a water pump, figured for $28 what the heck. Put it on,idle in driveway 180. Went for a cruise,luged her up a hill...180. Pulled the old one apart again,all the vanes on impeller are good or seem to be? Just glad to be able to drive with 2 weeks insurance left.