getting hot

[mr0077]

Sounds like your lower radiator hose may be collapsing (sucking shut) when you increase the revs. It should have a coil of wire like a spring inside it to hold it open.

[dragon462]

Alum hoses rejeted the carb ,and set timimg at 35 let it run for 15 min. then went for a drive went to 200 but did not go over...runs very gooooood

[dragon462]

drove the car again and it got hot. so i checked the head gaskets like everyone said and running the fellpro 1020's the gaskets are marked front and have a water passage in the back. IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY THEY GO ON! is any body running a water resictor and not a thermostat? Is any body running a march pully system with a victor jr. water pump? If you think you have any idea please tell me!

[rblong]

Sorry your having problems - I have run with and without a stat and the only difference it made is at speed in cool weather it got too cool wo the stat. Your not running all antifreeze are you? I saw it asked earlier but did not see your answer. What diameter are your pulleys - crank and water pump?

[dragon462]

50/50 the crank is 5.5 and the waterpump is 5.75

[byron w]

dragon462, I have watched this thread with great interest. I would suggest that you spend $100.00 and buy a FlowKooler water pump. I have known several people, not all mind you, that have had trouble like you are having with the Edelbrock pump. I am not saying they are bad but there is good and bad in everything. With all of your effort I would spend the $100.00.
The only time I have ever had a heating problem with an FE was when I used a pink or yellow antifreeze. I now only use green. Yes, I have had some very fast, low 11 second 427 in a 3700 pond car, which was pretty fast in the early 70's.

Good luck and I hope you figure out your problem. I forgot to ask, do you have the by-pass hose installed between the water pump and the intake?
Byron W.

[dragon462]

yes i am using the by-pass hose. and i can get the pump where?? i am going to put it back together and change the t-stat and put the hole in it...if it still runs hot i will try the pump next thank you

[byron w]

You can get the pump from Summit Racing. Good luck!!

[bulletbrown]

Dragon 462 , I had the same problem with my FE 390 . I took it to a speed shop and this is a list of things they found,
The March pulley's are to much of and under drive .
The radiator they came with the kit package was just to small , they like to rate them by the HP of the engine , a radiator manufacture I had on the phone Question that logic.
The radiator was replaced and moved forward and upright, it was tilted back.
Replaced the Mickey Mouse fan that came with the kit with a 2002 Viper fan assembly , cost 189 from Chrysler and is a two speed , a real bargin for the price , it comes with flaps on the corners that close at slow speeds.
I run a 180 stat. and I have solved the problems . Good Luck.

[496fe]

Maybe someone else has covered this, but the most important factor in cooling is not coolant flow, it is AIR flow. You need to be sure that every cubic centimeter of air entering the nose goes THROUGH the radiator, not around it. Plug every opening around the radiator, preventing any air from entering the engine compartment without going through the radiator. To test this theory, use duct tape for a temporay solution. Also make sure that all the air goes through the fan. You need shrouding for this to seal the fan and radiator. That Viper fan sounds like it's on the right track.

Don't get distracted by water flow - if it stays in the radiator a little longer, it just gets cooler while it's in there.

Sounds like you have all the mechanical stuff right.

[496fe]

I just looked at some pics of the Viper fan - that is the hot (ahem) ticket! The little doors allow air through the radiator at speed without distubance from the fan. When not moving, the suction from the fan closes the doors. The downside is that it is kinda ugly and cobbly-looking.

[jwoodard]

Dragon,

I agree with the comment on air flow through the radiator. When I had my Lone Star I purchased a really neat shroud and fan combo from Vintage Air that fit the LSC radiator, had the little trap doors and the fan pulled 2900 CFM if my memory serves me right. That in combination with some shrouding around the outside of the radiator to force all the air through the radiator cured any heating issues I had. Even in 100 plus degree days that we have here in Texas, the car ran at 190 - 195.
Here's a photo that shows it:

[bulletbrown]

496FE ,my Viper Fan looks great and is the best answer I found for the max air flow . It fits like a glove .

[byron w]

Bulletbrown, Could you please post a pic? I can't seem to find one.
Thanks,
Byron

[bulletbrown]

byron ,I will take a picture of the fan tonight , and see if I can post it here tomorrow.

[byron w]

Thank you !!!!

[rblong]

Dragon - do a search for my topics on LSC cooling - I did about everything you can do as far as shrouds etc. and had great luck. I just got back in town and have not had a chance to measure my pulleys, but I will tomorrow. I know it is frustrating, but hang in there.

Unless you have missed something very basic (which your sound like you know mechanics) we will get you covered. If your overheating at speed it has nothing to do with fan, but maybe waterflow, airflow dynamics, radiator size etc.

I will get some cars moved around and get mine down off the lift tomorrow and get some info for you (it needs a bath anyway).

Do the search though, since I spent a lot of time on this before.

Bruce

[David Kirkham]

Dragon,

We had serious problems with the March pulleys on the FE motors. They are undersized. What happens is the water in the radiator may get cooler because it is in there longer, but the water in the heads boils and everything goes to hell pretty quick as you have now fallen off the cliff and no amount of cool radiator water will save you. At idle there is no air flow, by definition, so you have to do something else.

One day while working on a customer's car that was particularly troublesome I noticed the original pulleys were very close to the same size, or, a 1:1 ratio. The water pump was actually running a little slower than the harmonic balancer pulley on an original car. So, I changed the pulleys on the customer's car and all the overheating problems went out the window!

So, we made a new set of pulleys that actually over drives the water pump. All problems gone (in that department, at least).

That said, there has been a lot of good info posted here. But, there is one more thing we found. We put bypassing fuel pressure regulators in our cars--complete with return lines to the gas tank. That way the fuel can't get hot sitting on the intake manifold. Vapor lock and hot engines are all exacerbated by hot fuel. These are all small things, but they all add up to an overheating motor so you have to pay attention to all the details.

David

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

One day while working on a customer's car that was particularly troublesome I noticed the original pulleys were very close to the same size, or, a 1:1 ratio. The water pump was actually running a little slower than the harmonic balancer pulley on an original car. So, I changed the pulleys on the customer's car and all the overheating problems went out the window!
)

Interesting. Question though, was the water pump stock or an edelbrock, which is supposed to flow more than a stock pump?

[undy]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

Dragon,

We had serious problems with the March pulleys on the FE motors. They are undersized. What happens is the water in the radiator may get cooler because it is in there longer, but the water in the heads boils and everything goes to hell pretty quick as you have now fallen off the cliff and no amount of cool radiator water will save you. At idle there is no air flow, by definition, so you have to do something else.

One day while working on a customer's car that was particularly troublesome I noticed the original pulleys were very close to the same size, or, a 1:1 ratio. The water pump was actually running a little slower than the harmonic balancer pulley on an original car. So, I changed the pulleys on the customer's car and all the overheating problems went out the window!

So, we made a new set of pulleys that actually over drives the water pump. All problems gone (in that department, at least).

That said, there has been a lot of good info posted here. But, there is one more thing we found. We put bypassing fuel pressure regulators in our cars--complete with return lines to the gas tank. That way the fuel can't get hot sitting on the intake manifold. Vapor lock and hot engines are all exacerbated by hot fuel. These are all small things, but they all add up to an overheating motor so you have to pay attention to all the details.

David

I too had problems w/ March pullies on my FE. The are waaay underdriven and as David said creates unacceptable engine temps. I ended up replacing the crank pulley with a larger diameter OEM one. Viola, temp problems cured.

Dave