XB coupe overheating problem!
Goad
My fairly heavily worked 351 has an extreme over heating problem.
The radiator was flush 2 weeks ago (4 core)
both hoses are new
thermostat is new (but only opens about 2.5mm max after checking with hot
kettle water just then)
use a 13psi (90kpa) cap
missing my expansion tank, hose just runs onto the ground
and the water pump looks ok
fitted a 16" thermo fan about 2 months ago
have an air conditioning condenser no more than 2cm in front of the radiator
I am at a total loss to what the problem is.
My first thought is that perhaps the thermostat is buggered and should open
more than what it is at the moment.
Or perhaps because of the missing expansion tank, the pressure build up is
being lost through the hose, therefore allowing the water to just keep
getting hotter because of little pressure (it pisses out water after turning
her off when she is boiling)
the condenser in front is restricting the flow of air onto the radiator too
much (but wouldnt the thermo fan which is behind the radiator [sucking]
aleviate this?
My mates monaro has a bypass system that connect the bottom hose to the top
hose, therefore the hot water essentially goes through the radiator
twice.....this totally eliminated his overheating probelm, even with a
600+hp 350.
If anyone can help me at all, it would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Travis Goad
Cliff
many years ago and it never had one. Neither did the 4door 351 I had (at
least from memory). A common problem with these is the spring (or lack of)
in the bottom(?) radiator hose. If you bought a hose without one it
collapses under the suck of the pump.
Over heating with this kind of set up was always common. Particularly with a
thermo fan. Flexi fans work much much better, are cheaper, look better,
sound better, give almost as much increase in hp and are heaps more
reliable...I would sell the thermo fan and invest part of the cash in a $60
flexi fan.
Failing that there is a company in Sydney that sells a setup that moves the
thermostat to the bottom radiator hose utilising by pass tubes. I don't know
what the name is off hand but can find out if you want to know. Apparently
this system increases the life of the engine as it is much more reliable
than having the thermostat in the motor, and more accurate...
Hope I have been of a little help. If you have any questions please feel
free to ask, I have forgotten a lot about these cars but I remember a hell;
of a lot too...rebuilt a couple ;of the things...had the coupe at the Summer
Nats two years in a row...
my names Cliff...
drop over some time.
cl...@apex.net.au
Goad <htjg...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:386350e4$0$19...@motown.iinet.net.au...
Goad
I actually removed the flexi fan from the car then put in thermo, thinking
that it would cool better at idle/low revs and be a hell of a lot safer
also, plus releasing more power.
Tomorrow I'm going to give it a run with no thermostat at all and see how it
goes, a suggestion from a few mates that can't do any harm.
If that doesn't work I'll put the flexi fan back on.
If that doesn't work I'll probably give it to someone else to fix for me.
Thanks again,
Travis Goad
Cliff <cl...@apex.net.au> wrote in message
news:94607447...@draal.apex.net.au...
Goad
I removed the thermostat totally this morning and it has made a significant
difference.
I drove the car in the middle of the day (about 34 degrees I think) and it
took quite some time for the engine to get to 90deg C and it never really
hit 100. Later in the evening I drove it to the movies and it only hit 100
once I got to the carpark....aside from the backfire at the lights earlier
(new carby now rather black) it ran good. On the way home (at about 8pm
when it was cooler) it sat on about 90 the whole way so that is a
significant improvent from the other night.
I thought removing the thermostat wouldn't of done much because as you said
the water would be going through the radiator and engine so fast it would
give it a chance. I don't think the previous thermostat which only opened
about 2.5mm max was doing it much good either.
Referring to your previous email, when you meant try a flexi-fan did you
mean a fan with a viscous coupling or a fan that is belt driven, the speed
determined by the revs of course?
ALOT of heat is coming off the engine. On Wednesday night my hydraulic
clutch like burst, which as you may well know is a common falcon-thing.
About 7 inches of the line is a plastic to allow for flex. Well it turned
quite ugly (could of been worse) as it burst, sprayed fluid all over the
extractors then ignited. Luckily my mate was looking at the time it
happened and it went out.....needless to say I need a tow home that night.
I was going to fit a custom line, ie bypassing the extractors but because
the slave is not 2 inches away from the pipes, it was inevitable that it was
going to get damn hot no matter what. I decided to get the standard ford
line with the plastic part and I bought a High-Energy anti-heat/fire thermal
wrap which should keep alot of the heat out and off the clutch line.
I am thinking seriously about the thermal wrap that you put around the
extractors to also deter alot of the heat. If anything dripped onto the
extractors (ie oil/fluid) then it wouldn't burn and smoke as prominantly as
it has been since the clutch line burst. The only thing I don't like about
the idea is the time it will be off the road (again) and the cost of that
wrap...not cheap stuff. But yes, keeping the heat in the engine bay down is
a good idea. After driving the car for 20mins, I can feel the heat coming
up the shiftter and through the air vents.
I'm not sure about the oiling in the bores....how do I check this?
I was a little worried about the engine after I put the new carby on as I
was unware of the PCV valve. I thought it just plugged into the bottom of
the air clear for anti-pollution. Because it was just left there dangling,
smoke was pissing out of the breather on the right rocker cover and also
because of the vacuum leak in the carby, the revs just didn't want to come
down at all. It was good for gunning it as the revs stayed up between each
change. But anyway, thats fixed.
Thanks for comments,
Regards,
Travis Goad
----- Original Message -----
From: Cliff <cl...@apex.net.au>
To: Goad <htjg...@iinet.net.au>
Sent: Monday, December 27, 1999 4:40 AM
Subject: Re: XB coupe overheating problem!
> Hmmm we tried removing the thermostat a few times with things like
mustangs,
> and coupes, the only problem with doing that is it will tend to run
colder
> than it should...not good for a hot 351...and/or it may run even hotter
> because the water flows faster through the radiator than it should
therefore
> not cooling enough on the way through...another sugestion with a hot 351
is
> improve the flow of air through the engine bay...this can be done a number
> of ways, a scoop of some description or adjusting the bonnet hinges a
touch
> so the back of the bonnet sits up and allows the air to escape. Also if
you
> have sound proofing lining the bonnet get rid of that, it tends to act
like
> a blanket...good luck.
> Let me know how it turns out.
> As an aside, how is the oiling in the bores? Hot 351s have a tendancy to
> push oil to the top of the bores, increasing a number of problems (ask
Allan
> Moffat he'll tell you all about that problem from his racing days) and
> sometimes that will agravate overheating...
>
> my names Cliff...
> drop over some time.
> cl...@apex.net.au
Rob
You should run a thermostat. Running no thermostat will shorten your engine
life heaps. Causes uneven bore/ring wear.
If your carby is sucking air or is not set up for your engine and is running
lean you will overheat as well.
Thermostat should open about 1/2".
Do check the spring in the bottom hose.
If your engine has been rebuilt recently, your head gaskets could be on back
to front. This will cause engine to boil.
Your PCV valve should be connected to the base of the carby or onto the
manifold somewhere. This will suck moisture and fuel out of the crank case
and keep your oil in top condition.
regards
Rob
Goad <htjg...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:38661fdc$0$17...@motown.iinet.net.au...
Goad
I'm taking it to a place tomorrow to hopefully get it sussed out.
I'm not happy about running it with no thermostat either.
Connecting the PCV hose made a big difference, hehe.
I think it may be running lean yes.,...dissapointing considering i got the
carby rebuilt 2 weeks ago
Regards,
Travis
Laura Gorton
Is it easy to put the head gaskets on the wrong way???
do you mean the wrong way as in the left head gasket on the right side, etc,
or upside down??
if you put it on upside down does it still look right or something???
I rebuilt the motor a while ago and it has done the overheating thing ever
since.
It has a 3 core GT radiator so that shouldn't be the prob..
anyway gotta go.
thanks
Rob
1) They look like Windsor HGs and guys used to Windors will know the large
water jackets holes go to the back! Wrong for clevo they go to the front.
2) Some HGs are silver on one side and blue on the other! So blue side up on
both sides? Wrong one silver side up on one side and blue side up on the
other.
3) The large water return holes have to go to the front on both sides.
Goad one other thing timing can also cause overheating.
Regards
Rob
Goad <htjg...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:386a14de$0$20...@motown.iinet.net.au...
Goad
I'm pretty sure I have sussed out the heating problem.
Today I replaced my electric thermo fan with a flexifan, put in a new 180
Trident thermostat, then topped her up with Distilled Watter and Redline
Water Wetter.....Seamed to do the trick quite well.
It still backfired a few times at the carby....only started happening since
I got it modified the other week.
Too lean?
I'll ring them tomorrow
Thanks Rob,
Its Travis :)
Regards