radiator-cooling question

[Charlie55]

I bought this 55 back in the winter, now that we are in the spring I'm concerned about over heating. I do not know a lot about the history of the car. It's a 327 4 speed car, appears to be a strong engine, runs great!

Just around town stop/go it runs about 190 degrees, when I cruise on the highway it heats up to about 210 degrees. It has a flex fan, no shroud. The radiator appears to be an original type. (I thought a shroud helped in stop and go traffic). While cruising on the highway it turns up 2800 rpm @ 65mph. Any thoughts?? I'm not a mechanic however I would expect the opposite hot in stop/go and cooler @ highway speeds. I have added a few pictures of the set-up.

[topdog]

Could be that the coolant is running to fast thru the radiator . Does it have a thermostat . I am running a modified 327 4 speed with flex fan and no shroud and engine runs cool.

[55]

Put a 185/195 theromstat in there and maybe try a smaller trans cooler. It should be ok with that pusher fan up there to assist things but I'm sure that trans cooler is blocking a lot of air. You could also try a better flex fan in there such as one of the good aluminum ones if there's enough room.

The fact that it heats up on the highway almost tells me the coolant is free flowing and that it might not have a thermostat. That's the first thing to check. Mine ran 195-200 in town and 185-190 on the highway or at speed but I also had a 3 row core in a V8 position.

[topdog]

nothing stock about your set up. looks like a non stock cross flow radiator with aux FAN. one fan pushes air and one pulls air. still think coolant may be moving so fast at high speed it doesnt cool. Is the pusher fan ( one in front of radiator) running all the time or it controled with a temp. switch.

[Charlie55]

the pusher fan is on the ac condenser, 5 inches or so infront of the radiator, I replaced the thermostat with 160 degree, should I go higher and slow down the flow???

[trifive]

When you replace the thermostat, don't get the cheap ones, ask for the best they have , trust me they are really made differant , that is all it took to cure a heating problem on my truck.


Otis

[Chevynut]

Originally Posted by topdog

Could be that the coolant is running to fast thru the radiator .

Oh jeezus.

[Chevynut]

Originally Posted by Charlie55

the pusher fan is on the ac condenser, 5 inches or so infront of the radiator, I replaced the thermostat with 160 degree, should I go higher and slow down the flow???

A higher temp thermostat won't slow down the flow. In fact, a thermostat's job is to keep the engine hot, not to cool it. So putting in a cooler temperature thermostat will do nothing to help an overheating situation..it's already fully open no matter the temperature rating.

If you slow the flow down, you will cause it to run hotter. That's a physical fact.

It's possible that your flow is restricted now by a partially clogged radiator, or by the radiator outlet hose collapsing at higher pump flow rates. Make sure there is a wire coil inside the hose. Also your pusher fan could be causing a problem by blocking air through the radiator at higher speeds, when the engine is making more power. I would consider removing the pusher fan and see if that makes a difference. Puller fans are a lot better.

[wraplock]

a shroud would help but be sure your fan blades are between 1/2 to 3/4 of the way into the shroud for it to work properly. As Chevynut suggested check to see if you have a coil spring in the lower hose to insure against collapse. I don't like the aluminum flex fans. They are meant to flatten out at higher speeds and then they draw less air. Seems to me you need more air flow at higher speeds not less. The ac condenser looks like it's blocking a lot of air flow so I would run a fan that pulls more air and use a shroud. A good steel fan with 5 or more steel blades and a shroud is what I use, and I do not use a clutch fan.

Don

[Rick_L]

You probably have either a clogged radiator or a thermostat that doesn't open all the way.

Both are examples of how a restriction (or restrictor) causes overheating rather than preventing it.