Me and my son took the skylark on A trip yesterday, and came home this evening, and it started running hot around home it would run 190 ,195 .Yesterday on our trip it started running 210 to 220 and I could hear like A spark knock at times ,and wasn't doing it at 195. I'm running A 180 stat ,and I checked my clutch fan by spinning it ,it would turn about once and stop so it should be good. Its got A new water pump ,the guy I bought it from put in A new copper rad.I was thinking about putting in A 160 stat and seeing if that helps.
I checked it befor I went on my trip, it runs best at 36° never heard it spark knock. On my trip I noticed it running 210 and sounded like A spark knock, so I pulled over and retarded the distributor just A little probably no more that 2° or so and helped.On my way home 4 hours it ran 220 the hole time.It has been very hot ,but 220 seems to hot to be.
It seemed like the harder I ran it on the highway the hotter it would get .It does have AC but I have the belt off the pump.I put glass in it at two gas stations, no difference .
I would check timing and points. Change gas filter. Check coolant level and if cap holds pressure. If Car sat a long time with coolant in it it can start buildup inside radiator
I looked inside of the rad,it has some lime looking build up,so maybe that is my problem. Should I do A rad flush,and what to use.
Is the vacuum advance working? What is the timing (vacuum advance included) at your highway cruise RPM? What concentration of anti freeze are you running? What thermostat? Are you running a shroud?
Larry I just checked timing with my dail up light. I retardant the timing more than I thought be side the road on my trip. Total timing is 30° with vac disconnect and 34°vac connected .I made A vac stop out of A bicycle chain link and never did check it with A light it had about 1/8 of movement so I thought that was good enough .Now I only have 4° of vac advance ,and that could be some of my heat problem. I need to open it up some and check it with my light ,and bump the timing up some.I may be A little rich on my antifreeze to.I'm running A shroud with A clutch fan.The thermostat I'm using is A 180 ,I'm thinking about putting in A 160 ,it gets pretty hot here in southeast WV.
Those white deposits are solder bloom, a reaction between the solder and anti freeze. It is somewhat normal but over time can clog the tubes. http://www.rediradwaterloo.ca/radiator.htm In my experience, there isn’t much you can do about it except try and flush the system. Try looking in the parts store for a radiator flush and follow the directions. Aluminum radiators don’t suffer from this type of corrosion, another reason to get one next time. If your engine heats up the faster you go on the highway, that usually means clogged or insufficient radiator capacity. Check your timing at CRUISE RPM as well.
Anti freeze doesn’t conduct heat as well as water, so the more you use, the worse your heat transfer. You can use 100% distilled water if you use an anti corrosion additive. Red Line Water wetter is a great additive for this. You can use it with just water or a reduced A/F mix, but 100% water is the ultimate. https://www.redlineoil.com/waterwetter-coolant-additives
Ok thanks Larry Do you think that only 4° of vac advance would make it run hot.I didn't realize that was all it had ,I should have checked it with A light after I made the stop.
You really want it around low 40’s at cruise RPM. The only reason to restrict the vacuum advance is if you have your mechanical advance in quicker. The stock curve was slow enough so that only part of the mechanical advance was in. In that case, the stock canister provided the 14-18* to get you right around 40* on the highway. If ALL your mechanical advance is in at your CRUISE RPM, then 14-18 is too much and the vacuum advance only needs to be 8-10 to get you right around 40 or so.
I done A rad flush on my car,took thermostat out ,flushed motor, rad with A garden hose .I put two bottles of Prestone rad flush+cleaner ,and ran it this weekend to do the heavy duty cleaning like directions said.This morning I took off bottom rad hose and drained .I took off top hose ,and used garden hose and flushed motor block and rad very good.I used A bucket to catch the water and it was A lot of rusty looking crude came out ,especially the rad. So I would say the rad was restricted,probably my heat problem But I created A nother problem ,I took the over flow hose off rad to flush over flow tank.I had to get pretty ruff with the hose ,and now the over flow nipple in rad is loose. You can wiggle it and it has some play.Do I need to solder it , I'm worried it might leak or suck air.
Yes, it will leak. The system is pressurized. You'll probably end up replacing the radiator. In my experience, once they are clogged, no amount of flushing will help enough.
I was afraid you might say that. Could I try soldering the nipple or JB weld.My wife is throwing A fit at all the money I have been spending on it.The radiator is not original, the man I bought the car from put A new copper rad in it in 1999,I have the receipt. But car has sat most of them years in tell I bought it about A year and half ago.
