i have a brand new 3 core radiator and a brand new water pump and i installed an electric fan and i have a clutch fan as well. the thermostat is a 190. In park it runs at 220 but when I put it in drive it starts to heat up right away. when I drive on the open road it runs fine but immediatley starts to heat up when in drive but stopped. what should I do?
Are you running the stock HD 7 bladed Buick fan? Do you have a fan cover? Is the fan clutch in good working order? Are you running the correct factory pulleys? Is there any hint of the coolant being mixed into the oil? Have the engine cylinders been bored? Have you back flushed the system to rid it of crude build up? If the stock cooling system is working properly there is no need for an electric fan.
running stock 7 blade clutch fan with electric, i am using the stock fan shroud on the 79 regal. the fan clutch works. I am using after market polished pulleys from poston. The motor has been rebuilt .030 with 10:1 pistons and a gs 116 cam form poston.
If they are underdrive aftermarket pulleys members have reported associated heating problems at low speed. They turn too slowly when the car is stopped in hot weather to drive the water pump fast enough. I would also check the belts for correct torque eliminating any slippage.
Oh All the billet aluminum pulleys are underdrive that I know of. Also, the impeller on the inside of the waterpump is probably a 5 blade instead of 6. I'd 1st try a NON-thermal unit for the fan.
Some tips: A 190 thermostat is too high, switch to a 160, high flow if available. Boil it to make sure it opens correctly. The plastic Air Dam on the bottom of the Rad support is worth 10* while driving. Check for Vaccum leaks, these can cause 20* changes during diving. Hot spots are carb gaskets and intake sealing. Get rid of any underdrive pulleys, the Regal engine bay is too small with a 455 to allow propercooling. Hope that helps!
Jim, I just put a head gasket on my 73 455. I keep getting coolant in the oil. I'm going to replace the water pump this weekend since at least two of the bolts are broken off. Can a defective water pump leak coolant into the oil?
An engine that has been bored, can run 10-15* hotter per .010 overbore. Some engines are worse than others. Most rebuilt 455's need a 4 core radiator. An engine won't run cooler if the thermostat won't let it. A 190* thermostat starts to open at 190, but it isn't fully open until 212* Go with the 160, or 180. Make sure the fan extends halfway into the fan shroud, and that the shroud fits to the radiator with no air space around it. Use less than 50% A/F water mix, if freeze protection is not an issue. Red Line water wetter(available at speed shops, and Pep Boys) also helps. What is your timing at idle? Configure the advance curve to come in at 2500 RPM or less, and use full manifold vacuum to the vacuum advance. This will help the engine to run cooler at idle and low speed. Underdrive pulleys are not helping here. Good luck.
WHOA! You've got a fried head gasket at the minimum. Coolant & oil can also mix if the front cover is cracked, but based on your cooling issues I'd bet on head gasket. BTW, Larry, that answers MY cooling questions from a few months back :TU: :beer
Is it fixed? Shamgar Did you find your problem and fix it yet? I had similar problems but woun't go into it if your fixed. If ok you might want close out with a sucess story. Weekender
As Jim said check the under driven water pump. Using both the small crank pulley and extra large water pump pulley will cause problems! Go find a smaller diameter water pump pulley... Use this "experience" as a reference. When your water pump is under driven by ~ 22% the idle temp. will increase to ~ 235 deg. F on warm days (Not acceptable). All things being equal if it is under driven by ~ 4% expect ~210 deg. F (acceptable). To calculate under driven or over driven water pumps measure the diameter (or circumference) of each and plug into the equation: Water pump pulley/crank pulley 6/4.9 = 1.22 or 22% under driven 5.1/4.9 = 1.04 or 4% under driven Assuming everything is working properly; a one to one ratio is a good compromise (opinion), does not suck too much power but keeps things in check.
problem solved. after trying just about everything turns out I got two bad thermostats in a row. the third one fixed the problem. thanks for the help
What a peculiar series of bad luck, 2 bad thermostats in a row. A friend of mine told me a story like yours from long ago, he put a 455 into a Regal, and it was overheating in the city. He ended up installing a hood scoop (not kidding) without a box, this allowed more airflow under the hood and he claimed it fixed the problem. I have to wonder now what temp thermostat he had, or if it was any good either. Anyway, as the story goes he drove the 455 Regal another 2 years without incident, could have been a load of hooey but I'll never know for sure. Tom
Aluminum dissipates heat faster than cast iron, so maybe some. The main advantage to an aluminum manifold is weight reduction, and improved design/flow (depends on particular manifold)
