O.K. I think I've got the coolant leak under control. I forgot to tighten the intake bolt that holds the throttle return spring bracket. Initially I did not have the bracket under the bolt, and when I installed the bracket later I did not tighten the bolt all the way ou: . I re-torqued the bolt and all intake bolts while I was at it. I topped off the radiator and waited to see if the level went down, it didn't. The following test drive was the real test, it passed! The other thing I need to figure out; why does the temperature gauge go as high as 220 degrees while I'm sitting in traffic? I'm using the SP-1 intake and I had to use an adapter to screw the sensor into which raises the height of the sensor. I wonder if the sensor is even in the water. When I drive or rev the motor the temperature immediately drops 10 degrees or so. Anyone ever encountered this?
Dan, I'm using the factory 350-4 AC fan. The fan is a six blade and is 18" in diameter with a almost new clutch. The shroud ID is about 19" or so. Here is a picture of the aftermarket temp sensor. It is spaced about an inch above the intake. The sensor protrudes maybe 3/4". The factory sensor, on the other side of the motor, is longer and no adapter was necessary. Never had the idiot light come on.
If you change the intake gaskets againg I would get the Fel pro performance ones, I just installed them on a motor that was having intake sealing problems and haven't had one since there installed. the part # is #1357
Still trying to get a handle on my engine temperatures. Although the gauge sensor may not be in the water stream I think it's running a little hotter than I'd like. I'm runing a 180 thermostat; will adding a 160 help lower the temp? What else should I look at?
Craig, That sensor could be 4" above the manifold and it wouldn't matter as soon as the system pressurizes that area will fill with coolant, you can get air bubbles but if you just crack the fitting a bit loose you'll get that out. You say that if you increase rpm you get a "immediate 10 degree" drop in temp, if you said gradual I would agree with the air flow thing but if it happens real quick you might have a water flow issue. Are you running underdrive pulleys (slows the water pump down 15-20%)? Any chance your suction side radiator hose is collapsing? After seeing pic's of your engine (very nice)I'm gonna assume that the water pump is new. Just some stuff to think about.
And I forgot to mention, double check the temp of the thermostat, I just found that the one I got from napa ( I specified 180) had 195 stamped right on the back of it.
Yeah I've go underdrives . I will check the thermostat, still think I'll go with 160. Bottom hose has spring and I'm using 80 water, water wetter and antifreeze. Plus there is 8 1/2 qts of oil, a new 4 core radiator and a trans cooler.
Craig, Thermostats are fully open 20* above what they're rated at. A 180 is fully open at 200, a 160 is fully open at 180. Run as little anti freeze as possible, the greater the concentration, the hotter the motor runs. The NAPA fan clutch 271301 can't be beat, it moves alot of air, and kicks in sooner, which is what you need in traffic.
Yup, It was 85* today in N.Y. Got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour. It never went over 170* Griffin Aluminum radiator, NAPA fan clutch, 160* Robert shaw big outlet balanced T'stat, 25% antifreeze, 75% distilled water, and a bottle of water wetter. Caravanned to Phily, for Duanes get together last year. It was in the mid 90's, and we got stuck in traffic on 95. Everyone else was running 200-210. I never got over 185.
I have a 180 theromastat and a 4core(high eff.), and on a 90deg. day I hit about 208 with the air on, Is that good or bad?
Kevin I think in those conditions you are fine. I just switched to a 160 thermostat and the clutch fan Larry suggested. While it did lower my temperatures some ~10 degrees, it still gets too high in traffic (220 w/o AC). When I get the AC re-installed I'm afraid it'll be 10 or more degrees hotter. Short of a smaller diameter water pump pulley, what other area should I look at to lower the coolant temperature? I adjusted the carb. idle mixture screws today for maximum vacuum, not sure if this would have any effect on engine temperature? I'm at 12 psi vs 10 psi before. Again I've got: 8qt. oil pan, 5W-30 oil, trans. cooler, new 4 core rad., ceramic coated headers.
Try to degree your cam, it might be of. Then check timing and carb. Recheck timing If none of the above helps then add an oilcooler
The cam is 107 ICL, the timing is 34 total (~25 initial). Has anyone used a flex fan (large sweeping blades) in conjunction with a fan clutch? I know they really pull the air but would it cause a slip problem with the fan clutch? I know from experience synthetic oil would help but I don't have enough miles on the engine yet.
Craig, Because of the reduced fan speed you get with the smaller crank pulley I converted to electric fans, I'm using the dual 13.5" Flex-a-lite setup (model 295), it has a variable speed controler and electronic thermostat setup, The shroud setup is a perfect fit for the stock radiator size leaving less than 1/2" total exposed on the sides. I've got a 180 t-stat in now and the fans keep me at 185-190(4core radiator) I'm gonna shift to a 160 t-stat just cause I'm curious. These things move way more air than even a 7blade fan, especially at idle, and at criuse speeds they don't have to run much at all.
I new someone knowledgable would suggest that. A possible plan is to upgrade to a better alternator and electric fan set-up at the same time....when the money is available. I also need a 6AL or electric choke set-up for start-up (heat passages are blocked).
"I new someone knowledgable would suggest that." -- Well someone knowledgable may suggest it, but until then you'll just have to live with me:laugh:
