i need some suggestions cause i`m starting to lose patients,i installed a temp. gauge on my new `66 GS just to keep an eye on the temp,oil press. and so on,i noticed that it keeps creeping up to 210 which is not what i like,things i did were installed a shroud,put a 160 thermostat,had the original 3 core radiator cleaned out,checked the mixture on carb,switched plugs,i even went to the extent of adding a second temp. gauge just to make sure the guage i bought wasnt reading wrong,the water pump looks like its doing its job cause when i open the cap it looks like the water is circulating,it has a 6 blade fan on it,i dont know what else it may be?it doesnt seem like there`s a head gasket leak,i did a compression check all read 150,i checked the timing and its about 8* initial,i even did the prestone flush kit before i took the radiator to get cleaned out,i`m at loss of words here cause i dont know what it is?o No: o No: any help would really be appreiated. Thanks
Too much advance? I also have a 66 GS, fan shroud, 160 degree thermostat, 7 blade fan with new clutch, dual quads (I assume you have a single four barrel). Mine runs at 180-190 on the road, gets up to 200, sometimes even 210 in a little traffic. Used to go higher until I put in a new clutch for the fan. Your initial timing sounds high for a stock GS. Mine is 12 degrees but that's normal for a dual quad curve. I remember that the normal initial timing for a stock GS was 2 and a half degrees. If your car is otherwise standard, you're probably running with too much advance. I know a retarded engine will run hot. I assume 6 degrees too much advance, under the right conditions, may overheat too. Try adjusting this and see what happens. Tom
When does it get to 210? When you are idling? Or, when you are doing 65 MPH? Do you have A/C? The condensor might block airflow. Do you have anything else blocking airflow (foglights, PA speaker, oil cooler, etc.)? Do you have antifreeze? Maybe you should run water-only + RMI-25 (and maybe water wetter). Are there air gaps next to the radiator, where air leaks around it (instead of traveling through it)? If so, block off those areas and force all the air through the fins. Do you have a digital gauge? Or just some cheap parts-store gauge that is accurate +/- 40 degrees? Do you have gaps around your fan shroud? Or, does all the air get sucked through the radiator? Do you have the spring inside your lower radiator hose? If not, maybe it is collapsing. -Bob Cunningham
Bob,it will creep up either way whether i`m doing 65 or at idle,its just that it`ll go up slwer at idle. Its a non a/c car,but has california emissions(smog pump) on it. i have on bottle of anti freeze and the rest is water in the system. no air gaps that i can see. i have a autometer electric gauge but the second gauge i put on there was a mechanical sun pro,they both read the same. and there is a spring in the lower radiator hose. I just lowered the timing to 2 1/2* and i went for drive for about 15 min. it stayed at around 190* stop and go cruisin,is this normal?its not even hot out,its like in the 70`s,i`m trying to get it to around 180* constanlty,should i buy a new 4 core radiator? Thanks Thanks
George did you use a high end thermostat or a standard one? I have had better luck running the standard type over the more expensive ones. I had a high dollar thermostat that would let our Cat go up to 220-225 before it would open. Then the temp would drop to160-165 and right back up again. The yo-yo effect drove me crazy.
Regular stant thermostat nothing fancy no super stat or non of that BS,what does your car`s temp. run? Thanks
I found our car to run best around 190-200. It has a 190 or 192 thermostat in it. We had been using the original 2 row rad on it though. We have a new 4 row alum going in soon with the new engine and trans. I am using an old style nos flap type thermostat (180*) in the new engine.
Just had the car out for 40 min. around town,got stuck in traffic then cruised and the freakin temp. was at 210 wtf man:af: i dont know what the hell is causing this?o No:
This won't solve your immediate problem, but I had a custom-made 5-core radiator made a few years ago- copper/brass. I love it, and it keeps my engine nice and cool except under the most extreme conditions (I chose to use electric fans only, a mechanical fan w/ shroud is best for max. cooling however). I don't like aluminum, they can't be repaired. Before you get into all that, maybe you want to try an electrical "pusher" fan on the front of the radiator. They really boost the airflow, especially when combined with a mechanical puller fan. That won't help much on the highway, however, where you have ample airflow. Are your mechanical and vacuum advance working? If your timing is retarded, you will run hot. You probably want 50-55 degrees total timing (initial + mechanical + vacuum) when you are on the highway. -Bob Cunningham
Bob,i really dont want to start adding fans and stuff on this car especially since its a original type show car,the timing is where it should be at 2 1/2* initial,i really dont know what to look for?water pump?another radiator maybe a 4 core? Thanks
Another thing i noticed it does is this past weekend i took it for a ride up to poughkeepsie which is 83 miles from NYC,i noticed that when cruisin on the highway the temp was at 210 when i would see a big downhill i would coast it in neutral for like a couple of min. and the temp. would go to 180 then i`d put it back in 4th gear and a couple of min. later back up to 210. Thanks
George our car is just a little different than most. Just like people everyone is different (average body temp 98.6* mine 94.8*)o No: . Our Cat likes a little heat, the times at the track are far more consistent when the engine temp is around 205* at the start. Is this the car that you just got? How old and what shape are the mufflers in? What you can do also is pull the thermostat and put it in a pan of water on the stove. Bring the water up to a boil slowly. Use a good quality cooking thermometer and keep track at what temp it starts to open and at what temp it is fully open. Due this a few times and make sure it opens at the same temp every time. I do this now on all thermostats I install. It is an easy check to do and takes away the unknowns.
Have you tried running a hotter thermostat? I switched to a 185 degree stant and mine hasn't run hot since.:Brow:
John, yes this is the new car i just bought recently,why do u ask about the mufflers?they look really old and i think they are glass packs. Rick it had a 180 thermostat in there before i switched to the 160,i thought thats why it was running hot. Thanks
George exhaust restriction can equal a lot of unneeded heat. We had a customer car in hear that 7 shops before mine could not fix. The car was one of the Stutz Blackhawks 455 Pontiac engine and exhaust. The factory head pipes are/were double walled pipe the inner pipe had swollen and ballooned inward. After the car would warm up it would swell the pipes further creating a bad restriction. I found it by chance changing a bad manifold stud. I looked in the pipe and it was 3/4 closed when cold. The car still runs great today. The customer was so happy that I got rewarded with the contracts for his Bentleys, Rolls , and his 2 new Maybachs:Brow: . I would take off the mufflers/glasspacks and replace with a set of walker dynomax. When you take off the mufflers run the car with strait pipes just to make sure there is no restrictions. :laugh:. Then install the new parts. I have seen the exhaust as the mysterious problem cause to many times to count, especially on older cars that do not get normal use.
Hi George, All of the above was informative reading for me, and fortunately I don't have any problems. Has the motor been rebuilt recently, or has it been bored out? A tight motor will certainly tend to run hot before it has some real miles on it. My stage ran real hot for a long time after the last rebuild, because I wasn't driving it a lot. It's fine now. Dan
i`ve decided to buy a new radiator,the thing is i cannot buy a stock style copper because they will not be able to get one for me for 6-8 weeks,there is one on ebay right now its a be cool aluminum radiator,i really hate to buy something thats not correct for this particular car but it leaves me with no choice,i may just paint it black so it does`nt look so bad. Thanks
