I hooked a temp gauge up last night to monitor my temp before making the A/C functional again and I might be running hot. Here in Sac it's a lovely 93 degrees with a high of 100 today Looks like I have about 190 when cruising and it starts creeping up on 220 after some stop and go. This is a lot higher then my chev 350 which can idle for hours and stay at 180. I'm going to flush tonight to see if it helps. Also I installed a 160 degree hi-po stat and I think that might be hurting me. Probably a 180 would have been easier for the rad to keep up with. I have a 3 core, shroud, direct drive fan 7 blade, and nasty dirty coolant. Any help would great!
My 455 with the a/c on creeps way up to 240 without a/c it runs at 210-220 It has a rebuilt 3 core radiator new water pump hoses and all. 200-210 for the 455 is typical. Mine has 100,000 miles on it that probably doesn't help it stay cooler. If it's in your budget I recommend getting a 4 core radiator. They just tend to run hot because the design I suppose. Also you may want to use a infa-red temp gun when it's good and hot, and check the hose temps to see if the gauge is giving an accurate reading. One last thing you could do is check the timing if you haven't already.
Thanks I forget the timing might be a little high @ 12 degrees. The question is do they make a four core for a 67? I checked pep boys and kragen today. I just got done driving to the DMV and pretty much stayed around 230 creeping close to 240 at the light. It'a 100 degrees:af:
12 degree's advance would cause a 10 degree increase probably. I'm not sure if they make a 4 core for a 67 because I don't know all the spec's on it but I know you can always find some shop that can build one in specified dimensions.
flush? I was going to try and flush it with one of those kits that you can hook up the garden hose to. I don't think they sell anymore but I can't remember which heater hose to splice into? I was thinking it was the long 3/4" hose.
I'm not sure about that. I'll check my kit I have out in the garage and see if it says which one. I never got around to using it. heh MAYBE I should...
buick 350... I put a new t-stat in (180 degree) new water pump new coolant (though still havent back flushed it) would still run really hot. changed the fan clutch (another heavy duty thermostatic) and she rarely gets over 180. if i hit stop and go it hits 200. though we havent had many 90+ degree days here in milwaukee. also have AC and 7 bladed fan. you may want to check your fan clutch out made a big diffrence on my cooling system. though now it takes forever to warm up. Nate
If you can get a 4-core radiator, do it. You could also try a lower t-stat, that may help. I put a 160 in my 350, and rarely get over 175 - 180.
I had this exact same problem. Car would run on highway at about 190 or so, then slowing down in traffic would creep up as much as 240(!). This was before I fixed anything - car had 2-core radiator, nasty looking coolant (sludge is more like it) and what turned out to be a heater core OLDER than the car itself. Prev. owner 'had new core put in'.. well it said '1965 impala' in swap-meet yellow pen right on the side. :gt: A new 3 core radiator from rockauto.com (inexpensive, NEW, shipped fast, too) and a new heater core fixed it right up. Now it doesn't go over 200. This is with the normal shroud and 7 blade fan. You can put a 4 core in there but the top support piece plate thing is different. I also think the rubber support pads at the bottom of the front rad. support are different too. I couldn't find one so I went with the 3 core. Then of course a few months later I found a car that had the 4 core.. oh well. Hope that helps!
Ok folks I had the same problem with my 340 after the rebuild. I replace all hoses,waterpump and 160 thermostat. My car would run about 190 driving around, but on the highway it got up to 230. I knew that was to high, so I was thinking the .060 boring of the engine was causing it. Not!! The radiator was cloging up and the air was being restricted at the grill by this bottom flap of my airbox on my 84 MCSS. So I properly place the bottom flap and replaced the radiator and my car runs at 160 around town and 175 on the highway. I can smoke the tires all day and it stays at 175. Oh make sure you are using the sending unit for the car not the donor car.
Mine runs at 190-200 when cruising and 210 in traffic on a summer day. I have the 180 thermostat. Engine has never been apart. I have a/c, but sometimes cut it off if stuck in traffic to prevent overheating the engine.
overheating u really s/b running no less that a 180 thermostat . running 1 160 is not going to let the car run cooler if your temp guage registers > 180 . also the car performs better at 180 or greater , especially in cold weather , if u drive in cold weather . an old trick to try if your car runs in the 220 & higher , is to turn the heater on fully . lets u use the heater core to help cool the coolant as the it will circulate thru the core also . i was in a parade last saturday with a strong tail wind , outside temp about 85 and my engine ran upto 210 but i also kept several car lengths behind the car in front of me . running stock rad & water pump , 180 thermo , 7 bladed fan .
I flushed the system and then found out the water pump bearing is shot! Fan wobbles around. I also pulled the radiator and the bottom rows where clogged. I sent it out to get rodded or a new 4 core depending on what the shop says. If anyone knows a part number for a 67 4 core??????? If it's not available I'll go with the aftermarket aluminum. Thanks and I'll let you all know how it turns out.
goto autozone and see what they have for radiators. My buick (72 350) didn't get past 200 (I don't think it got past 190) on a 26 hour straight thru drive from CT to oklahoma, with the A/C on the whole way when the sun was out. It was in july and cruise control set at 80 most of the time. I have a autozone 3 core radiator, new pump, new fan clutch, and 7 blade fan. This was before the most of the upgrades, just had a q-jet and dual exhaust. Before the radiator it was getting upto 240 deg. Remember that other things will come into play with engine temp, like fuel mixture, and timing. Also I tryed that radiator flush stuff before I got a new radiator. It didn't help one bit, and my 3 month old waterpump started leaking from the weep hole the next day....
well tonight I changed the rad(3core), water pump and last week I installed a 160 stat. Took it for a ride tonight and basically it's about the same. The old Rad was so messed up (70%clogged) I thought for sure I would see a big improvement???? I guess the block might have some restriction?????? After I got the 3 core I found out Kragen has a four core. Oh well! I was hoping to get it dialed before the 455 swap but this changes things a bit. Instead of finding a decent running 455 I might have to get it tanked and punch it. Basically do it right.
cooling problem did u by chance flush the block while the water was removed ? when i replaced the water pump in my gs 350 , just after i purchased the car in 2000 , i flushed the block . u should have seen the crap that the flushing blew out . unbelievable ! system probably had not been completely cleared in 30 years .
How do you flush it like that? I did hook up to one of the heater hoses and flushed with everything hooked up and engine running. Today it's going to be a 104 degrees:af: so I'll see what happens. Also I might score a 70 wildcat today with 455 SF. Didn't really want hi-comp though.
I agree with gstewart, use the 180 stat. I've tried 160's many times and the ONLY time they keep the temp that low is when its about 20 deg. out Keeping the engine temp inline is just basics, A good clean rad (prefferably a 4 row) and at the MOST a 50/50 mix of coolant and water, some people go way overboard on the antifreeze and dont realize there hurting themselves. A good 7 blade clutched fan. I used a fan clutch for a Dodge Turbo Diesel on a 75 Electra with a 455 I used to tow with, when that sucker engaged, you knew it p But also rember that any temp from 180 to 220 deg isnt going to melt the engine or hurt anything, the Buick V-8 takes up much more room in the engine compartment than the small block Chevy, The Buick is physically a larger engine and less airflow makes it way around, short of a puller fan mounted in the back of the rad, it will run hotter in the city, these are older cars with older technology Mark
Well took it for a spin at lunch today and it cruised the open road at about 195 for 15 minutes, I then let it idle and it creeped all the way up to 245. I then took it back on the open road at around 60MPH after a few miles it cooled down to 210 where it stayed unless I stopped and then it would creep up fast! A lot faster then before. I don't want to spend a lot of time or money on this engine but I would like it to run at normal temps so I can rebuild my AC. Two things I will try tonight is to remove the AC condenser in front of the RAD to see if I have air restriction. Flush the heater core separately to see if it's clogged. I would like to put a bigger fan on but I need the bigger shroud. Did the BB GS have a bigger fan and shroud? The fan that's on there now should be good. It's direct drive and stock diameter. I think it was part of the aftermarket AC install. Maybe it does not move that much air??? Maybe it's a crappy fan??
do 67's have a fan clutch? i had overheating problems on my 70.. I just replaced the fan clutch and all gone. heck after a 30 min stop and go drive it wouldent get over 180 degrees and i have a 180 degree stat on it. Nate
